September 22, 2022–Arts Etc. – The International Examiner

Visual Arts

Seattle artist Junko Yamamoto has a display of her unique hanging fabric sculptures in a public display case now at the 505 Union Station Building. It’s located just past the former CID Starbucks just before one crosses the street over to the Pioneer Square side. The installation can be viewed 24/7. The artist is represented by J. Rinehart Gallery  where she will have a solo show in 2023 as well as Gallery 4 Culture.

“Z.Z. Wei – 30 Year Odyssey: Exploring American Landscapes”. The works in this milestone exhibition capture the longstanding interest Wei has had in rural America. The landscape has been important throughout his career, acting as a conduit to a lifestyle that is more intimate and connected to nature. On view through  September 29, 2022. Patricia Rovzar Gallery. 1111 1st Avenue in Seattle. Hours are Tues. – Sat., 11am – 5pm. 206-223—0273 or try www.rovzargallery.com.

“Humaira Abid – Fight Like a Girl” The show’s title, lifted from protest signs used in women’s marches around the world, refers to Abid’s interest in and concern with the way women are oppressed in many parts of contemporary societies. The exhibition explores the struggles and the strength revealed by those struggles. Her sculptures and installations are an inventive combination of carved wood and painting that explore politics, religion, taboo and societal stereotypes.On view now through October 29, 2022 at Greg Kucera Gallery. 212 Third Avenue South in Seattle. “First Thursday” reception with  the artist on October 7, 2022 from 6 – 8pm and a  “Saturday After” walk-through with the artist on October 9, 2022 at noon.  An upcoming exhibition of “Collages and Paintings” by esteemed Northwest artist Paul Horiuchi will be on view October 6 – 29. 2022. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 – 5:30. 206-624-0770  or try www.gregkucera.com.

“Blend In : Between The Lines” is an exhibition of new work by ceramic sculptor Calvin Ma. Through detailed depictions of a variety of ceramic human/bird figures, the artist continues his exploration of life with social anxiety in this body of work. Characters are presented within their own unique settings, trying to blend in, hide, or fly off to another world. On  view through September 24, 2022. At Foster/White Gallery located at 220 Third Avenue S. #100 in Seattle. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday from 10am – 6pm. 206-622-2833 or try www.fosterwhite.com.

“Right Here, Right Now: Stories From These Times” is a show of prints by Wuon-Gean Ho, a London-based printmaker who also makes books and animation. She graduated from Cambridge and had a government scholarship to study woodblock printing in Japan and received her MA in printmaking at the Royal College of Art. Her work depicts vignettes from her life, a diary of moments caught in a day. Opening reception is October 6, 2022. The show remains on view at Davidson Galleries from October 7 – November 26, 2022. Hours are Tues. – Sat. from 11am – 5:30pm or by appointment. 313 Occidental Ave. S. in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. 206-624-7684.

“Breathing in a Time of Disaster” by Ching-In Chen and Cassie Mira. Emergent Broadcast System, an improvised choral performance, installation, and speculative writing project gathering Houston and Seattle area collaborators, focuses on the unit of breath in relation to ecological change and community wisdom and survival. On view October 28 – December 23, 2022. There will be an opening reception on October 28, 2022 at 7pm. Jack Straw Gallery at 4261 Roosevelt Way NE in Seattle. Hours are Mon. – Fri. from 10am – 5:30pm or by appointment only. 206-634-0919 or go to www.jackstraw.org.

THE NEDDY ARTIST AWARD is an annual art competition for local artists. Each year, the award winner and other nominated artists have their work shown in a group exhibition. The 2022 Neddy Award Exhibition is now on view at the new Behnke Family Gallery at Cornish College of the Arts through October 16, 2022. The work of Asian American artists is represented by Soo Hong and Satpreet Kahlon. The winning artist was Myron Curry and other artists included in this exhibition include Priscilla Dobler Dzul, Jeffrey Heiman, C. Davida Ingram, Holly Ballard Martz and Tyno Ontko. The show was curated by Negarra A. Kudumu. 1077 Lenora St. Gallery hours are noon – 6pm from Wed. – Sunday. Go to https://www.cornish.edu/cornish.events/22-neddy/ for details.

Congratulations to Seattle artist Michelle Kumata who has a full color portfolio of her work on display in the September – November 2022 issue of “Public Display. ART”. Free issues of this publication are available at art galleries around the city.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022 will mark the official debut of “Bruce Lee Ascending” as a permanent art installation at the Odegaard Undergraduate Library at the University of Washington.  The  art piece was created by Han Eckelberg, while he was an UW undergraduate student in Art and American Ethnic Studies. According to Eckelberg, the art pays homage to Bruce Lee who studied drama and philosophy at UW. This artwork “reminds all students that, as the quote from Bruce Lee suggests, gaining knowledge in any art requires hard work and discipline.” 

“Elevation” is the title of a new solo exhibition featuring maximalist painter Chin Yuen on view through October 22, 2022 at ArtXchange Gallery in Pioneer Square. Yuen creates uplifting and dynamic compositions with contrasting hues, shapes and textures layered in dense, undulating patterns. Born in Malaysia, the artist studied in Singapore and England before moving to 

Vancouver where she  was educated at Emily Carr University of Art and the University of Victoria, Canada. First Thursday Art Walk on October 6, 2022 from 5 – 8pm. Forthcoming is a show of new work by ceramic and multi-media artist Hanako O’Leary and Ann Leda Shapiro entitled “Bodies of Land”. Each artist examines the visual and metaphorical parallels between the feminine body and landscape, and how both systems are impacted by society. Set for October 6 – November 19, 2022 with First Thursday artist receptions from 5 – 8pm each month.  Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday from 11am – 5:30pm.  512 1st Avenue S.  206-839-0377  or try www.artxchange.org.

“Transcending Boundaries” is the title of a group show that signals the U.S. grand opening of the Yuanru Art Center, a gallery that originates from Taipei. Artists in this inaugural show include Angie Dixon, Cormac McCarthy, Racquel Miller, Judy Chia Hui Hsu, Mariestella Colin Astacio, Chien-Hsing Lien, Wen-Yueh Tao, Julie Hsieh, Yang Lin and Sheng Reui Yu. On view now through October 16, 2022. 12737 NE Bel Red Rd. Suite 200. For details, try [email protected] or [email protected].

The work of Liang-yin Chen is included in a group show of “The Clay Maquette Show” (a small clay piece with a vision towards a larger scale sculpture) at Modern Glaze.  On view through November 12, 2022. Hours are Fridays and Saturdays from noon – 5pm or by appointment. 14800 Westminster Way N. in Shoreline, WA. [email protected] or 206-949-4007.

On view for an extended time is “Painting Deconstructed: Selections from the Northwest Collection” which includes the work of a number of Northwest Asian American artists. Tacoma Art Museum. 1701 Pacific Avenue.  253-272-4358 or  [email protected].

On view through October 9, 2022 is “George Tsutakawa – Language Of Nature”, a retrospective exhibition honoring Seattle native and international arts icon George Tsutakawa (1910-1997). An exhibition catalog is available for purchase. For another introduction to the work of this artist, check out the article by his daughter Mayumi Tsutakawa entitled “Stolen Beauty” in the Summer 2022 issue of University of Washington Magazine (magazine.uw.edu). She also wrote the exhibition catalog essay. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. BIMA is located at 550 Winslow Way E. just as you get off the ferry dock.206-842-4451 or try biartmuseum.org.

Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds presents a complimentary pairing with the BIMA Tsutakawa show later this year when it presents “George Tsutakawa: Works on Paper- The Early Years” which is on view December 1, 2022 – March 26, 2023.190 Sunset Ave. #E in Edmonds. 425-336-4809 or try CascadiaArtMuseum.org.

