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Home , Milton Murayama, Shawn Wong, Toshio Mori

PACIFIC NORTHWEST ASIAN AMERICAN WRITERS CONFERENCE June 29 - July 2, 1976 NOTES ON PARTICIPANTS

FRANK CHIN: b. 1940, Berkeley, California. Drama: THE CHICKENCOOP CHINAMAN; THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON; GEE POP! Chin has also published fiction and essays, and is one of the editors of AIIIEEEEE! AN ANTHOLOGY OF ASIAN AMERICAN WRITE S. Chin's THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON was retelecast on June 12 in theTFf~AL IN AMERICA series on KCTS 9. THE YE AR OF THE DRAGON is a tender portrait of a Chinatown ram"l1y torn by cont.end; ng forces of tradi t i on and ass imi 1a ticn. The nationally broadcast performance was produced by the American Piace Theater for Theater in Ameri ca. Author Chin spent many years in Seattle, associated with KING BroCl.dcasting Company. In 1966, he produced "S.R.T., Act Two" for KING-TV, and in 1969, 11 ~1ary" and "Rainlight Rainvision" for King Screens. Chin also served as film consultant for Western Washington State College from 1969-70. Chin resides in San Francisco and has been in Seattle since June 6 to direct The Asian Exclusion Act performance of "Nisei Bar & Grill ," a two-act play by Garrett Kaoru Hongo. The play will premiere on July 2, 1976,8 p.m., at the UW Ethnic Cultural Theater, corner of Brooklyn Ave. N.E. & N. E. 40th St. "Nisei Bar & Grill" will also run on July 3,8,9, and 10,8 p.m., at the. EC Theater. All performances will be free and open to the public, thanks to a grant from the Seattle Arts Commission. Chin will lead the Asian American Writers Conference drama workshops, 9:00-noon, June 30, July 1 and 2, Ethnic Cultural Center, 3931 Brooklyn Ave.N.E.

" HISAYE YAMAMOTO DESOTO: b. 1921, Redondo Beach, California. Fiction: published in KASHU MAINICHI; RAFU SHIMPO; CROSSROADS; SANGYUO NIPPO; THE POSTON CHRONICLE; NE WCANADIAN; NEW PACIFIC; PARTISAN REVIEW; KENYON REVIEW; CARLETON MISCELLANY / (FURIOSO); HARPER'S BAZAAR; BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES OF 1952; YARDBIRD READER Y.QL . 3; AITTF EEEE!; and othe r periodical s and anthologi es . Poetry : RAFU SHIMPO. Hisaye Yamamoto DeSoto is one of the first Asian An~rican writers to establish herself as a literary artist.Wakako Yamauchi descri bes in AIIIEEEEE! how her friend Hisaye has inspired her since before vJWII: "We subscribed to a Japanese paper and I used to enjoy Hisaye Yamamoto's column in the English section. I remember \',hen I first discovere.d the column, I frantically searched through back issues to see if lid missed any. She was very young but she wrote with \'1it and whimsy even then." DeSoto will partiCipate in the Conference fiction writing workshops and we As i an Arne ri can Women v/ritet;:,! Presen ta t ion. She wi 11 read in the Conference I s opening program on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 29.

1 (PNWAAWC: Notes on Participants)

