Guest Contributor
Makana Eyre
Makana Eyre has written features, criticism, and essays for the New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, The Nation and Politico, among other national publications.
In 2023, W.W. Norton published “Sing, Memory,” Eyre’s debut. “Sing, Memory” tells the true story of the effort to save a huge cache of culture created by prisoners in the Nazi camps during World War II. In a review of the book, The Economist described Eyre as a “deft storyteller, with a limpid style” and lauded the book for its “compelling, well-informed narrative.” “Sing, Memory” was also praised by The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, The Forward, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and The Jewish Book Council, which described it as “riveting” and “masterfully written.” The book has been translated into Italian and Dutch.
Eyre is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School where he was a Stabile Fellow in investigative journalism. He teaches journalism and media history at Sciences Po in Paris. Currently based in Paris, he was born and raised on the island of Oʻahu.
You can reach him by email at columnists@civilbeat.org. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023
Makana Eyre: How An 1896 Ban Failed To Kill The Hawaiian Language
The demand for learning ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is high, but immersion schools can’t find enough teachers.
Screenshot/2026
Makana Eyre: Can Social Media Fill A Growing News Void?
These pages have immense reach. For crime news, they are one of the top sources of community information.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Makana Eyre: State Seeks Traditional Canoe Builders For Koa Wood Logs
Applications require a plan not just for building a canoe but for deepening connections between the logs, trees and waʻa and their beneficiaries.
Courtesy photo
Makana Eyre: What’s Behind Hawaiʻi’s Love Affair With Toyota Tacomas?
I thought I was immune to the lure of the pickup. Then I hopped behind the wheel of my dad’s red stick shift.
Sterling Higa/Civil Beat
Makana Eyre: Noir May Be Just What Hawaiʻi Needs Right Now
A new young adult novel at an island resort is the latest dark take on life in Paradise.
Courtesy: Burt Lum
Makana Eyre: Hawaiʻi Has Felt The Sting Of Mosquitoes For 200 Years
They transformed Hawaii’s ecology, helping to spread disease that sickened native birds. Now they carry viruses deadly to humans.
Courtesy: Waimānalo Limu Hui
Replanting Limu: A Civic Ritual To Save The Species — And Ourselves
The nonprofit hui is entirely funded by a mix of state conservation grants and support from foundations.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019
Makana Eyre: What Do We Want Hawaiʻi To Be Like In 20 Years?
We need a frank discussion about ideas that could make material improvements to the islands, even if it means more development and easing certain regulatory restrictions.
Craig Fujii/Civil Beat/2026
Makana Eyre: The Closing Of Tamashiro Market Marks Something Much Deeper
The family shop has been a landmark of Kalihi for 85 years. The community will feel the loss.