Seattle Art Museum’s downtown location has the following. “”Folding Into Shape – Japanese Design and Crafts” is on view through September 25, 2022. Creating three-dimensional objects by folding, layering and weaving two dimensional materials is a core concept in Japanese design and crafts.  Ranging from textiles and paintings to ceramics and bamboo baskets, this exhibit serves up various examples from the permanent collection and private holdings. Also on view is “Pure Amusements: Wealth, Leisure, And Culture in Late Imperial China.”  Seattle Asian Art Museum has the following.  “Boundless: Stories of Asian Art” is an ongoing group show re-imagining of items from the museum’s permanent collection of Asian art. “Beyond The Mountain: Contemporary Chinese Artists on the Classical Forms” is an ongoing exhibit that opens on July 22, 2022. It includes video, photography, painting and kinetic installation exploring classical cultural legacies through the lens of urgent issues of modern life. ”Belonging: Contemporary Asian Art’ is concerned with issues of individuals and their places in changing societies. In the Fuller Garden Court you will find Kenzan Tsutakawa Chinn’s permanent installation “Gather.” Tsutakawa Chinn is a Seattle-raised, New York-based LED light installation artist. Tickets released every Thursday at 10am. Purchase tickets online in advance and save $3. Ticket prices increase if you wait until the day of your visit to purchase so plan ahead and get the best price. Tickets are released online on a monthly rolling basis. Seattle Art Museum is downtown at 1300 First Ave. Seattle Asian Art Museum is at 1400 E. Prospect St. in Volunteer Park. 206-654-3100 or try seattleartmuseum.org.

The Wing Luke Asian Museum. Hours are Fridays through Sundays from 10am – 5pm. Reserving tickets online prior to visit is highly encouraged as it is operating at limited capacity.  Just opened is “We Are Changing the Tide: Community Power for Environmental Justice”. This exhibit looks at BIPOC communities from the Quinault Nation fighting climate change to Duwamish River stewardship to the threat of rising seas on Pacific Island communities to Native Hawaiians opposing military installations and Beacon Hill neighbors fighting airplane noise and pollution. On view through  April 23, 2023.  “Reorient: Journeys Through Art and Healing” is on view now through May 14, 2023. Opening July 8, 2022 is “Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee”.    “Woven Together: Stories of Burma/Myanmar” on view through November 12, 2022. “Lunar New Year: Altars, Ancestors, Traditions Blessings” on view through January 8, 2023. “Where Beauty Lies” looks at what defines beauty from an Asian Pacific American perspective on view through September 18, 2022. On going are the following –   “The Heart of Our Journey” is a permanent exhibit dedicated to the Asian Pacific American experience, “I Am Filipino” looks at the story of Filipino Americans”, “Hometown Desi” covers the local South Asian experience and “Cambodian Cultural Museum and Killing Fields Memorial” looks at the Cambodian America experience and the impact of the Killing fields on that country’s history. Upcoming exhibits include the following – “Hai! Japantown” uncovers the history of Seattle’s Japanese American community and opens on August 13, 2022. An exhibition entitled “Paradice Avenue Souf” opens in September, 2022. In the fall on October 14, 2022, there will be an exhibit on those Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans who defied government regulations and refused to enlist during WWII entitled “Resistors”. There are virtual tours of the museum on weekday mornings. Pre-booking available for private groups. Contact the museum to sign up.  Live virtual tours of the Freeman Hotel on Thursdays at 5pm PDT. Check out what’s in the gift shop with the Museum’s online marketplace. The monthly storytime programs can be watched at www.digitalwingluke.org/programs.

KOBO, a unique shop of arts and crafts from Japan and items made by Northwest artists has two shops in Seattle on Capitol Hill and in the Chinatown/ID/Japantown community downtown. The gallery features paintings and assemblages by Gregg Laananen. Masks are required and you must use the provided hand sanitizer upon entering.  Shipping and curbside pickup is still available by scheduling a Pickup Time at Checkout. They have a new instagram shopping account @koboseattleshop or try their website at  koboseattle.com.  KOBO at Higo hours are Wed. – Sat. from 11am – 5pm. The Capitol Hill store is at 814 E. Roy St. and their hours are Tues. – Sat. from 11am to 5pm.  KOBO at Higo is at 604 South Jackson St. in the CID.

The Frye Art Museum presents the work of Portland artist Srijon Chowdhury with a solo show entitled “Same Old Song”. The artist creates dreamlike oil paintings that consider the present moment as part of a larger mythology. Opens October 8, 2022 and remains on view through January 15, 2023. 704 Terry Ave. in Seattle. 206-622-9250 or try  fryemuseum.org.

Bellevue Arts Museum has the following – An ongoing collaborative exhibition of innovative glass works by Terri Grant & Purnima Patel entitled “Trace” is on view in the museum.  510 Bellevue Way NE in Bellevue, WA. 425-519-0770 or try bellevuearts.org.

The Pacific Bonsai Museum has the following – “A Gallery of Trees: Living Art of Pacific Bonsai Museum” presents old and new favorites from the museum’s collection on view through November 5, 2023. 2515 South 336th St. in Federal Way, WA. Admission is by donation. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10am – 4pm. 253-353-7345 or email [email protected].

“Remembrance – The Legacy of Executive Order 9066 in Washington State” is a permanent exhibit on the third floor of the Washington State Historical Society. Visitors will experience history through photos, art, objects, letters and film. A significant part of this exhibit was sourced by working with individuals and families who were directly impacted including survivors and their descendants. 1911 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. 1-888-238-4373.

“Looking Up – The Skyviewing Sculpture of Isamu Noguchi” through November 26, 2022. Skyviewing was an important theme in Noguchi’s art but has never been explored in depth before. More than 40 sculptures and drawings, comprising 60 years of his career, showcase the various forms the theme takes in his art. The gallery is open only when school is in session. Western Gallery & Sculpture Collection is on the campus of Western Washington University at 516 High St. Fl 116. 360-650-3900 or try westerngallery.wwu.edu.

The Outdoor Sculpture Collection on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham is open and accessible to everyone. This is an outdoor collection of major sculptures from the late 20th century to the present and includes work by Do Ho Suh, Sarah Sze and Isamu Noguchi among others. Get a map from the information booth and explore the campus collection for yourself. Call 360-650-3900.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at WSU is a new art space for Eastern Washington. Inaugural shows include the following – The museum plans a retrospective exhibition for Eastern Washington artist Keiko Hara for 2022. “Keiko Hara: The Poetics of Space, Four Decades of Paintings” is set for May 2022 – December 2022.  1535 Wilson Road on the Washington State University campus in Pullman. 509-335-1910 or try [email protected].

“Start Here” is an exhibition curated by Bryce Kanbara of Graham Gallery that serves as an introduction to the work of four Nisei Japanese Canadian artists born in the latter half of the 1920s. It includes the work of Roy Kiyooka, Kazuo Nakamura, Shizuye Takashima and Takao Tanabe. September 17, 2022 – January 22, 2023. This exhibition will open in conjunction with the citywide arts symposium Gei organized by the National Association of Japanese Canadians, in collaboration with UVic with funding from the Canada Council. One hundred Japanese Canadian artists from across Canada will gather in Victoria for a three day symposium (September 16 – 18, 2022) at the newly restored pavilion at Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavillion, the historic site of the original Japanese tea house run by the Takata family who were forced to abandon it in 1941 when Canadians of Japanese ancestry were sent to internment camps.  At the Art Gallery  of Greater Victoria located at 1040 Moss St. in Victoria BC, Canada. 250—384-4171 or try https://aggv.ca/exhibits/start-here/.

The Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver BC presents “Christine Sun Kim: Oh Me Oh My”, a survey of this American artist’s recent work in drawing and installation employing elements from various communication systems to explore sound as a multidimensional visual, physical and political experience with humor and depth. Opens on September 22, 2022. 55 Nelson St.  604-681-2700 or try cagvancouver.org.

Gallery Jones in Vancouver BC presents “Mira Song/New Paintings”. These crafted paintings by this Vancouver-based Korean artist blend architectural and flora elements into dreamlike compositions that explore the ephemeral nature of imagination, perception and memory. Oct. 13 – Nov. 12, 2022. 1-258 E. 1st Ave. 604-714-2216  or galleryjones.com.

SUM Gallery in Vancouver BC has from Oct. 13 – Dec. 98, 2022, “The Warehouse Rites: Romi Kim in collaboration with Queer Based Media” which explores relationships through transformations of drag and play within created space. 425-268 Keefer St.  604-200-6661 or try  sumgallery.ca.

Vancouver Art Gallery presents a major show of new work by multi-media Korean Canadian artist Jin-me Yoon entitled ”About Time”. There is an art catalog for the show released by Hirmer Books. Opens October 15, 2022.  750 Hornby St. 604-662-4719 or vanartgallery.bc.ca.

VISUALSPACE Gallery has from Oct. 13 – 29, 2022 a show entitled “Leisurely I See the Southern Hill” by Simone Ximeng Guo. The artist explores a unique vocabulary to visually reflect on her examination of the inner rhythms and conflicts within nature itself.3352 Dunbar St. in Vancouver BC. 604-559-0576  or try visualspace.ca.

The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre has the following – Ongoing is “Washi – Japanese Paper Art: connecting cultures, countries and generations. Also on view is an ongoing exhibit on “TAIKEN: Japanese Canadians Since 1877”. Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in  Burnaby at 6688 Southoaks Crescent. 604-777-7000 or try nikkeiplace.org.

The Southern Alberta Art Gallery has “Jin-me Yoon: Here Elsewhere Other Hauntings” which is the first retrospective dedicated to this important Korean-Canadian artist’s work which uses film and photography to tell stories of the human condition. On view now through November 20, 2022.  601 3rd Ave. S. in Lethbridge, Canada. 403-327-8770 or try saag.ca.

Portland-based artist Robert Dozono’s show “War is not the Answer” is on view at Newport Visual Art Center through September 25, 2022. The artist is known for his use of recycled garbage assembled onto his large painted canvases. Hours are Wed., Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4pm. 777 N.W. Beach Drive in Newport, Oregon. 541-574-3364 or try [email protected]

The Alexander Gallery located in the Niemeyer Center at Clackamas Community College presents a show by Portland sculptor/multi-media artist Kanetaka Ikeda entitled “Cosmic Tree” on view September 19 – November 30, 2022.This is yet another chapter in a continuing series the artist perceived of in a dream years ago. An artist talk on Wed., October 19, 2022 from noon – 1pm. Hours are M-F from 9 to 5pm except for holidays. Free admission. 19600 Molalla Ave. in Oregon City, Oregon. 503-594-3032  or [email protected]

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene has the following – “On Earth:  A Fragile Existence” is a group show culled from JSMA’s permanent collection that reflect a multi-layered understanding of humanity’s role in our shared ecology with the non-human, or more-than-human, world. On view through  September 18,2022.   1430 Johnson Lane in Eugene, Oregon. 541-346-3027.

Portland Japanese Garden has the following exhibits entitled “Intimate Landscapes – Masterpieces from the Anderson Collection” and “Kenji Ide: A Poem of Perception”. Both on view from September 16, 2022 – February 20, 2023. Portland Japanese Garden’s final art exhibition of 2022 will be a special one. For this exhibit, esteemed ceramic sculptor Jun Kaneko’s massive abstract sculptures will be placed throughout the garden and his smaller work will be displayed in the Pavilion Gallery. Kaneko is a winner of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center. Opens October 1, 2022 and remains on view through February 20, 2023. 611 SW Kingston Ave.  503-223-1321 or japanesegarden.org.

Japanese American Museum of Oregon is now open in a new space.  Current exhibits include the following –   “Na Omi Shintani: Dream Refuge for Children Imprisoned”. This Bay Area artist builds a refuge for imprisoned children, whether they be Japanese Americans in WWII concentration camps, American Indian boarding school children or Central American children imprisoned and separated from their families. This show will be on view through September of 2022. “Resilence – A Sansei Sense of Legacy” is a group show of eight artists whose work reflects upon the effect of Executive Order 9066 and how it resonated from generation to generation. This group show will be on view from October 1 – December 22, 2022. Artists include Kristine Aono, Reiki Fuji, Wendy Maruyama, Lydia Nakashima Degarrod, Tom Nakashima, Roger Shimomura, Judy Shintani and Jerry Takigawa. The show was co-curated by Jerry Takigawa and Gail Enns. Several online exhibits on the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon can also be viewed. 411 NW Flanders. 503-224-1458 or email [email protected].

Portland Chinatown Museum has the following –Portland installation artist Roberta Wong has a window installation in memory of Vincent Chin, the Chinese American man killed by two Detroit workers entitled “Vincent”.  On view through September 10, 2022 will be a career retrospective of set designs for theatre and the performing arts by Northwest set designer Carey Wong. Wong had a hand in designing the interior of the museum itself. Portland Chinatown Museum is located at 127 N.W. Third Ave. 503-224-0008 or email [email protected].

The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco has the following currently on view.   “Afruz Amighi: My House, My Tomb” is an installation that uses light and shadow to evoke forgotten histories of the Taj Mahal. “Bearing Witness: Selected Works by Chiura Obata” is a retrospective on this important Japanese American Bay Area artist. On view through January 31, 2023. Outside murals by Channel Miller and Jennifer K.Wofford are visible from Hyde St. Opening December 17, 2021 is “Weaving Stories – Indonesia, The Philippines and Malaysia”. “Seeing Gender” opens January 21, 2022. Now on view is the first major museum retrospective for Bay Area iconic performance artist and visual artist Carlos Villa, a longtime noted instructor at San Francisco Art Institute. The show is entitled “Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collusion” through October 24, 2022. “Into View: Bernice Bing” is a long overdue retrospective of this important Bay Area Chinese American painter whose works straddles Abstract Expressionism, figuration and Zen calligraphy. As a queer Asian American woman artist, she was a catalyst in the Bay Area cultural scene. Opens on October 7, 2022. 200 Larkin St.  San Francisco, CA. 415-581-3500.

The Berkeley Art Museum/PFA has the following – “Candice Lin: Seeping, Rotting, Resting, Weeping”. This L.A.-based artist creates multisensory environments that investigate the legacies of colonialism, racism and sexism. On view through November 27, 2022.155 Center St. Berkeley, CA 510-642-0808 or go to [email protected].

“East of the Pacific: Making Histories of Asian American Art” is the largest of three inaugural Asian American Initiative (AAA) exhibitions opening at the Cantor Arts Center on the Stanford University campus in 2022. Curated by assistant curator of American Art, Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, this historical survey showcases the Cantor’sever-growing collection of Asian American art, the majority of which was acquired since 2018. Organized thematically and chronologically, the 96 objects presented span a broad range of time (1880-2021), offering a rare opportunity to engage with historic Asian American material. Acquired from a variety of sources, a large percentage comes from the estate of Michael Donald Brown, a Bay Area arts collector and dealer who amassed an unparalleled collection of pre-1950 Asian California art. Artists represented in this collection include Toshio Aoki, Bernice Bing, Chiura Obata, Toshiko Takaezu, Carlos Villa, Martin Wong and Jade Fon Woo. Accompanying the exhibit the Asian American artist performance collective For You were commissioned to create a series of bespoke audio tours. On  view September 28, 2022 – February 12, 2023. 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way on the Stanford University Campus, Stanford,CA. 650-723-4177 or go to https://museum.stanford.edu/eop.

The San Jose Museum of Art has the following.  A massive installation entitled “Factory of the Sun” by European artist Hito Steyerl is on view through September 25, 2022. It tells the surreal story of workers whose forced moves in a motion capture studio are turned into artificial sunlight.  110 South Market St. in San Jose, CA. 408-271-6840.

Japan House Los Angeles has the following – “Life Cycles – A Bamboo Exploration with Tanabe Chikuunsai IV” on view now through January 15, 2023. This exhibition examines the artistic lineage of this family’s tradition of creating bamboo flower baskets and smaller sculptural works and traces the current 4th generation descendant’s forays into large-scale contemporary art works and installations. In the Hollywood & Highland Building on Level 2 & 5 on 6806 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles. 1-800-516-0565 or try  japanhousela.com.

The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) has the following – Ongoing is “Common Ground – The Heart of Community” which features a WWII Japanese internment camp building.  Ongoing is “The Interactive Story File of Lawson Ichiro Sakai”, an oral history project in which visitors can ask Japanese American elder Sakai any questions they want about his life and past history such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese internment camps, his service as a soldier in WWII. Opening on February 26, 2022 is “Sutra And Bible-Faith and the Japanese American World War II Incarceration”. The exhibit examines the role that religion played in saving the exiled Japanese American community from despair during the war years. This show has been extended to February 19, 2023, the anniversary of the Day of Remembrance.  “BeHere/1942” is a new lens on the Japanese American incarceration using photography by Dorothea Lang and Russell Lee and two augmented-reality installations that explore this historic moment in new ways and allows visitors to participate in that experience. This show has been extended to January 8, 2023. In additional news, the museum has launched an online exhibition on Issei artist Wakaji Matsumoto entitled “Wakaji Matsumoto – An Artist in Two Worlds: Los Angeles and Hiroshima, 1917 – 1944”. This exhibition highlights rarely seen early photographs of Los Angeles prior to WWII and of Hiroshima before the US dropped the atomic bomb all through the lens of photographer Matsumoto. This photographer documented the lives of Japanese immigrant farmers in rural Los Angeles during the early 1900s and created rare images of urban life in Hiroshima prior to th 1945 atomic bombing. Go to janm.org/wakaji-matsumoto to see this photo exhibit.

