Kalehua Kim with Jane Wong — 'Mele'

Third Place Books welcomes poet Kalehua Kim to our Ravenna store for a conversation about her debut collection — an exploration of family, culture, language, self, and memory. Kalehua will be joined in conversation by poet and memoirist Jane Wong.

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured books!

This event is free to attend. Registration is recommended in advance.

Please note: While RSVP helps us anticipate attendance, your RSVP may not guarantee a seat. Seating is first-come, first-served, and all events at our Ravenna neighborhood store are free and open to the public. Only standing room may be available for events with high interest.

We are happy to accommodate any accessibility concerns. Please contact us at [email protected] or call our Ravenna store at (206) 525-2347.

Mele, by Kalehua Kim, embodies the meaning of the word "mele" - a Hawaiian song or chant traditionally used to preserve history through the oral tradition. Winner of the Trio House Press Editor's Choice Prize, Kim's debut collection evokes modes of language and culture that shape the contours of memory and expose the fault lines of family and self, as well as the grace and generosity of healing, acknowledgement, and commemoration. The poems reflect on what we inherit and how who we become is intertwined with who our parents were and are, and the pain of facing that reality: "One day your voice will become mine, Ka leo o maua/Though I am not prepared for your end..." With this mele, Kim honors the memory of a lost mother, as well as the struggles of a daughter as she becomes a wife and mother herself, while honoring her roots and forging a new path.

Kalehua Kim is a poet living in the Pacific Northwest. Born of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Portuguese descent, her multicultural background informs much of her work. She is a 2023 winner of the James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets and earned her MFA through the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. A Fellow with the Indigenous Nations Poets, her poems have appeared in Poetry Northwest, Denver Quarterly, Calyx, and ‘Ōiwi, A Native Hawaiian Journal. As a winner of the 2024 Trio House Press Editors Choice Prize, her first collection of poems, Mele, was released by Trio House in 2025.

Jane Wong is the author of the debut memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, out now from Tin House. She is also the author of two books of poetry: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything from Alice James (2021) and Overpour from Action Books (2016). An associate professor of creative writing at Western Washington University, she grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, United States