Material contribuído por traciakemi
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
December
Daisuke Shen, Ken Okuno, traci kato-kiriyama
For this final column of 2017, I chose to focus on the broad possibilities this month provides—it lends itself to the December 7 reflection that comes to us from Altadena based Ken Okuno, as much as it comes through bittersweet introspection from Wilmington, North Carolina based Daisuke Shen, whose words …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Place / Location
Erik Matsunaga, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we feature just one writer and a beloved one to the Discover Nikkei space at that—Chicago native, Erik Matsunaga. Erik’s piece is a simple moment between old childhood pals and one that sets an image of “home” or places of significance that are, at once, transient and meaningful…enjoy.
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Bite
Kazumi Chin, Lawrence Matsuda, traci kato-kiriyama
As we enter the final quarter of 2017, I didn't want to “ease” into fall but rather, take a bite out of it. Maybe there’s something feisty in the air with all the ash and soot and unrest all around us. In any case, this isn’t a time for languor …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Mothers—affection, lost & found
Kathy Nishimoto Masaoka, Kurt Yokoyama-Ikeda, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we take a somewhat different turn, in presenting some prose from longtime community organizer and LA-native, Kathy Nishimoto Masaoka, and a piece meant for the spoken word stage from Hawai‘i-born/Torrance-raised educator, Kurt Yokoyama-Ikeda. They both sent in pieces about their mothers and I found a yearning, discovery, and …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Encircle, In Dance
Maiya Kuida-Osumi, Jenni “Emiko” Kuida, Tony Osumi, Evelyn Yoshimura, traci kato-kiriyama
For this month’s Nikkei Uncovered, we wave goodbye to the Obon season with special reflections from a family of activist/artists and a local legend & community organizer. Maiya, Jenni, and Tony Kuida-Osumi share with us poems that tie the dance we do in commemoration of ancestors at Obon, with homage …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Homage
Mia Ayumi Malhotra, Heather Nagami, traci kato-kiriyama
Welcome to poetic homage with this month’s Nikkei Uncovered column. From Tucson, Arizona-based, Heather Nagami, and San Francisco Bay Area-based, Mia Ayumi Malhotra, we have the pleasure of hearing from two Kundiman fellow authors, who speak of the women who hold us, shape our contexts, and grip at the sensibility …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
In Community
traci kato-kiriyama, traci ishigo
For this time of Ramadan and in honor of the longstanding, ever-building relationship between the Japanese American and Muslim communities, I thought I would so very gratefully share this space with one of my own pieces alongside poetry from one of my community sisters, traci ishigo—a super wonderful creative organizer, …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
To Spring
Brynn Saito, Tamiko Beyer, traci kato-kiriyama
In our last moments of spring, we’re making room for both reflection and movement forward. I invited this month’s guest poets to share some poetry on the broad themes of “spring” in terms of reflecting, looking ahead, making strides, leaving, leaping—whether with joy or exasperation or anything in between. We’re …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Resistance
Miya Iwataki, Ryan Masaaki Yokota, traci kato-kiriyama
Welcome back to this month’s edition of Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column. As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the signing of E.O. 9066 and the 50th anniversary of the official Manzanar Pilgrimage, we look to the virtues of and stories behind resistance with pieces from Los Angeles Sansei writer …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Speaking
Mari Nakano, Kenji C. Liu, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we feature a visual artist based in New York, Mari Nakano, and a poet based in Los Angeles, Kenji Liu. Their writings speak to language—on words nudging a new mother to invention and genderless wordplay. There is a personal stretching and exploratory vibrancy with each of their works. …