Don Blanding Vagabond Poet Laureate of Hawaii To know Don Blanding's life is to understand why he is called the vagabond poet. Born in Oklahoma at the turn of the century, he spent his first ears in the restless frontier country and at the age of 15 started his wanderings that never let him stay more than two years in one place. He has stared in Grand opera, worked in hayfields, drawn newspaper cartoons, managed a little theater, painted fences one week and dowagers the next- in Paris, Chicago, Hollywood, Honolulu and numerous points in between. He has always loved the life of the Hawaiian Islands, where he returned again and again. In Hawai'i by good luck he changed his artist's career to the dual one of artist and author. His Hawai'i experiences have provided him with much of the material in his books from the Vagabond's House(1928) to Hawaii Says Aloha, and the 17 volumes between. Seven seas are to sail my ship To the ends of the earth.beyond; Drifters' gold is for me to spend For I am a vagabond Don Blanding The Vagabond poet captures the "spirit" of the era of our historic home, perfectly. Don's My Hawaiian Garden and Flowers of the Rainbow gave us the decorating scheme for the interiors and provided the concept for the landscape plans. Won't you drop in and see This garden that belongs to me. Don Blanding