Amy Uyematsu

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Amy Uyematsu is a sansei poet and teacher from Los Angeles. She has six published collections, including her most recent, That Blue Trickster Time. Her first poetry collection, 30 Miles from J-Town, won the 1992 Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize. Active in Asian American Studies when it first emerged in the late 60s, she was co-editor of the widely-used UCLA anthology, Roots: An Asian American Reader. Her essay, “The Emergence of Yellow Power in America” (1969), has appeared in numerous publications.

Amy was a poetry editor of Greenmakers: Japanese American Gardeners in Southern California (2000). In 2012 Amy was recognized by the Friends of the Little Tokyo Branch Library for her writing contributions to the Japanese American community. Amy taught high school math for LA Unified Schools for 32 years. She has also taught creative writing classes for the Little Tokyo Service Center.

Updated January 2023

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Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Stone Songs

By Amy Uyematsu, traci kato-kiriyama
19 Jan 2023

Happy New 2023, everyone! What better way to begin than with the beauty of poetry and prose from Amy Uyematsu and her most recent collection, That Blue Trickster Time (What Books Press). Here, we have three selections from a wise and fiery collection with a life force she breathes through her words of the inanimate, the historical, the body, the memory that sings, dances, and cries throughout—enjoy! —traci kato-kiriyama * * * * * * Amy Uyematsu is a Sansei poet and teacher from Los Angeles. She has six published collections, including her most…

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Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Year-ending

By Amy Uyematsu, Tamiko Nimura, traci kato-kiriyama
18 Mar 2021

As we survey the past year of lockdowns and quarantines that started here in the States by mid-March, 2020, we take stock of a wide spectrum of revelations and experiences over the last twelve months. From new personal practices and experiments in the arena of safer-at-home, to illness and loss, further exposure of inequities and suffering, uprising and reckoning, community unlearning and building—we share the works of two artists who give us a glimmer of their lives through poetics about this last year, oriented to the pandemic. Veteran author Amy Uyematsu returns to the column with ju…

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Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Inspiration

By Amy Uyematsu, G Yamazawa, traci kato-kiriyama
20 Aug 2020

Hello Discover Nikkei network! I am beyond thrilled this month to bring this pair of poets to the Nikkei Uncovered poetry column. LA-born and raised, veteran Sansei poet and our inaugural feature for the column back in 2016, Amy Uyematsu returns to us with a beautiful piece about Tanko Bushi (that had me yearning ever more for Obon this summer). And first time with this column, we have National spoken world champ and hip hop artist, G Yamazawa out of Durham, North Carolina with one of my favorite pieces that I hope you all will have the pleasure of someday experiencing through his live perfor…

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My E.O. 9066 Stories: Frank Kikuchi, Manzanar DJ

By Amy Uyematsu
13 Mar 2020

On April 12, 2017, I interviewed Frank Kikuchi, a local Nisei who currently lives at Hollenbeck-Palms Retirement Community. Frank, now 93 years young, was a disc jockey at Manzanar, where he was confined from 1942 through 1945. Frank and Archie Miyatake were good friends and became a DJ team. These are excerpts from a longer interview. * * * * * Amy (A): How old were you when you went to camp? Frank (F): I was 17. A: When did you begin doing your DJ work at Manzanar? F: About a year after I got into camp, and I got to be friends with Archie Miyatake. A: What kind of music did you …

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Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Location

By Amy Uyematsu, Hiroshi Kashiwagi, traci kato-kiriyama
15 Dec 2016

For the column’s inaugural post, we wanted to begin with the theme of place, location, and community and to highlight two veteran poets—Hiroshi Kashiwagi, Nisei poet based in San Francisco since 1962, and Amy Uyematsu, Sansei poet and native Angeleno. We are excited to begin with two writers who dedicate much of their creative focus and livelihood to poetry and who have had an influence on so many. Cheers to what their poetry uncovers… —traci kato-kiriyama * * * * * Born in Sacramento in 1922, writer and actor Hiroshi Kashiwagi was incarcerated at Tule Lake Segre…

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Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Amy Uyematsu

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Series this author contributes to

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 1: A Tragic Tale

Nikkei Chronicles #5—Nikkei-go: The Language of Family, Community, and Culture

The Chuo Gakuen School: The Seeds of Prestige for the Japanese Community in Mexico

Tad Nakamura’s Art and Activism

Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?