101 N. Central Ave. in Los Angeles, CA. 213-625-0414.

The Getty Museum currently has online selections from a rarely seen collection of “Japanese American photographs, 1920-1940” recently acquired by the museum. Try www.getty.edu.

The USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, CA has the following –   “Crossroads – Exploring the Silk Road” opens October 22, 2021. This new permanent exhibit tells the story of centuries of cultural exchange stimulated by the movement of travelers and goods along the ancient trade route. “The Lanterns: Photos by Elizabeth Gill Lui” has the photographer centering on the theme of the Chinese lantern. On view through October 23,2022. “After Modernism: Through the Lens of Wayne Thom” on view from October 14, 2022 – January 22, 2023. Thom was one of Southern California’s prominent architectural photographers.  “Global Asia’s: Contemporary Asian And Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer & the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation” comes to the museum from March – June, 2023. 2680 N. Los Robles Ave.  in Pasadena, CA.  626-787-2680 or [email protected].

The San Diego Museum of Art has the following – On view until October 16, 2022 is “Wang Qingsong: Social Mobility”. This Beijing-based photographer specializes in evocative large-scale images that function as social commentary. Ongoing is a show of Arts of South and Southeast Asia from the first to the 19th century AD. 1460 El Prado,  Balboa Park in San Diego.

The Honolulu Museum of Art presents “Japanese Design: Rinpa” through October 9, 2022. A show of Japanese woodblock prints is ongoing. 900 South Beretania St. 808-532-8700 or try  honolulumuseum.org.

The Dallas Museum of Art presents the following –  “The Keir Collection of Islamic Art” is on view through December 31, 2022. 1717 North Harwood St.  214-922-1200.

Japanese ceramic sculptor Jun Kaneko shows another side of his work. New and classic ceramic pieces with muted tones,copper surface effects and geometric compositions. On view through  November 26, 2022 at Gerald Peters Contemporary at 1011 Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For details try [email protected].

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has the following –  “Weng Family Collection of Chinese Painting: Art Rocks” through May 3, 2023.”Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures in a New Light” through September 30, 2022. And coming up is “Hokusai: Inspiration & Influence” March 26 – July 16, 2023. 465 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA. 617-267-9300 or go to mfa.org.

The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA has the following ongoing exhibits – “South Asian Art”, “Double Happiness Celebration in Chinese Art”, “Japanese Art”, “Japanomania! Japanese Art Goes Global” and finally “Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers Are For Me”. This Pakistani American artist creates precise, stylized floral forms to make a sculptural chamber of light and shadow. Her effort creates a sense of how women can reclaim and safely open up private space to invite others. 161 Essex St. in Salem, MA 816-745-4876 or go to pem.org.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art has the following –   “The Prints of Maki Haku: Prints from the Kimm-Grofferman Collection on view through April 9, 2023.  2400 Third Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 888-642-2787.

The Walker Art Center has the following –  “Paul Chan: Breathers” on view now through April 22, 2023. And a Pacita Abid retrospective planned for sometime in 2023. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis, MN. 612-375-7600 or try [email protected].

The Art Institute of Chicago has the following – “Kingfisher Headdresses from China” is on view through May 21, 2023. “Recollections of Tokyo 1923-1945” is on view through September 25, 2023. Includes modern Japanese printmakers memories of Tokyo before and after WWII. “Among Friends & Family” is a group exhibit that reflects the importance of time spent with loved ones through objects from China, Japan and Korea also through September 25, 2022. 111  South Michigan Ave./159 E.  Monroe. Chicago, ILL. 312-443-3600.

Wrightwood 659 presents “Michiko Itatani: Celestial Stage”. It celebrates the work of this Chicago American artist who has grappled with the mysteries of the universe in her work. “We Shall Defy: Shahidul Alam” presents the life and work of this renowned Bangladeshi photojournalist. Both shows on view from October 1 – December 17,2022. 659 W. Wrightwood in Chicago, IL. 773-437-6601 of try [email protected]

The Cleveland Art Museum has the following on view – “Escaping to a Better World: Eccentrics and Immortals in Chinese Art” now on view through November 6, 2022. “Creating Urgency: Modern and Contemporary Korean Art” now on view through October 23, 2022. “Japan’s Floating World”, a  show displaying the Ukiyo-e tradition on view through October 9, 2022.  On view through March 5, 2023 is “Text and Image in Southern Asia.  “Martial Art of India” on view through August 8, 2022. Opening December 11, 2022 and remaining on view through February 26, 2023 is “China Through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature & Detail”. Opening June 11, 2023 and remaining on view through September 10, 2023 is “A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur.” 11150 East Blvd. Cleveland, Ohio. 261 – 421- 7350 or go to https://www.clevelandart.org.

The Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College presents these shows. “Life Full of Changes: Kenji Nakahashi” and “New Directions: Abstract Prints” by Yoshida Toshi. Both on view  through December 13, 2022.  Two additional shows on view through December 23, 2022 include the following – “Inches Away, The Heavens Open: Blue And Green Landscapes from the AMAM Collection” and “Scholars and Ancestors: Traditional Functions of Portraiture in China & Korea”.  87 North Main.  Oberlin, Ohio. 440-775-8665 or  try ww2.oberlin.edu/amam.

“Arthur Tress and the Japanese Illustrated Book” includes a juxtaposition of his books along with his own photography.On view through December 1, 2022. University of Pennsylvania  Libraries at 3420 Walnut St. in Philadelphia. Try [email protected].

“Ink & Brush: The Beauty & Spirit of Japanese Calligraphy” is on view through April 2023. Also ongoing is “Collection Highlight: Ceremonial Teahouse.” Philadelphia Museum  of Art. 2600 Benamin Franklin Pkwy. 215-763-8100 or  try www.philamuseum.org.

The Newark Museum has an ongoing exhibit entitled “From Meiji to Modern: Japanese Art Goes Global- The Art of Japan”. 49 Washington St., Newark, New Jersey. 973-596-6550.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has the following – “Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collection” reveals itself to be more than just clothing but a silk canvas of wearable art. A terrific collection on view through  February 20, 2023.  “Companions in Solitude- Reclusion and Communion in Chinese Art” through August 14, 2022.  “Bodhisattvas of Wisdom: Compassion & Power” through October 30, 2022. “Celebrating the Year of the Tiger” through January 17, 2023. “Samurai Splendor – Sword Fittings from Edo Japan” is ongoing. 1000 Fifth Ave.  212-535-7710. Go to https://www.metmuseum.org.

Asia Society Museum has the following – These two shows now extended through December 31, 2022. “Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity” includes 19 works by seven artists born in China in the 1980s and reflects the dramatic economical, political and cultural shifts these artists have all experienced in their lifetimes.  “Visionary Legacies: A Tribute to Harold J. Newman” celebrates artwork that Newman and his wife donated to the Asia Society Museum.  “Buddha And Shiva, Lotus And Dragon” presents nearly seventy works of Asian art from the Rockefeller Collection on view through September 18, 2022.  725 Park Ave. in New York City.212-327-9721 or try www.asiasociety.org.

Ippodo Gallery has the following –   “Susumu Shingu- Sculpting With Wind” is the first solo exhibition in New York for this renowned kinetic sculptor. October 20 – December 29, 2022. 32 E. 67th St., 3rd Floor. New York City. +1-(212) 967-4899  or [email protected]. 

The Rubin Museum of Art announces the 2022 exhibition “Healing Practices: Stories From Himalayan Americans” which highlights the diverse ways that Tibetan Buddhist artworks and practices have served as roadmaps to well-being. The exhibition juxtaposes objects from the museum’s collection with stories from Himalayan Americans, revealing the many ways these living traditions are transformed and adopted for today’s world. On view through January 16, 2023. This exhibition was developed in collaboration with a Himalayan American and Asian American Community Advisory Group which includes New York tri-state area and DC artists, medical professionals, spiritual leaders, activists, educators and art therapists interested in the intersection between art, healing, and activism. A new podcast premieres on June 8, 2021 entitled “Awaken” hosted by musician/composer Laurie Anderson. It features stories of transformation by Aparna Nancheria, Alok Vaid-Menon, Tara Branch and more.  Get the podcast on RubinMuseum.org/awakenPOD and other major podcast platforms. Mandala Lab” is the Museum’s new interactive space for social, emotional and ethical healing. Designed by Peterson Rich Office, it invites visitors to participate in five unique experiences inspired by a Tibetan Buddhist mandala. Through October 1, 2031.  “Gateway to Himalayan Art” remains on view through June 5, 2023. “Journey Through Himalayan Art” remains on view through January 8, 2024.”150 West 17th St. in New York City. 212-620-5000 or go to rubinmuseum.org.

