Stuff contributed by traciakemi
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Transformation
Brandon Shimoda, Emily Mitamura, traci kato-kiriyama
Nothing like biting into the palpable words of poets to dig into the transformation that signifies this season. I had a great time reading the work of the writers we feature here this month on Nikkei Uncovered—Colorado-based Brandon Shimoda and Minneapolis-based Emily Mitamura. Lush and sinuous, resilient and expansive—from Emily’s Grub Mother—“…a …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Fall
Tamiko Beyer, traci kato-kiriyama
The last time we featured Dorchester, MA-based poet, Tamiko Beyer was Spring of 2017, so thought it would be wonderful to have her back to help us usher in Fall with her wonderful work. The selections, from her book Last Days, have a razor’s edge that I love, each line …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
songs
Doris Moromisato, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we are pleased to present two poems in Spanish by Peruvian poet Doris Moromisato Miasato. She is an environmentalist, feminist and Buddhist and these two poems are beautiful tribute songs, one for her father and one for the famous Japanese artist Hokusai. From memories evoked to those imagined, …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Owed to Amy
Nina Chan, Miya Iwataki, Kathy Nishimoto Masaoka, Keiko Ikari Miya, traci kato-kiriyama
To borrow from the title of one of this month’s features, the theme for this month is all about paying homage to one of our most beloved writers, Amy Uyematsu. Amy has been writing and teaching for decades and is going through the fight of her life right now—and what …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Epicanthus
Hiromi Yoshida, traci kato-kiriyama
As we wish you all a wonderful dive into the heat of summer, I am excited to help celebrate the upcoming release of the Epicanthus poetry chapbook by Bloomington, Indiana-based Hiromi Yoshida. While the book’s title harkens toward a condition of obscured views, Hiromi's writing beautifully cuts right through the …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Retracing / Return
Noriko Nakada, Garrett Kurai, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we feature the lovely words of LA-based poets, Noriko Nakada and Garrett Kurai. I've returned to a practice of penning letters, cards, personal messages to be sent by post or out into the ether for recipients I may never actually meet, and when I read through the words …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Dancing in the Clouds
Shō Tanaka, Paulette M. Moreno, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we have the honor of publishing works by two poets who lent their voices to our second annual reading last week for “Nikkei Uncovered”—Shō Tanaka and Paulette M. Moreno. They both took great care in what and how they delivered their words together as a pairing that we …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Hailing
Miya Iwataki, traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we are honored to again feature the fierce Miya Iwataki, a veteran activist, core member of NCRR (Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress), and writer based in Los Angeles. She presents four poems here—an observation of and hailing to the world around her, from the intimate to the …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Year-ending
Amy Uyematsu, Tamiko Nimura, traci kato-kiriyama
As we survey the past year of lockdowns and quarantines that started here in the States by mid-March, 2020, we take stock of a wide spectrum of revelations and experiences over the last twelve months. From new personal practices and experiments in the arena of safer-at-home, to illness and loss, …
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
In this moment
Rino Kodama, Carolee Okamoto, traci kato-kiriyama
While we typically link a theme together from the poems we receive from two or more writers, this month we're featuring two voices whose pieces are situated very personally within their own moments, within their own season. Seattle-based Sansei Carolee Okamoto just began writing in 2017 as a way to …