Doris Diosa Davenport invites you to her recurring 100 Thousand Poets and other Artists for Change event.

Please Join the Zoom Meeting: https://appstate.zoom.us/j/2664508844

The Poetry Center is deeply honored to present a poets’ reading and tribute to acclaimed poet, essayist, educator, feminist, and human rights activist, Mitsuye Yamada, to help mark her 100th birthday and the extending influence of her remarkable life and work. This online event is hosted by poets Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda and organized with the kind assistance of Hedi Yamada Mouchard.

This online event is free and open to the public.

Participants include: Marilyn Chin, Chrystos, doris diosa davenport, W. Todd Kaneko, traci kato-kiriyama, Shirley Geok-Lin Lim, Mia Ayumi Malhotra, Cherríe Moraga, and Nellie Wong, in addition to our hosts, Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda.

With the talents of doris davenport, Mitsuye Yamada, Chrystos, Ra Maika Imhotep, Nathalie Nia Faulk, Rasha, and Joanne and James Sweeney.

Join author Diane Fujino, activist-minister Ron Fujiyoshi, and community organizer Miya Sommers in a conversation around Fujino’s newest book, Nisei Radicals: The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada and Michael Yasutake. Fujiyoshi, a long time friend of Yasutake, will share on his experiences working alongside Yasutake with a shared “jubilee liberation praxis.” Sommers will provide context for these stories within the current landscape of Japanese American community organizing. Portions of an interview with Yamada by Fujino will also be shared.

In her new book, Nisei Radicals: The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada and Michael Yasutake, Diane Fujino reveals a radical lineage of Japanese American activism through the lives of feminist poet, Mitsuye Yamada and her brother, Michael Yasutake.

In honor of women’s history month, Diane Fujino will discuss her book and the role that Mitsuye Yamada’s political activism played in building the Asian American and US Third World women’s movements and support for political prisoners. After presenting her book, Fujino will be joined by Yamada for a discussion about the ways her poetry intertwines with her personal life, while also illuminating Japanese American women’s lives, and about the importance of speaking out against racism.

Presented by Densho with Elliott Bay Book Company and the University of Washington Press. Funding for this event was provided, in part, by the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Acclaimed artist, poet, and performer traci kato-kiriyama shares poems each month from the Nikkei community in her monthly column on the DiscoverNikkei.org* website. Traci featured Mitsuye in her February 2019 Column: Circles, Cycles, Commemoration | Discover Nikkei .

Nikkei Uncovered is going Live

Now, Nikkei Uncovered is going live! We have brought together a powerful, intergenerational lineup of poets previously featured in the column to share their poetry in an online reading. Hosted by traci, the interactive reading and reflection will also include a short open mic portion, where viewers will be able to sign up during the program to share their poetry.

Featuring Maiya Kuida-Osumi, Courtney Ozaki, Micah Tasaka, and Mitsuye Yamada.

This program is FREE, but RSVPs are required using the link below. You will be emailed 24 hours before the program with instructions on how to join this Zoom webinar.