“Heated Colors, Hammered Forms: Female Metal Artists of Japan” looks at the work of Oshiyama Motoko, Otsuki Masako, Higino Noriko and Osume Yukie. On view through October 4,2022. Onishi Gallery at 521 W. 26th St. in New York City. 1-212-695-8035 or try [email protected]

The Brooklyn Museum presents artist Oscar yi Hou’s ”East of sun, west of moon”. It features work by this UOVO Prize-winner. The exhibit highlights queer Asian American subjects and illuminates the intersectional identities of the artist and his friends. On view from October 14, 2022 – June 1, 2023. 200 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York.718-638-5000 or try https://www.brooklynmuseum.org.

“With A Single Step – Stories in The Making of America” is on view through December 31, 2023. A presentation of the diverse layers of the Chinese American experience while examining America’s journey as a nation of immigrants. The Museum of Chinese in America. 215 Centre St. New York City. +1-855-955-MOCA  or [email protected]

At the Korea Society is Young Min Moon’s “The Share For Those Who Remain”. In his paintings, the artist depicts Jesa, a Confucian ritual for commemoration of the deceased. Artist talk (video release)  on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 5pm. On  view now through December 9,2022.   Located at 350 Madison on the 24th floor. 212-759-7525.  Go to Koreasociety.org for details.

The Noguchi Museum presents “Noguchi Subscapes” on view through May 7, 2023. These installations reveal his interest in the unseen and hidden.  “Veronicka Spierenburg, Aus-Hohlen” shows two films on monastery caves in Georgia done by this filmmaker. Screening June 15 – October 2, 2022. Also on view is a group show entitled “In Praise of Caves: Organic Architecture Projects from Mexico” by Lazo, Goeritz, O’Gorman and Senosiain on view October 19, 2022 – February 26, 2023. 9-01 33rd Road. Long Island City, New York. 718-204-7088 or [email protected].

New York City-based Joan B. Mirviss LTD has on view September 14 – October 28, 2022 – “Red Earth – New Works by Ogawa Machiko”. 212-799-4021  or [email protected]

The Dai ichi Arts Gallery presents “Tsubo: The Art of Vessels” on view through October 27, 2022. This exhibition explores the sublime interpretation of the Tsubo form by Japan’s modern and contemporary ceramic masters. 18 E. 64th St. – Ste. 1F in New York City. Go to daichiarts.com for details.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has the following – “Underdogs and Antiheroes: Japanese Prints from the Moskowitz Collection on view through January 29, 2023. “Meeting Tessai: Modern Japanese Art from the Cowles Collection on view through February 18, 2023. Tessai was both a modern Japanese painter and a traditional brush painter inspired by Chinese Ming 

And Ching  examples. Includes work by Tessai’s mentor, the Buddhist nun Rengetsu and other examples of modern Japanese painting. The “Feathered Ink” show features examples of how Japanese artists experimented on how to depict Asian subjects of birds using different brush techniques.On view through January 29, 2023.  “Rinpa: Creativity Across Time and Space” is up from August 20, 2022 – February 5, 2023. “Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art & Trade” opens September 3, 2022.“A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur” opens November 19, 2022 and remains on view through May 14, 2023. 1050 Independence Ave. S.W. 202-633-1000.

The Chinese American Museum has opened in Washington DC. It’s the only museum in the nation’s capitol dedicated to the Chinese American story – its history, culture and voice.  The museum had an exhibit tour of their exhibition “Golden Threads – Chinese Opera in America” which is now available on you tube for viewing. “China From China – Porcelain And Stories of Early American Trade” is a new exhibit that explores the dawn of economic trade and commerce between America and China From the Dietrich American Foundation Collection. On view through  October 1, 2022. Go to www.chineseamericanmuseum.org for details. 1218 – 16th St. NW. 202-838-3180.

The New Orleans Museum of Art has the following – “Katherine Choy: Radical Potter in 1950s New Orleans” is on view through April 23, 2023. This is the first monographic review of this artist whose work was celebrated by the 1950s craft world before her sudden death. Her early pots show inspiration from Asian clay traditions but expanded to include aggressively large asymmetrical forms with glazes that had intentionally left parts of the raw clay exposed. “The Free Hermit Life: Images of Reclusion and Retirement in Japanese Edo-period painting” remains on view through October 8, 2022.  One Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. 504-658-4100.

“Beyond the Wall” features the work of five contemporary artists of Japanese and Asian American descent who explore their identity through the medium of the large scale mural. Through September 25, 2022. Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens. 4000 Morikami Park Rd.Del Ray Beach, Florida or try www.morikami.org.

The Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida has “Ballroom Florida:“Deco & Desire in Japan’s Jazz Age” on view through September 25, 2022.This ballroom was the most dazzling of Tokyo’s jazz-age dancehalls in the 20s and 30s with an Art Deco interior, jazz musicians from Japan and abroad and alluring “taxi dancers” employed as partners for the clientele. 5401 Bay Shore Road. 941-359-5700 or go to www.ringling.org/museum-art.

The Crow Museum of Asian Art currently has on view – “Burn of Fire: Japanese Women Ceramic Artists” and an ongoing exhibit entitled “Fierce Loyalty: A Samurai Complete”. 2010 Flora St. in Dallas, TX. 214-979-6440 or try  crowcollection.org.

“Creative Splendor: Japanese Bamboo Baskets from the Thoma Collection” is on view through January 2, 2024 at the San Antonio Museum of Art. 200 W. Jones Avenue in San Antonio, Texas. 210-978-8100  or try samuseum.org.

The Tate Modern has the following on view – “Lubaina Himid”, a theatrical exhibition by the Turner Prize-winning artist and cultural activist on view through October 2, 2022. Step into infinite space with “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Rooms” on view until September 30, 2022.Go to tate.org.uk for details on all these.

“Toucher le Feu: Femmes Ceramistes Au Japon” or translated as “Touch the Fire: Women Ceramicists of Japan” is a group show on view through October 3, 2022. At the Guimet Museum – 6, Place d’llena in Paris, France. Go to https://www.guimet.fr.

“Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective” continues on its world tour with a stop in Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv Museum of Art from November 2 – April 23, 2022. The Golda Meier Cultural &  Art Center, sderot sha’ul HaMelech Blvd., Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. +972-3-6077020.

“life beauty energy” is the title of a show of painted flowers by Rieko Koyama. For over 40 years, her paintings have used the theme of flowers as the evanescence of her own life. On view through October 11, 2022. Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art. Ippekiko-Keyaki St. 614 Totari  Ito-shi Shizuoka-Ken  Japan 0557-45-2211 or try ikeda20.or.jp.

“MOT Annual 2022: My justice might be someone else’s pain”. This group show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo focuses on the work of Ari Okubo, Haruka Kudo, Kazuya Takagawa and Akira Rachi. The curator’s statement reads, “These artists explore how we can give visible shape to people and things forgotten in our era and by our society, and how we can focus in sharper resolution on the complex, institutionalized environment that envelopes our lives.” Also on view is “MOT Collection: Rewinding The Collection 2nd” which focuses on Japanese artists from the 1960s currently in the permanent collection. Through October 16, 2022. 4 chome -1-1  Miyoshi, Koto City, Tokyo. +81  50-5541-8600 (Hello Dial).

The first major retrospective of artist Lee Ufan in Tokyo is set to be on view through November 7, 2022 at the National Art Center, Tokyo. This exhibit will then travel on to Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art where it will be on view from December 2022 – February,2023.   The National Art Center, Tokyo is at   7-22-2 Roppongi Minato-Ku  Tokyo 106-8558. For details, go to https://www.annohideakiten.jp/.

At the Mori Arts Center –  The main museum has “Listen to the Sound of the Earth Turning: Our Wellbeing Since the Pandemic”, a group exhibition on artists in a time of healing. On view through November 6, 2022.In Tokyo, Minato City, Roppongi, 6 Chome-10-1, Roppongi Hills, Japan. +8150-5541-8600.

Tokyo National Museum has a show “Celebrating the 50th Ann iversary of the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations Between Japan and China” opening Sept. 19. 2022. 13-9Uneno Park, Taito – Ku, Tokyo. 110-8712 or www.tnm.jp.

Idemitsu Museum of Arts presents “All About Sengai”, their annual exhibition of brush paintings by Zen priest Sengai on view through Oct. 16, 2022. Moji 2-3, Higashi-minatomachi, Moji-Ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Tokyo 130-0015. 03-3626-9974 or try www.idemitsu.com/museum/moji/exhibition/index.html.

The Yamatane Museum presents a “Special Memorial Exhibition: Takeuchi Seiho”, one of Japan’s greatest Nihonga painters which opens Oct. 6 and runs through December 4, 2022. KS Bldg. 1 F, 2 Sambancho, Chiyoda Ku, Tokyo. 102-0075.  81+3-5777-8600 or try www.yamatane-museum.jp/english.

Ota Memorial Museum of Art presents “Transportations in Ukiyo-e – Cars, Ships and Railways” on view Oct. 1 – 26, 2022 AND “Treasures from Chishakuin Temple in Kyoto”  which includes gold leaf screen paintings by Hasegawa Tohaku. Nov. 30 – Jan. 22, 2023. 1-10-10 Jingumae,Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo. 150-0001. 03-3403-0880 or www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum has the following – “Okamoto Taro: A Retrospective” from Oct. 18 – Dec. 28, 2022. “Ueno Artist Project 2022: Beauty Nurtured by The Tale of Genji- It is Fate That Brings Us together” on view Nov. 19 – Jan. 6, 2023. “The Tale of Genji & Edo Culture” on view Nov. 19, 2022 – Jan. 6, 2023.  Ueno Park. 8-36 Ueno Koen  Tokyo  110-0007, Japan. Try ww.tobikan.jp/en/.

Kyoto National Museum presents “Chanoyu: Tea in the Cultural Life of Kyoto” on view Oct. 8 – Dec. 4, 2022. “Happy New Year!: Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit” on view Jan. 2 – 29, 2023. 527 Chayacho Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, Japan. www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/index.html.

Miho Museum presents “The Birth of Ancient China: From Neolithic Times to the Han Dynasty”, “Connecting Civilizations: From Ancient Central Asia to East Asia” and “Ancient Art Collection of Miho Museum” all on view through December 11, 2022. 300 Momodai, Tashiro Shigaraki Koka, Shiga 529-1814  or try www.miho.jp/en.

 “Yayoi Kusama: The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended Into the Heavens” is an installation on view through April 2023. “Pure Form: Japanese Sculptural Ceramics” is a group show on view through November 6, 2022. On going is an installation by Chihara Shiota entitled “Absence Embodied.” Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. North Terrace,  Adelaine SA 5000, Australia. +61 8 8207 7000 or try https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au.

The National Gallery of Australia based in Canberra is a new museum that houses the most important collection of Australian Aboriginal art as well as islander art from the Torres Strait Region. Parkes Pl. E., Parkes ACT 2600, Canberra, Australia. +61262406411 or try [email protected].

Nature Morte Gallery has a show of new paintings by Ramakrishna Behera entitled “Kinetics on view until September 24, 2022. This group of paintings was inspired by visits around the world, expanding upon his lexicon of landscapes that are fused with astronomical observations, only hesitantly approaching abstraction. Artist and architect Martand Khosla’s solo exhibition of new works is entitled “On The Brink” and remains on view through October 1, 2022. The artist is deeply involved with the built environment and he explores the continual regeneration of our cities. The gallery is located at The Dhan Mill, 100 Feet Road in New Delhi, India. Open M-Sat., 10am – 6pm. Go to www.naturemorte.com for details.

The city of Sea-Tac will adapt two designs by artist Naoko Morisawa for their traffic boxes project. They will appear at Angel Lake Station on International Blvd. in the fall.

Japanese historian Meher McArthur  has curated a touring group exhibit entitled “Washi Transformed: New Expressions In Japanese Paper” which features the work of nine contemporary Japanese artists which include Hina Aoyama, Eriko Horiki, Kyoko Ibe, Yoshio Ikezaki, Kakuko Ishii, Yuko Kimura, Yuko Nishimura, Takaaki Tanaka, and Ayomi Yoshida. The exhibit tours over 6 cities across the United States beginning in October of 2021.The lone West Coast date thus far is at Mingei International Museum in San Diego, CA. October 13, 2023 – January 7, 2024. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Lei Ann Shiramizu wil be hosting a social media takeover of Seattle’s Asian life-style publication, Origami Magazine for the next few months. Shiramizu who previously owned “MOMO” in Seattle’s Japantown will touch on topics related to Seattle’s Japanese arts and culture. Go to https/www.facebook.com/origami.seattle for details.

The work of the late pioneering Japanese American sculptor Leo Amino has been gaining renewed appreciation as of late with his work included in gallery and museum shows. Now comes word that the 13th Annual ReVIEWING Black Mountain College conference set for October 7-9, 2022 in Asheville, North Carolina will have a thematic focus on this Black Mountain College faculty member. In conjunction with the conference, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center will mount an exhibition entitled “Leo Amino: Black Mountain College Sculptor” as curated by Genji Amino, Director of The Estate of Leo Amino. This exhibition will demonstrate Amino’s ingenuity in working with new materials to investigate the dynamics of perception through material and phenomenal transparency. Amino is the innovator of cast plastics in the history of American sculpture, and the first artist in the U.S. to create a full body of work in the medium. Dr. Marci Kwon will be the keynote speaker. She is co-director for the Cantor Arts Center’s Asian American Art Initiative.

Noted fashion designer Issey Miyake who opened a door for Japanese Fashion when he became the first designer to show in Paris has died at the age of 84 in early August,2022. Miyake was known for his origami-like designs, pleated skirts and dresses and trousers that afforded his wearers freedom of movement. He insisted that clothing was a form of design and he collaborated with photographers and architects. Miyake made Japan a global brand and made that country an international destination for fashion and pop culture. In 2010, he received the Order of Culture, Japan’s highest honor for the arts.

Hawai’i-raised and New York-based artist and graphic novelist R. Kikuo Johnson’s art graces the cover of the August 1,2022 issue of the New Yorker and he’s also interviewed in the same issue by Francoise Mouly.

Hanae Mori, noted Japanese fashion designer died in August 2022. She was 96. Mori was noted for her elegant butterfly motifs, designs for costumes in film and the creation of a wedding gown for Japan’s empress Masako in 1993. She opened a studio in 1951 and was a pioneer to a generation of Japanese designers who achieved world recognition. She was known for combining Japanese elements inspired by the kimono into her costume designs. She did the fashion design for “Madame Butterfly” in Italy and also for the Noh Theatre. She was awarded the Legion of Honor from the French Government in 2002. Her two sons are active in the fashion industry and two of are grandchildren are fashion models.  

Performing Arts

Seattle Classicla Guitar Society presents award-winning guitarist Meng Su as part of their International Series. Su teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory and is artist-in-residence at the Peabody Conservatory. She studied at Beijing’s Central Conservatory and the Peabody Conservatory. She won the prestigious Parkening International Guitar Competition and has recorded solo as well as part of the Beijing Guitar Duo. The concert is set for October 15, 2022 at 7:30pm at Benaroya Hall’s Nordstrom Recital Hall in downtown Seattle. Master classes and workshops take place the following Sunday morning at 10am. For details, call 206-297-8788 or 206-215-4747 or go to seattleguitar.org.

Seattle Rep opens a new season with a one woman performance “Where We Belong” with Madeline Sayet. It’s the story of a Native American woman who encounters a colonial mentality when she comes to England. Directed by Mei Ann Teo. Now through October 9, 2022.  At Leo K. Theatre at 155 Mercer St. in Seattle Center. For details, go to Seattlerep.org.