. . ' ...... PROFESSOR N. V. M. GONZALEZ: b. 1915, Romblon, Philippines. His fiction includes: THE WINDS OF APRIL; SEVEN HILLS AWAY; CHILDREN OF THE ASH-COVERED ~LON~ AND OT HER STORIES; A SEASON OF GRACE; THE BAMBOO DANCERS; LOOK, STRANGER, ON THIS ISLAND NOW; and numerous other publications appearing in literary reviews and anthologies. Prof. Gonzalez has won all the major Philippine literary awards as well as fellowships, grants, and awards from the . Since 1968, he has been a professor of English at California State University, Hayward. Prof. Gonzalez wi 11 del i ver a free pub 1i c 1ecture, liThe P1 anti ng and Har­ vesting of Metaphors, Or the Stories We Can Tell ," in 110 Kane Hall, UW, at 8 p.m., Tuesday, June 29. Prof. Gonzalez has written that his lecture will deal with "what can be done at the present tirre by writers and readers, in and out of the university, for and on behalf of more literature by Asian Americans. 1I He will speak on ll ma terials and tools, and the tas.k of making and recognizing writina and writers." The lecture will be partially funded by the UW Institute for Comparative and Foreign Area Studies. Prof. Gonzalez will also teach a mi ni-course. "Problems of Mean ing in Fiction," from 9 to 11 a.m., June 30, July 1, and July 2, at the Ethnic Cultural Center. The course, part of the Pacific Northwest Asian American Writers · Conference, will focus on the question, "What is the author trying to say?" Prof. Gonzalez describes it as a "cours~ on hO\'/ to read short stories."

JESSICA TARAHATA HJ'I.GEDORN: b. 1948, Manila, Philippines, arrived in America at the age of fourteen . Poetry and prose: DANGEROUS MUSIC; also published in FOUR YOUNG WO~1 EN: AN ANTHOLOGY, ed. by Kenneth Rexroth; MOUNTAIN MOVING DAY, ed. by Elaine Gill; TIME TO GREEZ!; YARDBIRD READER, VOL. 4. Hagedorn co-edited THIRD WORLD WOMEN, in which her work also appears. Drama: CHIQUITA BANANA, written and produced for television in 1972. Besides writing poetry, fiction, and drama, Hagedorn leads The West Coast Gangster Choir, an innovative jazz band in San Francisco. In a review of the Gangste.r Choir, Kathy MacKay of the S. F. Sunday Examiner & Chronicle wrote: "Hagedorn has been an active voice in Third World culture for several years. With four volumes of poetry published, and drawing on her background in poetry, theater and dance, she is now introducing innovations into San Francisco's poetry scene." .Hagedorn will be active in the Conference poetry workshops, 9 a.m. to noon, June 30, July 1 and 2, at the Ethnic Cultural Center . She will read from her ..--__~....,...._ ~own works in a program beginning at 8 p.m. ~ Julv 1. in Kane Hal 220 . GARRETT KAORU HONGO: b. 1951, Hilo, . Poetry: published in numerous reviews, including CAFE SOLO, BACHY, GREENFIELD R~VIEW, MOMENTUM, THE SPECTATOR, and PUGET SOUNDINGS. Hongo has won the Spectator Poetry Prize (1973) and the Hopwood Poetry Prize (University of Michigan, 1975). Hongo has taught Asian Ameri can Literature at the Universi ty of Washington and is the managi ng di rector of The Asian Exclusion Act, the Seattle drama ensemble which recently produced THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON and Wakako Yamauchi's AND THE SOUL SHALL DANCE. Hongo will edit a special issue of THE GREENFIELD REVIEW dedicatert to the Conference. Hongo's two-act play, "Nisei Bar & Grill ," will premiere July 2,8 p.m., at the UW Ethnic Cultural Theater, to cap off the Conference. The drama is set in a Chicago bar run and frequented by Nisei from Hawaii. The building housing the bar and barflies is about to be demolished to make way for an auto . showroom. The drama centers on the tensions triggered by the pending eviction from the building. is directing the play, which will be performed free and open to the pub 1i c.

