 Kirby Wright won first place in a recital competition for his reading of "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer and also won awards for his original poems.Kirby was transferred to the Punahou School in the 7th Grade and won the short story competition.Despite winning this competition, Wright felt like an outsider at Punahou School and his experiences at this private institution became fertile material for his coming of age novel "Punahou Blues".