Youth Theatre Northwest presents Japanese Kamishibai public performances, community workshops and a tour from September 19 to October 7, 2022. Ta-chan is one of the remaining performers of this tradition and hails from Nagoya, Japan. His earlier performances in the Seattle area proved so popular that YTNW is bringing him back for a second round. Kamishibai is a Japanese street theatre and story telling tradition that was popular during the 1930s depression and the post-war period in Japan before the advent of television. The performer would use picture boards to narrate a story. There will be community workshops at Youth Theatre Northwest on September 25 and October 2 at 2pm. You can also book a community tour with Ta-chan which includes a 90 minute program with a short performance and a workshop to teach you how to make your own Kamibashi. Time slots on weekdays September 9 – October 7, 2022 with some weekends available as well. There will also be public performances at Seattle Japanese Garden on September 17 and October 8, 2022 at 11am and 1pm. For details on these, go to seattlejapanesegarden.org. For complete details, go to youththeatre.org or call 206-232-4145.

SIS Productions presents “Talk It Up! – Inspiring Asian Americans”, a talk variety show with fun prizes, music, comedy, dance, hypnotism and above all else, inspiration. Set for September 23 and 24, 2022 at 7:30pm with different sets of performers. Hosted by Kathy Hsieh. At Theatre Off Jackson in the CID. 409 7th Ave. S. For tickets, go to click4tix.com/TalkItUp. For more information, try https:celebr8women.wordpress.com/events-2/talk-it-up-inspiring-asian-americans/.

Bellevue College presents their 6th Annual Japan Week from September 24 – September 30, 2022 with online contests with origami and a character bento contest. In-person contests on September 24, 2022 with Cosplay,  Kendama and Japan Trivia. Enter contests and win prizes with a submission deadline of September 18, 2022. For details go to [email protected]

The UW Dance Program’s Chamber Dance Company opens a new season October 13 – 16, 2022 at UW’s Meany Hall Studio Theatre on the UW Seattle campus. The season opener includes choreography by Gary Champi, Chrystal Pite, Jenn Pray and David Rousseve. For details, try dance.washington.edu or call 206-543-9843.

Town Hall Seattle and The Bushwick Book Club Seattle present “An Evening of Music Inspired by City of Orange” by David Yoon – A Haunting Tale About Finding The Way Home” set for Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 7:30pm (PT). A live stream will also be available. At the Forum  at 1119 – 8th Ave. in Seattle.

STG Productions has the following performers lined up to appear at the Moore Theatre. Comic Jimmy O Yang appears for two sets on September 30, 2022 at 7pm and 9:30pm. Jazz/funk musician Cory Wong appears with his group on November 11, 2022 at 7:30pm (PT). Ukelele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro presents a special holiday program entitled “Christmas in Hawai’i” with Jackson Waldhoff, Justin Kawika Young and Herb Ohta Jr. on December 10, 2022 at 8pm (PT). Rescheduled from a previous date is the debut performance of “YAMATO! The Drummers of Japan” set for February 16, 2023 at 7:30pm (PT). 1932 2nd Avenue in downtown Seattle. Go to stgpresents.org for details.

The Meany Center for the Performing Arts has the following acts for their fall 2022/2023 season. The international drumming phenomenon known as KODO return to Seattle from Japan on their “One Earth Tour: Tsuzumi”. The will perform two commissioned works from composer Maki Ishii. Ishii as well as other signature works from their repertory. January 27 & 28, 2023 at 8pm. Ragamala Dance Company directed by mother-daughters Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy & Aswini Ramasway perform “Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim” February 9 – 11, 2023 at 8pm. Try [email protected] or call 206-543-4880. Meany Hall is located on the west edge of the UW campus just minutes from the NE 45th Street I5 exit.

On The Boards has announced their 2022-2023 season of performing arts on the cutting edge. Elisa Harkins, Zoe Poluch & Hanako Shoshimi-Caines present an indigenous futuristic concert with a beautifully uncomfortable dance performance and a perverse triangle of shifting power. Set for September 22 – 24, 2022. On April 13-16, 2023, catch Christopher Morgan’s “Native Intelligence/Innate Intelligence’ which incorporates dance, Hawaiian chant & percussion, original compositions for cello and multimedia scenic design coverage in this examination of ancestry, home and belonging. On April 27 – May 7, 2023, choreographer/dancer Ayako Nakame presents “Freeway Dance”. In a garden installation, the dancer asks people to describe their first moment of dancing and reconstructs these movements with her own body. On May 18 – 21, 2023, Takahiro Yamamoto presents “NOTHINGBEING”, an investigation of ways to embody the presence of nothingness and being, holding spaces we could easily dismiss and considering possibilities for the unfiltered self. 100 W. Roy St. 206-217-9886 or go to ontheboards.org.

Catch the Peking Acrobats in a dazzling show of balance defying gravity as they return to Tacoma for a January 22, 2023 show at 2pm. Pantages Theatre at 901 Broadway. [email protected] or call 253-346-1721.

“An Introduction To Chanoyu (Japanese Tea Ceremony”) will be made available at the Shoseian Tea house in Seattle Japanese Garden from 1 – 4pm (PDT) for the following dates. September 24,& 25 AND October 1, 8,14,15,21,22 & 23, 2022.

Bob Antolin’s Comfort Food Band holds down a Wed. night spot at Rumba Notes Lounge at 5041 Rainier Ave. S. #108. 206-420-2192. 206-588-0650.

Seattle Opera has announced the line-up for their upcoming season. Some highlights include the following – Andrew Stenson has the role of Shepherd/Sailor in “Tristan & Isolde” set for October 15,21,23,26 & 29, 2022. Yonghoon Lee has the starring role as Samson in the Seattle Opera production of “Samson & Delilah” set for January 20 & 22, 2023. The world premiere of an adaptation of Afghani author Khaled Hosseini’s award-winning novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” takes place Feb. 25 & 26, March 3,5,8 & 11, 2023. Directed by Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat. Rame Lahaj and Duke Kim share the role of Alfredo in “La Traviata” set for May 6,7,10,13,14 & 19, 2023. Samoan tenor Amitai Pati makes his Seattle Opera  debut as Nemorino in “L’elisir d’amore” through August  20, 2022. Seattle Opera perfroms out of McCaw Hall at 321 Mercer St. 206-389-7676 or try [email protected].

The Seattle Symphony has released details of their 2022/2023 season. Some highlights include the following –Kahchun Wong guest conducts Seattle Symphony in a program featuring Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition on October 6 and 8, 2022. This year’s guest conductor Sunny Xia will be conducting a number of free “Community Concerts” with Seattle Symphony in 2023 – March 3 at Renton Ikea Performing Arts Center, April 21 at 7pm – “Dear Humanity” at S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, May 18, “The Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop” at S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Benaroya Hall and June 7 – “Side-by-Side Concert with Yakima Music en Accion at S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Benaroya Hall. The highly praised composer and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun’s music will be featured in a series entiled “The Musical World of Tan Dun” from November 3 – 13, 2022 at Benaroya Hall.  A special exhibit of “The Mogao Caves: An Immersive Experience” will be on view November 3 – 13 at Octave 9, a block from Benaroya. “Nature Resounds” is the title of a concert highlighting Duns’s interactive piece entitled “Passacaglia: Secret World of Wind And Birds” as conducted by Sunny Xia on November 5, On November 10 & 12 Tan Dun himself will conduct the symphony in his own piece “Buddha Passion” incorporating Chinese singers, instruments and dancers. November 11 brings “Tan Dun Ghost Opera” in which the composer evokes Bach, Shakespeare and the folk traditions of Shamanistic Chinese opera at Octave 9.

Sunny Xia conducts a program entitled “The Snowman”, a classic children’s film on December 3, 2022. December 16, 17 & 18 the classic Handel Messiah is performed. Among the singers will be bass, Adam Lau. Dec. 28, 29 and 30, 2022 are special performances of “Beethoven Symphony No. 9” with tenor Nicholas Phan joining the singers. Phan also performs with other singers on Dec. 31, 2022 in a “New Year’s Eve Concert, Coundown & Celebration.” January 6, 2023 in the Recital Series, you can catch Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho. From Japan, catch the young passionate pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii as he “Plays Rachmainov” January 26 and 28. And January 29 brings the annual “Celebrate Asia” special program with an all star cast of gifted performers both Asian and Asian American. February 16 and 18, virtuoso violinist Arabella Steinbacher performs Mendelssohn with Tianyi Lu conducting. March 23 and 25 brings conductor Yue Bao with Jan Vogler on cello in a concert entitled “Three Continents Cello Concert. March 30, April 1 and April 2, guest conductor Xian Zhang does “Carmina Burana”. Sunny Xia conducts “The Peasant Prince” as part of the April 1, 2023 “Family Concerts Series”. Based on the true story of Li Cunxin as recounted in the memoir, “Mao’s Last Dancer.” World-renowned violinist Midori does a recital on April 12. Sunny Xia conducts “Dances Around The World” as part of the “Family Concert Series” on June 10. Celebrate summer in a concert featuring a slack key guitarist from Hawai’i entitled “Hawaiian Summer Holiday with Makana” set for July 12, 2023. Visit seattlesymphony.org for complete information. Or call 206-215-4747.

