Isabella Wang from the Dead Poets Reading series invited me to contribute to their covid pivot of this in-person reading series. I filmed a reading from Mary Oliver’s “New and Selected Poems, Volume 1” in my bedroom a couple months ago.

This reading includes “Some Questions You Might Ask,” “Sunrise,” and the infamous “Wild Geese.”

To be honest, reading poetry aloud from bed is still a mood.

Linked here if you would like to enjoy!

On March 15, 2020, the Dead Poets Reading Series was cancelled due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak, in order to protect the safety and well-being of readers, series organizers, and audience members. But — that doesn’t mean the poetry can’t continue. The video poem, where each poet is asked to share a video of themselves reading, was started by rob mclennan. To keep the sense of community running, and to show our appreciation for audiences like you, organizers decided to bring the Dead Poets Reading Series online. Each poet is invited to honour the works of one dead poet of their choice.

A reading and conversation on a San Francisco SRO with Karen Tei Yamashita

Friday, November 8 from 8-10pm 
InterUrban Gallery, 1 E. Hastings, entrance on Carrall
FREE

Authors Karen Tei Yamashita and Erica Isomura discuss lessons and stories from I Hotel (Coffee House press, 2010) through the context of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood in which low-income, racialized, and stigmatized residents struggle for justice everyday. In a society increasingly divided by race, class, and beyond, what lessons can we take away from Yamashita’s work?

The conversation and reading will be followed with a dialogue featuring members from SRO Collaborative and Right to Remain, and will be open to questions from the audience.

This event is supported by the Powell Street Festival Society as part of the Heart of the City Festival

Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of seven books, including I Hotel, finalist for the National Book Award, and most recently, Letters to Memory, all published by Coffee House Press. Recipient of the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature and a US Artists Ford Foundation Fellowship, she is Professor Emerita of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Looking forward to reading at Word Vancouver’s Magazine Stage at the Vancouver Public Library on Sunday, September 29, 2019 alongside Shashi Bhat, Jane Hamilton Silcott, and Joseph Onodi.

Sunday, September 29, 2019, 2:45pm
MAGAZINE STAGE, room 920
Readings from emerging and established authors reading side by side all of whom have been published in a variety of magazines.

Thank you to subTerrain magazine and SFU’s emerge anthology for hosting this event.

The 43rd annual Powell Street Festival is here! Catch me at the Firehall Theatre on Saturday, August 3. 

re-pronunciation: new works by Yonsei women writing

Saturday, 5:00pm-5:30pm, Firehall Theatre
Erica Hiroko Isomura, Carolyn Nakagawa, and Laura Fukumoto write in and around intersections of contemporary politics, solidarity with marginalized communities, and surviving as millennials in Vancouver. In this live reading, they will share distinct experiences of Japanese Canadian identity through new works of poetry and creative non-fiction.

日系四世の女性作家の最新作。エリカ・ヒロコ・イソムラ、キャロリン・ナカガワ、ローラ・フクモトが現在の政治的背景の中で、社会から疎外されたコミュニティと結束しながらミレニアル世代としてバンクーバーを生き抜いていくことについて書きました。この朗読会では、詩とクリエイティブ・ノンフィクションを通して、日系カナダ人としての経験やアイデンティティを表現します。

Join me on May 18-19th, 2019 for ensoku (“field trip”), a gathering for young-ish Japanese Canadians*. Optional activities will be organized on May 17th and 20th. 

This event takes place on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, including the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. As organizers of this gathering, our mission is to create a space for individuals who identify as having Japanese ancestry to connect, socialize, and have fun. The themes are simple:

🍣 EAT: Participate in a gyoza-making workshop and a delicious dinner at Hapa Izakaya
💬 SHARE: Meet new people and discuss issues that matter such as our mixed-, multi-racial, and/or queer identities, culture, community, and more
🎏 LEARN: Revisit history on a cultural tour of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
🎨 MAKE: Create art with interdisciplinary artists from our community

*Inclusive of anyone of Japanese ancestry, and suggested for folks up to 40 years old

This event is organized by kikiai collaborative, a grassroots network of individuals interested in the history, politics, arts and culture of the Japanese Canadian/Nikkei community.

“Kikiai” (聴き合い) is a Japanese word meaning “listening to each other.” This word represents our group’s philosophy of coming together, mutually supporting, and listening to one another as equals, while also giving a nod to our Japanese Canadian heritage and community links.

Learn more about ensoku here.

If you’re looking for a rad literary event to check out, I will be reading at this poetry night as part of the Perspectives: Anti-Racism Arts Festival at the new Collingwood Neighbourhood House Annex (Boundary x Vanness) on Friday, February 15, 2019.

It’s free to attend.

Looking forward to sharing some new work and hearing from other amazing poets including Jo Billows, Niigaani Binesi, Jane Shi, jaye simpson, and Renée Sarojini Saklikar.

Catch me sharing some poetry at this upcoming event alongside sweet humans and poets, Sam Stouten and Steffi Tad-y. This event is free and lunch is included.

ACAM Dialogues: Afternoon Art & Poetry Reading

On Thurs. November 15, join us for an afternoon of arts and crafts, a guided creative letter-writing activity, and poetry readings featuring local artists! Free lunch and art supplies provided with registration.

Featured poets:
Sam Stouten
Steffi Tad-y
Erica Hiroko

This event is a continuation of the ACAM Dialogues: Mental Health in Asian Canadian Communities. We invite all to attend, while being mindful of what it means to engage in a space of respectful and conscientious dialogue.

This project is generously supported by the Equity Enhancement Fund by the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office.

Please RSVP: bit.ly/ACmentalhealth1115

Space is limited due to venue capacity.

Another successful Powell Street Festival has come and gone and I had so much fun!!

This year was my first time participating as an artist. I joined Emi Sasagawa, Akira Imai, and Kanon Hewitt for “Kids These Days,” a panel discussion featuring emerging queer Nikkei artists, where we talked about why we create art, representation, family, and defying cultural norms and expectations.

I also got to witness the strength of all-women taiko ensemble Jodaiko, cheer on my sister and my partner in the women’s sumo tournament, eat a ton of delicious food (#okonomiyaki, #teamgyoza) , listen to community members share stories in my sister (Kayla Isomura)’s super packed Suitcase Project event at the language school, chill with my qt babes, see family, and smack one of John Endo Greenaway’s taiko drums.

Also, the Tonari Gumi Gardeners sold 150 copies of Our Edible Roots!!! So amazing. If you missed that, Tonari Gumi Gardeners will still have this book for sale in the Tonari Gumi gift shop (42 W. 8th Ave, Vancouver), for order online, and at the official launch party this Fall. See my post listing other upcoming events where you can purchase this book.

Thank you to everyone involved this year ~ festival staff, volunteers, supporters, artists, vendors, community groups ~ for such wholesome & intergenerational fun times.