Stuff contributed by traciakemi

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
What we hold - Part Two
Christine Miyazato, Donna Ghassemi, Seiji Igei, Amina Abuthahir, Nora Fujita-Yuhas, Miyako Noguchi, traci kato-kiriyama
Over the past several years, Vigilant Love (an organization working towards safety and justice of communities impacted by Islamophobia and violence), has hosted a community Iftar bringing together hundreds of Muslim, Japanese American and other LA community members in the spirit of many years of solidarity practice between our communities. …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
What we hold
Asuka Lin, Aaysha Memon, Christie Yamasaki, Angie Azad, Safira Patel, Yukino Torrey, Elise Umetsu, traci kato-kiriyama
Over the past several years, Vigilant Love (an organization working towards safety and justice of communities impacted by Islamophobia and violence), has hosted a community Iftar bringing together hundreds of Muslim, Japanese American, and other Los Angeles community members in the spirit of many years of solidarity practice between our …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
On the inside
Vicky K. Murakami-Tsuda, Joy Yamaguchi, traci kato-kiriyama
Welcome to another special edition of Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column. Two staff I work closely with at the Japanese American National Museum, public programs extraordinaire Joy Yamaguchi and digital guru Vicky Murakami-Tsuda, allowed me to facilitate a process with them to write poetry grounded in this particular era of …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Comfort
Kendall Tani, Susan Yamamura, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we feature California-based Yonsei writer, Kendall Tani, and Arizona-based Sansei writer, Susan Yamamura. Susan’s is a lighthearted parody poem that heralds where we look for some solace during a time of major strife, while Kendall’s first piece featured here, soft bodies, speaks to a relationship with oneself through …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Spare Abundance
Courtney Ozaki, Margaret Ozaki Graves, traci kato-kiriyama
In a time of ever changing and heightened needs for social distancing, self isolation and attention to the greatest ways we can care for oneself and each other, I’m grateful to still be able to share two short poems from artists Courtney Ozaki and Margaret Ozaki Graves, both of whom …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Locale
Wataru Ebihara, Nina Chan, traci kato-kiriyama
This month I was inspired by the Little Tokyo Candidates Forum that occurred at the top of the month, to present an opportunity for all current city council candidates a chance to speak with the community. The forum, with many passionate expressions for the neighborhood, made me think on locality, …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Harmonics
Nobuko Miyamoto, Goh Nakamura, traci kato-kiriyama
This being the first month of a new year, I thought we’d present “poetics” with a different approach from any other edition of the column—to feature lyrics of two songwriters of different generations and share a bit of their music to boot. For January 2020, we have a song from …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
In Homage to Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Hiroshi Kashiwagi, traci kato-kiriyama
As we come to our 4th December and third anniversary of Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column, it seemed very fitting to pay tribute to the recently departed poet, Hiroshi Kashiwagi. A beloved community member and writer for many generations, Hiroshi was the inaugural poet featured (alongside Amy Uyematsu) when we …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Remains
Hiromi Yoshida, Terry Watada, traci kato-kiriyama
From Toronto-based writer, Terry Watada and Bloomington, Indiana-based poet, Hiromi Yoshida, are pieces that can be read as the remains of beings past, the memory of memories, the parts of a person embedded in our psyche or those aspects we wish to keep and uplift. Enjoy...

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
What spirits whisper...
Stan Yogi, Naomi Hirahara, traci kato-kiriyama
This month we are treated to two highly-lauded, accomplished writers and community heroes – Naomi Hirahara and Stan Yogi. Their pieces step out of each writer’s usual practice and into the poetry featured here (and we will surely feature more of their poetry in the future!). When I read through …