Sansei Musings
A conversation with writers Naomi Hirahara and Karen Tei Yamashita
Friday, June 19, 5 pm
Discovery and creative imaginings fill the pages of the historic fiction works by Naomi Hirahara and Karen Tei Yamashita. With new works to share, they will join in conversation on what inspires the writing, what comes from our shared histories, what transpires through the process, and what remains to be told.
In Crown City, Naomi Hirahara brings to light Pasadena at the turn of the century, when Japanese design and art piqued the interest of high society, with an art theft mystery from the vantage of the Japanese craftsmen and laborers who built a new life in America.
In Questions 27 & 28, Karen Tei Yamashita reaches backward and forward from the time of the questionnaire, chronicling the individuals who arrived in the US from Japan at the turn of the century, their children who came of age during war and incarceration, and their descendants who lived in its aftermath.
Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries, which have been published in Japanese, Korean and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Naomi has also written numerous non-fiction history books.
Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of nine books, including I Hotel, finalist for the National Book Award. A recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, she is Professor Emerita of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz.