A Writer's Guide to Perfect Punctuation
Victor C. Pellegrino, Professor Emeritus, taught writing and literature at Maui Community College for twenty-eight years, and served eight years as chairperson of the Language Arts Division. He has also taught upper division classes in advanced writing and American literature for the University of Hawai‘i on Maui. Recognized as a statewide leader in the field of writing, Pellegrino was the first recipient of the Excellence in English Teaching Award presented by the Hawai‘i affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English. He also received the Excellence in Teaching English Award  from the Hawai‘i Branch of the English-Speaking Union of the United States. Pellegrino has served on the editorial board of Makali‘i, The Journal of the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges, and has edited for publication many manuscripts. During his teaching career, Pellegrino developed a unique interdisciplinary Eastern world literature course emphasizing the writings of India, China, and Japan. This course complemented Pellegrino’s Western world literature course emphasizing Europe, Africa, and Russia.  Pellegrino’s books have guided writers for more than two decades. In 1984, he wrote two books designed for use in Hawai‘i schools, You Can Write! Practical Writing Skills for Hawai‘i and You Can Write Workbook. A Writer’s Guide to Transitional Words and Expressions was first published in 1987 and is now in its seventh printing. A Writer’s Guide to Using Eight Methods of Transition, published in 1993, is now in its second printing, and serves as a complementary text to his popular transitional words book. In 2003, A Writer’s Guide to Powerful Paragraphs, his third title in the writer’s guide series, was published. This title focuses on thirty different ways to organize and write effective paragraphs. A Writer’s Guide to Perfect Punctuation is the fourth title in the writer’s guide series.  Pellegrino’s writing is not limited to the world of English. He has written two reflective books, Maui Art Thoughts: Expressions and Visions, and A Slip of Bamboo: A Collection of Haiku from Maui. In 2001, he published an Italian cookbook, Simply Bruschetta: Garlic Toast the Italian Way, which contains 65 recipes for garlic toast toppings. He is currently working on a novel, a vegetable-based Italian cookbook, and his family genealogy. In addition to his own writing, Pellegrino has edited and assisted in the publication of numerous books for other authors from Hawai‘i and the Mainland. He has conducted self-publishing seminars for the Maui Community College Department of Continuing Education and the 2001 Hawai‘i Writer’s Conference. As a cookbook author, Pellegrino has appeared on television shows in Hawai‘i and on the Mainland. He has held numerous food demonstrations, taught many cooking classes, and  conducted cookbook writing workshops. Most recently, Pellegrino has become a taro farmer on land newly acquired in Waikapu. Besides restoring the farm to its original state (1850) with his family, neighbors, and friends, he is writing children’s allegory focusing on the restoration.  Pellegrino received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the State University of New York, College at Buffalo. He has studied and traveled extensively in Japan, and China, and in 1984 he was a Fulbright Scholar in India. He is married to Wallette Garcia of Wailuku, Maui. They have three children, Shelley, Angela, and Hokuao, and two grandchildren, Jonathan and Ryan.