Stuff contributed by traciakemi

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 6
traci kato-kiriyama, Pam Ward
This month, we have the pleasure of featuring two poems from the great Pam Ward in our continued homage to the late Amy Uyematsu. In the mid 1990’s, Pam and Amy, along with Gloria Alvarez, Jiseh James, and Nancy Padron, organized Cantaluz (“sing light”) to come together and read as …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 5
Kathy Nishimoto Masaoka, Nina Chan, Keiko Ikari Miya, Janice Iwanaga Yen, Lynn Taise, traci kato-kiriyama
As we continue to pay homage to the great Amy Uyematsu, we wanted to feature a special collective poem that was just presented last weekend at the Japanese American National Museum at Amy’s Celebration of Life by five friends of Amy - her best friend Lynn Taise and four writers …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 4
F. Douglas Brown, traci kato-kiriyama
As we continue to pay homage to the great Amy Uyematsu — who, yes, I will continue to call the People’s Poet Laureate of J-Town — I am so grateful and honored to present a poem in this series of homage, by another one of my favorite people and writers, …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 3
Teresa Mei Chuc, Mike Sonksen, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we continue to pay tribute to Amy Uyematsu with two wonderful poetry and prose pieces from powerful LA writers. Amy was an inspiration to many and I am so pleased to feature work here by Teresa Mei Chuc and Mike Sonksen. Both of these inspiring writers were colleagues and …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Tribute to Amy Uyematsu: After — Part 2
Miya Iwataki, Nina Chan, traci kato-kiriyama
Part 1 >>

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Tribute to Amy Uyematsu: After — Part 1
Keiko Ikari Miya, Kathy Nishimoto Masaoka, traci kato-kiriyama
When first asked to curate the Nikkei Uncovered poetry column in 2016, the very first person I wanted to feature was the great Amy Uyematsu. Alongside the countless many, I am yet another poet/writer who holds so much sorrow with the loss of Amy after her long and fierce battle …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
“this distant shore…”
Mia Ayumi Malhotra, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we’re delighted to again present the beautiful work of poet Mia Ayumi Malhotra. There is a sweet concoction of remembering, longing, and holding space for moments to recall from the past, “the lost…,” or to save for the future. What a wondrous way to get us leaning into …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Surrender — Part 3
Miko Shudo, traci kato-kiriyama
This month we present the final part of the collaborative poem + performative art piece from Bonbu Stories, this time featuring Yonsei musician Miko Shudo. We invite you to view the accompanying video and read this together with the preceding pieces from parts 1 & 2. Miko blends poetics here with …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Surrender — Part 2
Sydney Shiroyama, traci kato-kiriyama
This month we are happy to present both a poem from Bonbu Stories co-founder Sydney Shiroyama and a performance video from the Bonbu Stories collective themselves. Continuing with the theme of Surrender, Sydney’s is part of a linked poem with her Bonbu cohort and it reminds us the seeds we …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Surrender — Part 1
Kendall Tani, traci kato-kiriyama
We are delighted to present poetry from Mammoth Lake, CA based artist, Kendall Tani. Kendall shares an intimate exploration of tenderness and loss, and also generously provides writing here that includes a piece (Surrender) from a larger, collective process with Bonbu Stories - a multidisciplinary Asian American artists collective I've gotten to …