Ten leading Hawaii literati, all of whom have been published by local Bamboo Ridge Press, will appear Friday at the 2019 Asian American Literary Festival, sponsored by the Smithsonian Museum, in Washington, D.C.

This year’s festival theme is caregiving, said Gail N. Harada, a longtime volunteer for the nonprofit press dedicated to cultivating island voices and perspectives.

Kicking off the three-day event, Christy Passion, a critical care nurse, and Juliet S. Kono, a Buddhist priest, will read at a Poet’s Peace Breakfast. Passion’s poem overlays ER experiences with those of migrants; Kono’s tender, searing poem describes bathing her mother-in-law, who has dementia.

Later in the day, Harada, Ann Inoshita, Jean Toyama and Lisa Linn Kanae will explore the many facets of femaleness; Scott Kikkawa, Wing Tek Lum and Elmer Omar Bascos Pizo will read of crime and immigration; and Passion, Kono and Brenda Kwon, a yoga teacher and, like others in the group, a professor of literature, will discuss addiction, depression and violence in caregiving.

For info, go to smithsonianapa.org/lit/lit2019/schedule.