Thank you to the editors of The Volta for publishing “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Teacher Resource” in the March 2019 issue.
Join Yonsei Memory Project on Feb 17, 2019...
Nikiko Masumoto and I are facilitating YMP’s 2nd annual “Memory Bus Ride,” FEBRUARY 17, 2019, 8:30AM-11:30AM. RSVP HERE! Community members and educators are invited to travel through local Fresno history, visiting important Japanese American sites of memory. Together, we will explore local stories through monuments, creative engagement, and conversations. Dialogue will be curated to ask about how we can support public education about Japanese American history and to draw connections with important contemporary concerns about civil liberties and xenophobia in America. This unique journey through memory is not to be missed! Reserve your spot via our RSVP form.
The Memory Bus Ride is YMP’s contribution to Day of Remembrance (DOR) weekend, an important annual date for reflecting on civil liberties, struggles for justice, and Japanese American memories of the World War II incarceration.
The Memory Ride will begin at the Fresno Fairgrounds, Chance Avenue entrance, at 8:30am, and will return to the Fairgrounds by 11:30am. All are welcome and seating is limited! We hope you can join us.
After the bus ride, the Central California District Council of the Japanese American Citizens League will be holding their annual Day of Remembrance luncheon at the Fresno Fairgrounds, 12pm-3pm. We hope you can attend! Please contact Travis Nishi and download flyer for details: tsnishi@aol.com.
Storytelling for Change: A New YMP Fellowship Program Based in Fresno, CA
Very excited to announce Yonsei Memory Project's "Storytelling for Change" Fellowship. The program will train new and experienced writers, artists, activists, organizers, educators, students, and local community members in the power of crafting and telling detailed, heart-moving, and inspiring personal stories that touch upon themes of civil injustice, civil liberties, and resilience. Do you have a story to tell? Please apply by September 1st!
Days of Remembrance in Fresno, CA - Please Join Us!
Join the Yonsei Memory Project (YMP) for a special weekend (Feb 17-19, 2018) commemorating the signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of the Japanese American community during World War II. More information here.
Poetry on San Francisco's MUNI...
Be on the look out for woman warrior poems on San Francisco's MUNI buses... More on the launch here.
"The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and San Francisco Beautiful (SFB) today announced the five winners of the 2018 Muni Art Project. This year’s theme is “The Art of Poetry in San Francisco”. The five winning artists will have their newly created work presented along with five poems selected by the Poetry Society of America, all by local poets, displayed on 100 Muni buses that will be transformed into rolling art galleries throughout San Francisco beginning in January 2018."
Poetic Tuesdays, Sept 19th in downtown SF
Excited to host these folks! Facebook invite. Website. Lines and lyrics from Litquake Nation! Enjoy line breaks during your lunch break, as some of the Bay Area’s best poets and musicians share their work in the great outdoors. With James Cagney, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Bruce Snider, Aimee Suzara and Hierophonic.
Free lunchtime poetry reading on 7/11, Yerba Buena in downtown SF
I get to host these amazing poets, on Tuesday July 11!
Poem in the "Discover Nikkei" Poetry Column
Thank you, Traci Kato-Kiriyama and Discover Nikkei for publishing a brand new poem, "Things I Never Knew I Loved."
Power Made Us Swoon
Power Made Us Swoon (Red Hen Press, 2016) was a finalist for the 2017 BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY MILT KESSLER POETRY BOOK AWARD and the 2017 PATERSON POETRY PRIZE
LitQuake @ the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival - May 9
I get to host these fine folks, on May 9th in downtown San Francisco! Details here and here.
3 New Poems in Waxwing Literary Journal
"February 19, 1942", "Theses on the Philosophy of History" and "November 9, 2016" in Waxwing.
Thank you, Lantern Review
A shout-out in Lantern Review's latest blog post, "APIA Poetry Collections to Carry with You into 2017."
Interview & Reading with CIIS' Dean of Diversity & Inclusion
This talk and reading was part of California Institute of Integral Studies' "Brown Bag Lunch Series."
I'm blogging about coffee and poetry...
for Nomadic Ground coffee, a progressive network of artists, journalists, and coffee roasters in San Francisco.
On bravery, energy, and emotion in poetry
Thanks, Drunken Boat, for the invitation to write for the blog. Some thoughts on Muriel Rukeyser's idea that "the work that a poem does is a transfer of human energy."
Interview podcast with Switchback Radio
Radio! Thanks to Hays Berry, Rafael Herrero, and MFA program at USF for this opportunity. "The world is always better with poetry. Listen to Brynn Saito talk about poetry in this wonderful interview with fellow poet Hays Berry. Let Brynn Saito read to you some of her poems and explain how her life and past have shaped her poetry..."
Review of Power Made Us Swoon in Drunken Boat
"Dragon Memories Like Stones: Documenting Self and Nation in Power Made Us Swoon" by Lynley(Shimat) Lys.
Poem in the NY Times
"Stone on Watch at Dawn" selected by Matthew Zapruder.
Quiet Lightning & Artspan at Modern Eden Gallery
We wrote about art.
"Who Gets to Speak for Us?"
A beautiful and thoughtful blog post by Lantern Review editors.
Lantern Review readers and editors celebrate community during our April 16th event at the American Bookbinders Museum. (Photograph by David Lai)