2 : b. 1938, Fresno, California. Poetry: BEFORE THE WAR: POEMS AS THEY HAPPENED; also published in many periodicals. Along with Frank Chin, Jeffery Paul Chan, and Shawn Wong, Inada is editor of AIIIEEEEEI AN ~ ~NTHOLOGY OF ASIAN AMERICAN WRITERS. Inada teaches in the English Department oT Sout11ern Oregon Coll ege (Ashland) and has read his poetry throughout the Northwest. Inada will be featured in the Conference poetry workshops, a reading at 8 p.m., June 30, in Kane Hall 220, and in a panel discussion on works of , 3 p.m., July 1, in the UW HUB. LONNY KANEKO: b. 1939, Seattle. Poetry: published in PUGET SOUNDINGS; COUNTERPOINT; JAWBONE; NIAGARA; KANSAS QUARTERLY; and elsewhere. Fiction: published in AMERASIA JOURNAL; YARDBIRD V; PLAYBOY. Kaneko has given readings at Seatt1e public schools and on KUOW, and is regularly a poetry panelist for the Northv,jest Writers Conference. He resides in Tukwila and teaches English at Highline Commu ni ty Co ll ege, Hhe re he i .:; chairperson of t he Humanities Division. Kaneko v.Ji 1"1 }'ead in the June 30 program, 8 p. m., 220 Kane Hall. ALAN LAU: b. 1948, Oroville, California. Poetry: published in PANACHE; BRIDGE; FUSE; THE KYOTO REVIEW;AION, YARDBIRD READER III; EAST/WEST NEWSPAPER, and forthcoming in AMERASIA JOURNAL; THE SECOND COMING; GREENFIELD REVIEW. Lau will read in the June 30 evening program for the Conference. His reading is sponsored by the UW Asian Students Association and the Associated Students . LAUREEN MAR: b. 1953, Seattle. Poetry: published in NORTHWEST REVIEW; INTRO 7; and ASSAY, with publications forthcoming in MADEMOISELLE and GREENFIELD 'RE VIEW. '. Her prizes and awards for poetry and for aca demic distinction include the Loren D. Milliman Award (finalist, 1975); Northwest Poets Contest; the Marie K. Dearborn Award (1975); and the AcadelTlY of American Poets A~/ard (first place, University of Washi~gton, 1975). Mar graduated from the UW, magna cum laude, and resides in Seattle. Mar will lead the Asian American Women Writers' presentation beginning at 9 a.m., July 2, at the Ethnic Cultural Center. She will read from her own works in the June 30 evening program, as well as participate in the Conference poetry workshops. JAMES MASAO MITSUI: b. 1940 . Skvkomish . Washinoton . PoetrY ; JOURNAL QF THE SUN , won the Pacific Nort hwest Bookse-'i lers A~/ ard for-Poetry. Also publ 'ished ln NEW YORK QUARTERLY; NORTHWEST REVIEW; PACIFIC SEARCH; POETRY NORTHWEST; CHARITON REVIE W; WEST COAST POETRY REVIEW; COPPERHEAD; WATERFRONT REVIEW; THE PACIFIC; THE WASHINGTON REVIEW; PUGET SOUNDINGS; RAVEN; CHARAS; INSCAPE; HIPPOCRENE; MADRONA. Mitsui has read his poems extensively in the Northwest, and he will be teaching in the poetry workshop at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference this sumJrer at Pacific Lutheran University. His second book, CROSSING THE PHANTOM RIVER, contains 60 poems, currently in manuscript form. Mitsui will lead the Asian American Writers Conference pnetry workshops. He excels as a poetry writing teacher . Students of his at Lindbergh High School, Renton, have won awards for work created under Mitsui's guidance and encouragement. Mitsui urges even those who have never written poetry to work with him in the Conference's morning sessions. He will read from his own work in the Conference program beginning at 8 p:m., July 1, in Kane Hall 220. (PNWAAWC: Notes on Participants)

