Join us for our fourth annual virtual poetry reading with a powerful lineup of poets previously featured in Discover Nikkei’s Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column, hosted by traci kato-kiriyama, author of Navigating With(out) Instruments. Featured poets are Christine Kitano, Mia Ayumi Malhotra and Matthew Mejia.
Bios
Christine Kitano is a poet, associate professor of creative writing and literature at Stony Brook University, and author of Sky Country and Birds of Paradise. Her father was incarcerated at Topaz concentration camp and helped found UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center. Her mother immigrated from Korea as a teenager. Kitano’s poetry and scholarship explore these familial legacies.
Mia Ayumi Malhotra is the author of Mothersalt and Isako Isako, a California Book Award finalist and winner of the Nautilus Gold Award, Alice James Award, National Indie Excellence Award, and Maine Literary Award. Her work has been recognized internationally with the Hawker Prize for Southeast Asian Poetry and the Singapore Poetry Prize. She is a founding member of The Ruby SF, a gathering space for women and nonbinary artists.
Matthew Mejia is an American poet and an award-winning professor. He is driven and inspired by his Japanese, Mexican, and Indigenous ancestry. Through art, he heals generations of violence and abuse to unify his communities. In the classroom, he advocates for student success and believes that students are the foundation on which academia stands.
Past Nikkei Uncovered Events
2022 Nikkei Uncovered poetry reading
September 15, 2022
Our third annual virtual poetry reading hosted by traci kato-kiriyama (author of Navigating With(out) Instruments). The poets—Sawako Nakayasu, Emily Mitamura, and Amy Uyematsu—were chosen to reflect on the theme of gathering. What does it mean to gather in a time of physical and social separation? How can poetry bring us together?
2021 Nikkei Uncovered poetry reading
May 13, 2021
This second annual virtual poetry reading hosted by author, poet, and performer traci kato-kiriyama. We reached out to pairs of poets who read works in conversation with each other. Featured pairs: Amy Uyematsu and Miya Iwataki; Curtiss Takada Rooks and Mariko Fujimoto Rooks; and Shō Tanaka and Paulette M. Moreno.
2020 Nikkei Uncovered poetry reading
May 21, 2020
Curated by author, poet, and performer traci kato-kiriyama, the interactive reading and reflection featured Maiya Kuida-Osumi, Courtney Ozaki, Micah Tasaka, and Mitsuye Yamada, followed by a short open mic portion.