【gamabar lucah】Uyematsu Releases New Book of Poems

L.A. Sansei Amy Uyematsu has just released her fourth poetry collection,gamabar lucah “The Yellow Door” (Red Hen Press).

Her poems celebrate her Japanese American roots and chronicle some of the profound changes that have occurred in her lifetime.

On Saturday, May 2, at 2 p.m., she will read from “The Yellow Door” at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo. Musician Taiji Miyagawa will accompany on string bass.

She will also perform at the Poetry Stage this Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on the USC campus.

Uyematsu is the author of three previous poetry books: “30 Miles from J-Town” (1992), winner of the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize; “Nights of Fire, Nights of Rain” (1998); and “Stone Bow Prayer” (2005). She was the co-editor of the widely-used UCLA anthology “Roots: An Asian American Reader.”

Recently retired from the L.A. Unified School District, Uyematsu taught math at Grant, Granada Hills, and Venice high schools. She is currently teaching a writing workshop at the Little Tokyo Service Center’s Far East Lounge.

In “The Yellow Door,” Uyematsu writes from the perspective of the baby-boomer Sansei generation who knew their Issei immigrant grandparents, grew up when Little Tokyo was still a bustling and vibrant center for Japanese American families in Southern California, and now are old enough to be having grandchildren of their own.

Her six decades in Los Angeles are captured in poems that link Hokusai woodblock paintings to her grandparents’ journeys to California, trace Sansei dances at Parkview to Buddhist Obon festivals still going on, and recount the yellow stereotypes of her youth to changing notions of Asian American identity.

The collection’s opening poem, “Riding the Yellow Dragon,” celebrates the color yellow going back to ancient Asia. Readers unfamiliar with the “yellow power movement” are introduced to such historical markers as Gidra, the groundbreaking L.A. movement newspaper, and activists like the late Yuji Ichioka, who is credited with introducing the now universally accepted term “Asian Americans.”

Uyematsu pays homage to her Issei and Nisei ancestors, including their vital contributions to the nurseries, farms, and gardens of Southern California. A genuine product of the ’60s, she adds her own L.A. Buddhahead twist to what it means to be Japanese American in the 20^thand 21^stcenturies.

Articles for you

• recreation
• focus
• fashion
• relaxation
• hotspot
• synthesize
• knowledge
• explore

• Illustrator Yoshimura to Attend Signings
• Lying in State
• Is Patriarchy Too Big to Fail?
• Arctic sea ice drops below a grim benchmark in 2020
• Vitality overpower BIG to earn BLAST Fall Final berth
• Volkswagen China names new technology chief to step up EV, software rollout · TechNode
• Best coffee machine deal: Save 25% on Philips Series 3300 espresso machine
• Shein’s valuation drops to $45 billion amid investigations and stalling IPO: report · TechNode
• Female filmmakers lead this anthology shedding light on women's issues globally
• The Long Arm of the Law

• WebX 2024 in Japan
• Tranching Protocol Integrates with Major Blockchains, Optimizes Yield Strategies and Arbitrage
• ‘Utayabira Wuduyabira’ at Armstrong Theatre
• Spring ‘Far East Feast’ on May 20 in Pasadena
• Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival Set for April 22
• Valley JCC Obon —?‘A Wonderful Sight’
• CoinGecko Announces Inaugural Hybrid Conference in Bangkok
• Poodlana Prepares for Listing in 2 Days
• The Internet Computer (ICP) Global Townhall 2.0
• Living National Treasure to Perform Kyogen

• ‘The Wind Rises’ Nominated for Golden Globe
• ByteDance's PICO vice president resigns to lead cross
• Former Meituan VP to lead JD’s delivery arm Dada: report · TechNode
• miHoYo’s Genshin Impact records lowest complaint handling rate in Q4 2023 · TechNode
• Obon Carnival and Dance at Nishi Hongwanji
• Impossible Contradictions
• Best Apple M4 MacBook Pro deal: Lowest
• Tesla shares plunge to nine
• sh1ro stars as Cloud9 overcome Imperial in IEM Rio Major elimination series
• Oppo and Nokia settle patent dispute · TechNode

• BIG knock ENCE out of BLAST Fall Final contention
• The Original Peloton bike is $300 off at Amazon
• BOE overtakes Samsung in foldable display market in Q4 2023 · TechNode
• JD seals second partnership with CCTV Spring Festival Gala amid lackluster growth · TechNode
• 'Awesome Autumn' Activities at JANM
• Best robot vacuum deal: Save $600 on Dreame X40 Ultra
• Hurricane Laura's impact lingered with nightmarish mosquito swarms
• Pod Save Antarctica
• Nisei Cartoonist Jack Matsuoka Dies at 87
• Unnamed and Unsurveilled