Stuff contributed by traciakemi

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

An Unstoppable Fluttering

Kelsey Kawanatraci kato-kiriyama

Yonsei entrepreneur and writer Kelsey Kawana was introduced to me by kindred friend and artist Beau Sia, and I was honored to support them both in co-producing an upcoming short film, The Unreachable Star (more in Kelsey’s bio). It was such a delight to later come across her wonderful poetry …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Burst

José Natsuharatraci kato-kiriyama

This month, again with the help of my partner's mother (a Nikkei artist born and raised in Peru), I came to appreciate this poem for its intensity, written by Lima, Peru-based Nikkei poet José Natsuhara. Strong imagery abounds throughout this poem, full of impressive images, from the everyday to a …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Gnawing

W. Todd Kanekotraci kato-kiriyama

This month’s feature comes to us from Grand Rapids, Michigan, with selections from This Is How the Bone Sings, a poetry collection by Todd Kaneko. These pieces resonated at a gut level for me—they poke and prod, nudge and whack, muse and gnaw at our past through a present lens …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Memory and labyrinths

Kazuko Kikushimatraci kato-kiriyama

This month we are pleased to present the Peruvian poet and psychologist Kazuko Kikushima. Once again, my partner's mother helped me understand the beauty and depth of this poem, a moving piece that calls to the memory of a loved one and the things we call and let go in …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Baachan

Shizue Seigeltraci kato-kiriyama

This month, we are happy to present two poems from San Francisco-based writer and visual artist, Shizue Siegel. As the founder/director of Write Now!, Shizue amplifies many voices throughout the Bay Area, and here we are honored to share her voice with pieces about her Baachan. Through this writing, we …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Murmurs and Bones

Lee Ann Roripaughtraci kato-kiriyama

We are honored to present three pieces here from South Dakota State Poet Laureate (2015-2019), Lee Ann Roripaugh. A personal and clanging reflection on the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami and earthquake, these poems are stunning murmurations of memory hitting against bone, of shadows that never quite evaporate, of ghosts alive and …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Specks and Shadows

Kou Sugitatraci kato-kiriyama

Portland-based writer and musician Kou Sugita gives us several pieces in this month's column that nudge us into a quiet space of listening—to past echoes that still reverberate; to colors that heed our remembrance; to “the shadow of a shadow of a sound.” Kou’s pieces here are shown with a …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Remembrance

Rey Fukuda SalinasGreer Nakadegawa-LeeNoriko NakadaKurt Yokoyama-Ikedatraci kato-kiriyama


Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Bite

Sawako Nakayasutraci kato-kiriyama

It is a wonderful thing to be able to start the year with weather and words that are crisp, refreshing, new. This is the energy coming forth in prose poetry from Massachusetts based artist, Sawako Nakayasu, and here we are treated to her English and Japanese language versions for two …

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

As we continue...

Christine Kitanotraci kato-kiriyama

What speaks as we continue on, through the generations or through a single moment we need to survive? What does that breath or utterance or silence sound like? In New York-based Professor Christine Kitano’s work that is shared with us here, we are treated to an urgency related to memory …

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About

Author of “Navigating With(out) Instruments,” a book of poetry, micro essays and notes to self—which is being taught in contemporary literature, ethnic, and Asian American studies courses at the university level, and has gained critical acclaim from a wide spectrum of poets, authors, artists, musicians, academics, community leaders & activists.

tkk also narrates for audiobooks from time to time, and recently recorded her 13th title, “The Fervor,” by Alma Katsu, acknowledged by The New York Times’ “6 Audiobooks to Listen to Now.” Her other recordings include “The Memory Police” (Yoko Ogawa); “The Swimmers” (Julie Otsuka); “Intimacies” (Katie Kitamura); and “Temple Alley Summer,” by Sachiko Kashiwaba and Avery FIscher Udagawa, which garnered tkk a Earphone Award and an Audie Award nomination.

traci is the Director/Co-Founder of Tuesday Night Project; a core artist of Vigilant Love; a longtime supporter of Okaeri; and a lead organizer with the Nikkei Progressives/NCRR Reparations Committee and the newly formed National Nikkei Reparations Coalition.

tkk is a performer and principal writer for PULLproject Ensemble, co-led by aerial artist Kennedy Kabasares, and together with composer Howard Ho and their creative team, developed “TALES OF CLAMOR,” which premiered at the Aratani Theatre Black Box in 2019, and was recently awarded a National Theatre Project grant from NEFA (New England Foundation for the Arts), which support further development of the play and capacity to tour beginning in 2023.

Nikkei interests

  • community history
  • family stories
  • festival/matsuri
  • Japanese/Nikkei food
  • Japantowns
  • art (performance and visual; contemporary and traditional); politics; spiritual practices/religious history; Nikkei diaspora.

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