Stuff contributed by traciakemi
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 …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Flight
Genie Nakano, traci kato-kiriyama
South Bay-based poet/writer and dancer, Genie Nakano, lets us celebrate with her as she looks forward to releasing her latest book of poetry, Wings on a Silk Veil. The poems here show her inner light through pieces that are contemplative, open, and free—an honest exploration, from ancestors to an ever-changing …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Stone Songs
Amy Uyematsu, traci kato-kiriyama
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 …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Expansion
Brynn Saito, traci kato-kiriyama
Poet, educator, and co-founder of Yonsei Memory Project, Brynn Saito brings the Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column to a close for 2022 with writing that is at turns spare and present, expansive and lush—all the things I crave in poetry at this time of year, when the chill of this …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
In memoriam...Jim Matsuoka
Jim H. Matsuoka, traci kato-kiriyama
It is with my heaviest, yet most grateful heart that I present this poetic speech from our beloved Jim Matsuoka, who passed on towards the end of October. Jim meant so much to surely countless many and I am simply another person who benefited greatly from his presence in so …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Fruits of connection
Nikiko Masumoto, traci kato-kiriyama
Happy autumn, all! This month we feature organic farmer, artist, and Yonsei Memory Project co-founder, Nikiko Masumoto with a delicious set of poetry that reaches us from soil nurtured through the generations and welcomes “city cousins..into a relationship with the land.”