The Fire and the Phoenix A Critical Biography Kathryn Waddell T I(aqul, Ph.D. e, Pacific Raven Press Publishing, Hawaii ii Copyright© Kathryn Waddell Takara, Ph.D. ISBN-13 97809841228-9-9 ISBN-10 09841228-9-3 Second Printing: March 2012 Book Cover Idea & Concept by Ayin M. Adams & Kathryn Waddell Takara, Ph.D. Cover Design and Typesetting by Saforabu Graphix Published by PACIFIC RAVEN PRESS P.O. Box 678, Ka'a'awa, HI 96730 USA www.pacificravenpress.com Email: [email protected] Telephone : 1-808-276-6864 USA Fax Number: 1-808-237-8974 USA Published in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the express written consent of Kathryn Waddell Takara, Ph.D. and Pacific Raven Press Publishing. Printed in USA. iii LITERARY REVIEWS “Dr. Takara has brought forth a brilliant work. She has unearthed a gem and polished it with skill, wit and a keen insight. The luminosity of her work brings into sharp focus the life of an engaged writer, activist and a man with all the complications of a human being. By using a socio-historical approach, Dr. Takara reveals the scope of the work and time in which Frank Marshall Davis’ life was lived. We are informed of the social, political and cultural events that shaped his life and inspired his creative world and writing. The role of a biographer as listener and recorder has been painstakingly rendered, a labor of love. This is a wonderful addition to the canon of African American Literature. We are all the richer for this work!” Rashidah Ismaili, ret. Rutgers University % %k %k %k %k % %k X “Dr. Takara has done a masterful job of telling the story of Frank Marshall Davis by encapsulating the experiences and circumstances that turned an imaginative and creative mind into a force for civil rights and justice who ultimately sacrificed power and career for a semblance of dignity and solace. Takara has shed light on Davis’ near-disappearance from the literary limelight, making a convincing argument that he is deserving of a place in the pantheon of his contemporaries. Frank Marshall Davis: The Fire and the Phoenix is an eye-opening glimpse into the soul of a complicated figure, and few could duplicate the account of his journey as poignantly without Takara’s precious firsthand experience.” Marsha McFadden, City Editor, Honolulu Star Advertiser % %k ok %k sk ok %k X “Kathryn Waddell Takara has organized this work both in a time line and commentary to guide the reader to appreciate Davis’s work under difficult environments, including his last days in Hawai'i. Hawai'i challenged Davis to survive in economic terms and to describe and to analyze the effects of the similarities and differences of the Hawaiian influences in the Black experiences in and around Hawai'i.” Kiyoshi Ikeda, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawai'i % %k sk ok %k sk %k X “I have always known that Kathryn Takara was an astute intellectual. She writes prose with the precision and passion of a poet. Her biography of Frank Marshall Davis brings to life a man who lived in tumultuous times. The racism of the times can be experienced clearly through his eyes via the words of Dr. Takara. A wonderfully passionate story!” Carol A. Dickson, Professor, University of Hawai'1 at Manoa v BOOKS BY KATHRYN WADDELL TAKARA New and Collected Poems. Berkeley, CA: Ishmael Reed Publishing Co., 2003. Pacific Raven: Hawaii Poems. Ka'a awa, HI: Pacific Raven Press, 2009. Tourmalines: Beyond the Ebony Portal. Ka'a awa, HI: Pacific Raven Press, 2010. DEDICATION This book is dedicated to my loving, courageous, brilliant, and inspirational parents, William H. Waddell, VMD and Lottie Rochelle Younge Waddell, MA in French and an MA in German, and to the family of Frank Marshall Davis. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to extend hearty and warm thanks to my professors and colleagues who through the years gave me feedback on my ideas for this manuscript, various drafts, revisions and generously offered their time, comments, criticism, and suggestions including, but not limited to: Peter Manicas, Deane Neubauer, Manfred Henningsen, Farideh Fardhi, Majid Tehranian, Miles Jackson, Paul Lyons, Craig Howes, Rodney Roberts, John Edgar Tidwell, Ishmael Reed, Barbara Christian (d), Joe Balaz, Therese Mera Moore Lafferty, Elizabeth Buck, Marie Iding, Carolann Dickson, Steve Tracy, Robert Chrisman, Rashidah Ismaili, Karla Brundage, Diane Pikeborn (d), Pat Hickman, and Maya Angelou. A huge bouquet of gratitude goes to my family, near and far. If it were not for the love and support of my parents, Bill and Lottie Waddell, my husband, Harvey Takara, daughters, Karla Brundage and Natasha Takara Harrington, and the extended Takara, Younge, Green, and Waddell clans, 1 might not have stuck with this large and sometimes thorny project. The loving listening, reading, feedback, encouragement and abundant support, food, laughter, libations, music, prayers, and company of friends and artists gave me the amazing strength and fortitude to persist, to speak out for freedom, justice, and inclusion. I salute and give thanks to these inspiring friends who shared their care, attention, energy, and stories with me, including but not limited to: Richard Hamasaki, Daphne and Andre Wooten, Sandra Simms, Andrea Anixt, George and Terri Rainey, Tom Mountain, Gladys Crampton, Doug Matsuoka, Gary Pak, Marc Shlachter, Joan and Irwin Koff, Doug Lamerson, Carla Blank and Tennessee Reed, Debra Taniguchi and Mosso Uli'i, Lois Saruwatari, Ruth Rendely, Lyndon Fong, Brenda Andrieu, Carol Shepherd, Opal Palmer Adisa, Lucille Day, Amahra Hicks, Reginald Lockett, Kathy Sloane, Q R Hand, Percy and Joan Hintzon, Ibrahim Aoude, Mary Myers, bell hooks, Lucille Clifton, Margaret Burroughs, the Harrington family, the Carter family, the Malanaphy clan, Beth Davis Charlton, Allison Francis, Bill Danks, Adela Chu and Kim Duffett, Tony Edward, Corinna Fales, John and Jackie Streetz, Karyn Parham Jones, Francesca Calderone Steichen Stamer, Bambi Good, Marita vii Rivero, Chuck Lawrence and Mari Matsuda, Haunani-Kay Trask, Kristen Timothy, Gail Hovey, The Hawai'i Links, Inc., and Ayin Adams. Last, but certainly not least, I am grateful to Pacific Raven Press who believed in me, my research and writing, and convinced me that I had a great story to tell that would contribute to the history of Jim Crow in middle America, black journalism, black editors and community activists, the role of blacks in the labor movement, early Civil Rights issues and struggles, and the transcendence of Davis as a witness of his times and as a courageous warrior who wrote his life and documented the times, both on the mainland USA and in Hawai'i. viii