A Conversation with Steve Fujimura on “Sad Asian Music”
A Conversation with Steve Fujimura on Sad Asian Music
Tuesday, November 29, 4 pm (Hybrid)
Join Steve Fujimura as he shares his debut book of poetry, Sad Asian Music and reflects on how writing helps navigate memory, loss and identity as a Sansei.
Sad Asian Music traces the social, cultural, and familial connections that form the everyday and extraordinary beauty of Japanese American lives. Fujimura filters popular culture and history, geopolitics and dreams, through the psyche and moral compass of a poet. This volume has heft and ballast, rooted as it is in reflections on white supremacy and the love that overcomes tragedy. –Amanda Mei Kim, writer
Steve Fujimura is a poet based in Berkeley, California. His writing engages with memory, history, loss, and family. His work can be found in New American Writing, Milvia Street Art & Literary Journal, Essential Truths: The Bay Area in Color, and other publications. He has participated in programs with The Community of Writers in CA, the Berkeley Poetry Festival, the Hweilan International Artist Workshop in Taiwan, and Kearny Street Workshop’s APAture festival. Steve earned an MA in creative writing at San Francisco State University. He is from San José, CA. 
Sad Asian Music will be on sale for $20. Steve Fujimura will be available to sign the book on Nov 29. The book can also be reserved for purchase and pick-up at J-Sei’s Holiday Marketplace on December 4th. The conversation will be moderated by Jonathan Hirabayashi. RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Sad Asian Music” in the subject line. Please indicate in-person or online.
Ashley Darnall grew up in the Chicago suburbs, the daughter of two Japanese teachers, who taught her the value of learning new languages and cultures. After college she lived in France for 3 years, where she worked as a game writer. Ashley was accepted into the 2017-2018 WB Writer’s Workshop. Her staffing credits include ABC’s WHISKEY CAVALIER, Apple’s sci-fi drama INVASION, and HBO Max’s crime series TOKYO VICE. She has developed with Justin Lin’s company Perfect Storm Entertainment as well as written a rom-com feature for Erik Feig’s company Picturestart. Most recently, Ashley wrote and produced on Netflix’s hit show COBRA KAI. Ashley speaks French and Japanese, and she is a die-hard US women’s soccer fan.
Currently a writer/producer on the upcoming Sony/Disney+ series GOOSEBUMPS, Franklin jin Rho has previously written on PACHINKO, SWAMP THING, and THE EXORCIST. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Franklin grew up with a passion for auteur-driven arthouse cinema that ultimately led him to the Directing Program at the AFI Conservatory. His thesis film THE MONSTER AND THE PEANUT, which played at myriad film festivals, was the recipient of a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and won the first prize Emmy® for Best Dramatic Student film in 2004 from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Prior to breaking into television, Franklin was a Film Independent Project Involve Directing Fellow and a Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) New Writers Fellow.
Julie Wong is a Co-Executive Producer in her sixth season at ABC’s medical drama GREY’S ANATOMY. Prior to writing for television, Julie wrote speeches and crafted press conferences while serving as Deputy Mayor to L.A. Mayor Jim Hahn and leading communications for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, among others. She also served in multiple executive roles for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where she was involved with major initiatives including the opening of Shanghai Disneyland and the announcement of Star Wars lands coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Julie participated in the CAPE New Writers Fellowship and the CBS Writers Mentoring Program, and holds a degree in government from Claremont McKenna College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University.
Michelle K. Sugihara is the Executive Director of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), the pioneering non-profit professional organization creating systemic change in Hollywood from the writers’ room to the boardroom to the living room. She is a fourth generation Japanese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She graduated with honors from Claremont McKenna College with a dual major in Economics and Psychology and a minor in Asian American Studies, followed by a law degree from UCLA. Prior to joining CAPE, she was an entertainment attorney, film producer, and adjunct professor for the Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies.