Thanks to Paul E. Nelson for talking to me about ENSO here.

Reviewed by Jessica Kai Curry here.

I’m hosting a new series at Town Hall that launches on January 30th.

We’ve had some nice press here:
Seattle Review of Books
South Seattle Emerald
Northwest Asian Weekly
Cascadia Magazine
Crosscut

Please join us for our inaugural program which will feature Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma.

“Embarkation” starts at 1:27:09. Seattle Channel will air on their broadcast TV channels (21 or 321 HD on Comcast) at 8 p.m., Dec. 30.

You can listen to tracks from ENSO here.

Since May, I’ve been quietly doing a letterpress residency at Editions in Georgetown. I’m learning how to hand set type, print, and do simple bindings. By mid-2020, I’ll produce a limited edition broadside and artist book in collaboration with artist Zeynep Alev. We’re working on making a book with an embedded sound device that will play the sound of nightingale floors when opened and features my poem “Cloisters.”

I wrote the exhibition panels for The Wing Luke Museum’s new show “Where Beauty Lies” and my son Tomo and I are also featured in the show. Look for us in the last gallery next to the Bahto selfie station.

These are some images from my performance at Ampersand Live! I am so grateful to my community for helping to support this performance – Vanessa DeWolf and Jane Kaplan advised me on performing the piece, Scott Keva James made the video, Yeh Mimi supplied the raw footage, and Rebecca Bartinetti made the amazing dress which we projected onto.

The galley is printed and ENSO will be out in March 2020. Book release party at Hugo House on April 23rd. I’ll be giving out 108 clay tsa-tsas to commemorate the publication.

In collaboration with Town Hall, I am launching a new poetry series called Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets. The series seeks to explore the social role of poetry, as it gives voice and attention to the human experience.

The series kicks off on January 30, 2020, with a reading by poet and magician Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma. He will have an onstage conversation with poet Melanie Noel. Musical interludes will be provided by kora player Ibrahim Arsalan. Other events throughout the spring include a program on poetry and displacement with Koon Woon on March 19; and a reading with Prageeta Sharma, who will talk about poetry and grief, on June 25. Speakers Forum will record and distribute the program for KUOW. If you’d like to make a donation to support Lyric World, which is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike, you can do so here.