So last Thursday, I visited Pasadena to speak at PCC as the Visiting API Scholar. Thank you to Kirsten Ogden and Mikage Kuroki for their warmth and hospitality. Whenever I combine API and queer experiences, I notice such an outpouring of sharing and support from people who find themselves juggling identities from one community to […]
1. See the nice bitter melons* at the store, and think, “Wow, I should get some–they are healthy and I think I can prepare them well.” 2. Buy bitter melons and place them in fridge. 3, 4, 5. Open fridge, see bitter melons, and think, “Well, I am not exactly sure how to make these; […]
Sometimes, the chance to do something really neat comes out of the blue. I got an email from elle.com asking if I might recommend a book that I think men should read. To be honest, I thought it was a spam or phishing attempt at first–I have no idea how Elle would have even known […]
I came back from the AWP a couple of weeks ago. It’s about 12,000 writers descending onto a city, bringing with them stories and thoughts, a lot of ambition, and much much talent. This year, the city was Tampa, Florida. I was sharing a panel discussion with Tobi Harper and Quill Press, “Taking up the […]
Hi All, This isn’t a usual post. Might you bear with? See, I need to set something right. This has been bothering since this article came out. I am very grateful to Brown for inviting me, and I had an excellent time there. But sometimes, a misquote or misrepresentation can really hurt people. In this […]
So, this Friday evening, I am reading at Bad Advice From Bad Women. I have no idea what to expect. And I am so looking forward to it, in large part because of that. Lately, I’ve been able to read in more and more readings where I’m not quite sure which way the night is going […]
in some ways because it was an unsent letter to my mother, in other ways because it was handwritten, but, yeah, family stuff. one of the most rewarding things about getting older is that one has time to rethink and reconcile with one’s past. it’s not about making up with one’s parents or family. with […]
I was asked by Iris Mahan and Danielle Barnhart if I might contribute to Women of Resistance–Poems for a New Feminism last year. I was working on my novel (the same one, yes the same one I’m finishing now), but I wrote a poem, “January, After El Niño,” that just came out easily. It wasn’t an […]
I got this in the mail recently: “MEANWHILE ELSEWHERE just won the American Library Association Stonewall Book Awards Barbara Gittings Literature Award!!! This is a mouthful but I think it’s basically is the top LGBTQ fiction/poetry award they give out. Which means: THIS IS HUGE. And as a result your work will probably end up […]
Writing has far less need for boundaries than people do. I worry sometimes, that unlike music, writing is limited by language. However, sometimes the limits don’t matter. This is one of my favorite interviews, with Erin Hawley from Easterseals Thrive. http://www.easterseals.com/thrive/rykaaoki.html