TOSHIO . MORI: b. 1910, Oakland, California. Fiction: YOKOHAMA, CALIFORNIA. A pioneer As';an American writer, Mori has also published in numerous periodicals and anthologies. During WWII, Mori was Camp Historian at Topaz Center, Utah, where he organized the Documentation Department. He is an expert on the literature that proliferated in the camps where were incar­ cerated during WWII. Toshio Mori is an honored participant in the Asian American Writers Conference. He will read from his short stories and novels at 3:30 p.m., June 29, in the UW HUB, and will participate in the 3 p.m. panel discussion on July 1, also in the HUB. : a Nisei, b. in Lahaina, , Hawaii. Fiction: :'\LL I ASKING FOR IS MY BODY, his first book, but his fifth book : length manuscript. Murayama served as an interpreter in the U.S. Army in India and China, WWII. Murayama's Hawaiian childhood and his univeristy studies in literature, philosophy, Chinese and Japa nes e inform his novel. Murayama will lead the Conference ficti on workshops . He 'viil1 read in the 3 p.m., June 29 program in the HUB, and will join a panel discussion on "Problems. Pleasures, and Implications of Writing in Dialect and Mixed Languages," 1 :30 p.m., July 1, in the HUB. PROFESSOR : b. 1911, Tondo, Manila, Philippines. Fiction: VILLA MAGDALENA; THE VOLCANO; THE PRAYING MAN; THE MAN WHO (THOUGHT HE) LOOKED LIKE ROBERT TAYLOR; YOU LOVELY PEOPLE; BROTHER MY BROTHER; THE DAY THE DANCERS CAME. Poetry: THE WOUNDED STAG. Professor Santos has taught for six yeat"s in the Writers Workshop, University of Iowa, and is currently teaching at Wichita State University, Kansas. Prof. Santos will lecture on liThe Filipino as Exile," 1:30 p.m., June 30, in the UW HUB. He w'ill read in the Conference evening program for June 30. STEPHEN HIRO SUMIDA: b. 1946, Aiea, Hawaii. Conference coordinator. Sumida is a doctoral candidate in the UW Department of English, with major work in Renaissance English literature. After receiving his baccalaureate degree in English from Amherst College, 1968, Sumida spent a year at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, on a teaching fellowship, and received his M.A. in English literature, Columbia University, 1970. He has taught for three years at the University of Havlai; and has recently completed his teaching at the University of Washington. Su mida. \4f il1 participate in the Conference panel or. IIWriting in Dia-lect and Mi xed Languages. II along with Mi Han Murayama and Ray Ts uchiyama, 1: 30 p.m., July 1, in the HUB. His participation will be funded by the UW Asian Student Association and the Associated Students University of Washington. Sumida is. also featured as Harry, proprietor of Nisei Bar & Grill. in Hongo's play. In May ~f this year Sumida appeared as Oka in Wakako Yamauchi's AND THE SOUL SHALL DANCE at the Ethnic Cultural Theater. SHAWN HSU WONG: b. 1949, Oakland, California. Fiction: rpcently completed ~~s novel, GOOD LUCK, HAPPINESS AND LONG LIFE. Co-editor c~ AIIIEEEEE! and . YARDBIRD READER II I- Teaches in the Asian American Studies and the Creative Wr1t lng Deaprtments at San Francisco State Unviersity, and is Co-director of the Combined Asian American Resources Project, Inc. (C.A.R.P.), San Francisco. Wong \'J .jll be active in .the fiction workshops for the Conference. He will read in the Conference evening program for July 1 in 220 Kane Hall.

4 (PNWAAWC: Notes on Participants)

WAKAKO YAt~AUCHI: b. 1924, Westmoreland, California. Fiction: published in AIIIEEEEE!; YARDBIRD READER VOL. 3; AMERASr.n. JOURNAL; forthcoming in COUNTER­ "POINT. Drama: AND THE SOUL _ SHALL DANCE, premiered at the UW Ethnic Cultural Theater , May 13, 1976. Yawauchi is currently with the East-West Players, of Los Angeles, where she is Playwright-in-Residence on a Rockefeller grant. Yamauchi is featured in the fiction and drama workshops. She will read in the July 1 evening program and join Hisaye Yamamoto DeSoto, , and Laureen ~1ar for the Asian American Women Writers I Presentation beginning at 9 a.m., Friday, July 2, at the Ethnic Cultural Center.