The Child of a Thousand Generations

ハワイの日系弁護士— クリスティーン・A・久保田さん

Tokita Tales

Losing a True and Trusted Friend

Dr. Jiro Takai's Journey of Becoming From the Soo to Nagoya University — Part 2

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #Around 80,000 Words: "Novel Novels..."

日系（ニッケイ）—をめぐって

第36回 和歌山市・移民資料室を訪ねる—日本の海岸線の旅の途中で⑤

書評：和泉真澄『日系カナダ人の移動と運動―知られざる日本人の越境生活史』

1992年渡米、目標は「アカデミー賞」— 俳優の井上英治さん

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tiempos pandémicos: teletrabajo y koden digital

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 e os heróis anônimos

香川県海外移民の父：今雪真一の情熱と功績

第３部：金子正則知事の南米訪問とその主な見解

Nikkei Chronicles #12

Growing Up Nikkei: Connecting with Our Heritage

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Losing a True and Trusted Friend

Dr. Jiro Takai's Journey of Becoming From the Soo to Nagoya University — Part 2

Journal Entry #Around 80,000 Words: "Novel Novels..."

David Mura’s Work Continues to Push Readers to Question the World

Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 3

Stephen Nelson Makes History as New Dodgers Announcer

An Unsent Letter to My Nisei Grandpa–Part 1 of 3

In Their Own Voices: Understanding Heart Mountain through Oral Histories

Dr. Jiro Takai's Journey of Becoming From the Soo to Nagoya University — Part 1

Journal Entry #24 Hours: "Some Days are Too Long..."

Rediscovering Poston

Frozen Hair, Work Stoppages, and Other Lesser-Known Stories from Heart Mountain - Part 1

Hajichi Stories — Tree Local Women Tell Why Day Got Their Okinawan Hand Tattoos

Wisdom Grown Wild: A Conversation with Filmmaker Rea Tajiri — Part 2

Identity in the Music Industry with Musician & Two-Time Grammy Nominee Nick Lee

Journal Entry #Combining 26 Characters: "Cliché in Vain..."

The Heart of Naomi Hirahara’s Evergreen

For Kyra Karatsu—Writing is a Foregone Conclusion

Exposing America’s “Secret Weapon” — Part 2

Layle Lane: Black Woman Educator and Defender of Japanese Americans

Death of Affirmative Action

Bruce Miyahara — “OG-San” Marries Food Passion with Service — Part 1

The Readmission: Toyohiko Kagawa’s 1950 US Tour

Wisdom Grown Wild: A Conversation with Filmmaker Rea Tajiri — Part 3

Chapter 15 (Part 2) — Nisei’s Political Involvement in the Japanese American Citizens League

Journal Entry #5 Hail Marys and Isopropyl: "Bad Juju..."

Japanese Family Protocols

Chapter 5—Japan as Number One

Susan Miyagi McCormac Leads JapanCulture•NYC: Sharing Her Passion for Japanese Culture and Japanese Life in New York City

Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 2

Exposing America’s “Secret Weapon” — Part 1

No More Euphemisms: My Mother Was a Hostage

Journal Entry #6 Great Barbies: "You Can Be Anything..."

An Inquiry into the Kibei-Nisei ‘Diasporic Experiences’

A Dream Deferred, A Dream Fulfilled

Journal Entry #4 Body Types: "Poor, Poor Pitiful Ken..."

Chapter 15 (Part 1 ) — Nisei’s Political Involvement in the Japanese American Citizens League

Preserving Legacy and Artistry: A Behind-the-Scenes Look into the Henry Sugimoto Collection

Artist and Documentarian: The Life of Kango Takamura

Bridging the Past and Present: Preserving History Through the Tanaka Photo Studio Collection

Nikkei Incarceration

EO9066’s ‘Coerced Prison Work(ers)’

Journal Entry #6 More Noises: "Onomatopoeia Mania..."

An In-Depth Examination of the WRA’s Legal System

第36回和歌山市・移民資料室を訪ねる—日本の海岸線の旅の途中で⑤