We are grateful to the following persons who are contributing their ideas in various Conference programs: FRED CORDOVA: Manager of Press Services of the University of Washington; a moder ator/founder of the Filipino Youth Activities. DR. JESSE HIRAOKA: Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Western Washington State College, Bellingham; editor of THE JOURNAL OF ETHNIC STUDIES. DR. SAM SOLBERG: Asian American Studies Program, UW; leader of the Asian American Studies X499 extension credit program in the Conference; instructor for AAS 400, "Asian American Literary Experience. 1I RAY TSUCHIYAMA: Student at Western Washington State College; novelist and short story writer, published in THE JOURNAL OF ETHNIC STUDIES.

5 Addendum to Notes on Participants MOMOKO IKO: b. 1940, Wapato, Washington. Spent her childhood (1942-1945) in the Heart Mountain Concentration Camp and believes that mute time has colored her life more than any other experience. Her plays THE OLD MAN and THE GOLD WATCH won the East-West Players playwriting contests in 1970 and 1971. She received a B.A. degree from the University of Illinois in 1961 and attended the University of Iowa and Istitudo Allende in Mexico. She edited and contributed to the IIAsian Lib~ration" newsletter in Chicago where she now lives. She has a novel in progress, SECOND CITY FLAT, and her play THE GOLD WATCH has been televised for Public Broadcasting Systems future broadcast. Ms. Iko will be joining the Conference from Wednesday, June 30, through July 2.

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(PNWAAWC: Notes on Participants)

WAKAKO YAMAUCHI: b. 1924, Westmoreland, California. Fiction: pub1ishe'd in AIIIEEEEE!; YARDBIRD READER VpL. 3; AMERASIA JOURNAL; forthcoming in COUNTER- • POINT. Drama: AND THE SOUL SHALL DANCE, premiered at the UW Ethnic Cultural \ VJ ( Theater, May 13, 1976. Yamauchi is 'currently with the East-West Pl ayers. of ~ Los Angeles. where she is Playwright-in-Residence on a Rockefeller grant. Yamauchi is featured in the fiction and drama workshops. She will read in the July 1 evening program and join Hisaye Ya. mamoto DeSoto, J. esSic.q Hagedorn, ~ • and Laureen Mar for the Asian American Women Writers· Presentation beginning .;";~:~:.. I ' at 9 a.m .• Friday, July 2, at the.Ethnic Cultural Ceflter., " 'Il ,'.:,\",l>" :t' ,_ ",,:" I We are grateful to the follow; ng persons ~ho are cp~tr';b:~~ : :~;~\~:~: : ~ .,'~ :':,,} \ var i ous Conference programs: ' ' " . I ., I FRED CORDOVA: Manager of Press Servi ces of the ~nive'rsity of wa~hingto~; a moderator/founder of the Fi1 ipino Youth Activities. ' .' " , '. , '\. I { -; " .:..t DR. JESSE HIRAOKA: Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Western Washington h• State College. Bellingham; editor of THE JOURNAL OF ETHNIC Sl1:IDIES. '; . . . . DR. SAM SOLBERG: Asian American Studies Program. UW; leader of the Asian Ameri can Studies X499 extensi on credit program in the Conference'; instructor' for AAS 400. "Asian American Literary Experience~1I " , RAY TSUCHIYAMA: Student at Western Washington State College; ,novelist and short story writer. published in THE JOURNAL OF 'ETHNIC STUDIES. , f "i,

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'. Addendum to Notes on Participants MOMOKO IKO: b. 1940. Wapato, Washington. Spent her childhood (1942-1945) in the -=-_____-=-=-..-.:.. Heart t1;1 nt. 'n ncentration Camo and believes that mute time has colored her life more than any other experience. Her plays THE 0 D' MAN and THE GOLD WATCH won - ­ the East-West Players playwriting contests in 1970 anq 1971. She received a B• .A. degree from the University of Illinois in 1961 and attended the University of Iowa and Istitudo Allende in Mexico. She edited anq contributed to the "Asian Lib~ration" news1etter in Chicago where she now lives. She has a novel in progress, SECOND CITY FLAT. and her play THE GOLD WATCH has been televised for Public Broadcasting Systems future broaqcast. . Ms. Iko will be joining the Conference from Wednesday, June 30. through July 2. .

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