The 34th Annual Earshot Jazz Festival returns to the Puget Sound area with both established and emerging talent from Seattle and around the world performing at various venues around the area from October 8 – November 6, 2022. A earlier separate event presents the all-women jazz super group Artemis put together by pianist/composer Renee Rosnes anchored by bassist Noriko Ueda which will perform on Thursday, September 22 at 7:30pm. Other members include Ingrid Jensen, Nicole Glover, Alexa Trantino and Allison Miller. At Town Hall Seattle’s Great Hall at 1119-8th Ave. At the Earshot Jazz Festival will be Port Townsend-raised, now New York-based guitarist Miles Okazaki who will perform with drummer Dan Weiss on Friday, October 14 at 8pm (PDT) at the Royal Room at 5000 Rainer Ave. S. in Seattle. Go to earshot.org for complete details.

The Magnolia Chorale has hired a new director to lead their community choir. Joseph To, who grew up in Hong Kong has a master’s degree in choral conducting.

Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio now located in the CID continues their classes in various aspects of the theatre both virtual and in-person.   For a list of current classes, go to freeholdtheatre.org for details or call 206-595-1927.

Go to Nonsequiter’s website to listen to free links by local musicians performing original music at waywardmusic.org.  Carol J. Levin on electric harp engages in a series of “Duo Improvisations” with Susie Kozawa who plays various sound objects. Jackie An performs music for violin and electronics. Sovan is an ambient music duo featuring songwriter Tomo Nakayama and film composer Jeramy Koepping. Classically trained pianist and designer Tiffany Lin plays a piano program of originals in this series. Local sound artist Susie Kozawa has a piece she did invoking the space at the Chapel. Percussionist/composer Paul Kikuchi explores new music. 

Choreographer/dancer/singer Haruko Crow Nishimura performs a new vocal piece. Other performers include Leanna Keith, Nordra, Ahmed Yousefbeigi, Mother Tongue with Angelina Baldoz, trumpeter Cuong Vu and drummer Ted Poor, the wife/husband classical duo of Melia Watras and Michael Jinsoo Lim, Joshua Limanjaya Lim, Rahikka & James Lee, Kaoru Suzuki and Chris Icasiano with more to follow. The Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center has re-opened and is now booking again various kinds of adventurous/experimental music. Go to waywardmusic.org for details.

Seattle’s multi-talented actress/singer/playwright Sara Porkalob is now honing her talents back east. She is in the cast of a revival of the Tony Award-winning musical “1776”, a play about America’s early national identity. It opens in September, 2022 on Broadway in a Roundabout Theater Company production. It is directed by Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus and features a diverse BIPOC cast.

Soho Rep is an off off Broadway theater company in lower Manhattan known for its experimental, inventive work. But in 2023, they will premiere a first for them. It’s a Bengali-English play by Shayok Misha Chowdhury entitled “Public Obscenities.” Set for February 15 – March 26, 2023, the play will be a co-production with the National Asian American Theatre Company’s National Partnership Project. The story follows a queer studies doctoral student who returns to his family in Kolkata with his Black American boyfriend only to make a startling discovery.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will present three world premiere operas to be presented by next March by three diverse teams of multi-genre, BIPOC artists. They are Del’Shawn Taylor and librettist/poet Samiya Bashir, co-composers and librettists Simon Tam and Joe X. Jiang (from the band, the Slants) and composer/librettist Tre’von Griffith with stage director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj. Performances are set for March 16 – 18, 2023. Go to ExperienceOpera.org for more information.

NYU Skirball will present the North American premiere of Toshio Hosokawa and Yukio Mishima’s “Hanjo” on September 30 & October 2, 2022 at NYU Skirball. Produced by Catapult Opera and directed by Luca Veggetti, Hosokawa’s “Hanjo” is based on a 14th century Noh play and is considered a fine example of Japanese storytelling by one of the country’s most important living classical music composers. The lead role is taken by Eri Nakamura who won acclaim for her portrayal of Madame Butterfly at the Royal Opera House.

Classical bass baritone vocalist Devone Tines and violinist Jennifer Koh will reunite for the NYC premiere of “Everthing Roses” at BAM Next Wave 2022. The showcase which runs October 12 – 15, 2022 will feature the two artists telling their stories, artistic journeys and family histories as they seek to “reclaim the narratives about who they are and how they got to where they are today. The pair previously appeared together in a virtual project “Strange Fruit” at Carniege Hall.  This new project will be directed by Alexander Gedeon and features music by Ken Ueno.

Film & Media

The 17th Tasveer South Asian Film Festival takes place at various theatres around the Puget Sound area November 3, – 20, 2022. Get your festival passes now. Ther will be film screenigs, panel discussions, workshops and cultural programing. Try tasveerfestival.org. 

“Kung Fu Clubhouse” is a new series that highlights  martial arts films. The series continues with Jackie Chan in Liu Chia-Liang’s “Drunken Master II” which further blends martial arts action with comedy on September 24, 2022 at 9:30pm. Ryuhei Kitamura’s  “Ultimate Versus” screens on October 16, 2022 at 9:30pm. This gore-laden blood-splattered over the top action pic depicts an escaped convict who finds himself having to protect a mysterious young woman from various forces of evil. Grand Illusion Cinema is at 1403 NE 50th in Seattle. 206-523-3935 or go to grandillusioncinema.org.

Northwest Film Forum screens the following – “Local Sightings” is NWFF’s annual festival of new films by Northwest filmmakers. Included are feature films and numerous programs of short films bunched together by themes. Most of the films can be seen online from September 16 – 25, 2022 and also have at least one in-person screening at the NWFF movie theatre as well. “The Chinese Tourist” by Nicole Wong has an in-person screening on September 18 at 7pm. Studying abroad in America and living at a birth tourist house, a rebellious Chinese girl whose education is sponsored by a rich boyfriend decides to cut herself off from the world she comes from. “He Hawai’I Au with Artist Spotlight:Kanani Koster is a program of short films by filmmakers from Hawai’i. It focuses on the work of Kanani Koster and also includes a short entitled “Two Brothers” by Li Hing Mui. The lone in-person theatre screening takes place on September 24 at 8:45pm. “Our Family” is a series of shorts on families of all kinds and features home movies, oral histories in both documentary style as well as narrative films.  The in-person screening for “Our Family” takes place on September 17, 2022 at 4pm.  Another program  comes in two different versions. The in-person theatre event includes “The Disabled List” which includes a live stand-up comedy set  which happens before a screening of “Hard Laugh Shorts”. Sometimes tempering chaos with comedy is the only way to cope with a world gone mad. Various stories populate this collection of darkly humorous shorts. In-person on  Saturday, September 17 at 7:30pm. The on-line program includes only “Hard Laughs Shorts”.  “Best Self” is a series that screens in-person on September 18, 2022 at 4:30pm. Self-discovery is never easy, but the search for self can always introduce you to new friends and unexpected sources of empowerment.  “Thin Veil” is a series that has an in-person screening on September 18 at 8:45pm. With grace and humor, these films explore the liminal spaces between life and death and invite you over to the other side. “Living Experiments” is a series that includes plant matter, tech clutter, bodies and blogs collide – abstracting movement, sound, space and time. Screens in-person on September 21 at 7:30pm. “Best Friends, Right” is a series of shorts on this theme. The protagonists of these relatable films must navigate the tumultuous ups and downs of modern friendship. Screen in person on September 22 at 7:30pm. “Glitch” is a series of tech-themed thrillers in which characters grapple with the uncertainty of life in this or the next century. Screens in-person on September 23 at 7pm.  “After Dark” includes shorts that illuminate the sinister, supernatural and simply strange consequences of catering to the shadows of ones nature. Screens in person on September 23 at 9”15pm. “Diaspora Diaries” paints the struggles and rewards of finding your people in a new place while drawing strength from your origins and identity. Screens in-person on September 24 at 4:30pm. “Young Luv” gives us films that cover romance in all its forms – from love triangles to missed connections. Screens in-person on September 24 at 6:30pm. “A Taste of Home” is a series of documentary portraits of northwest creative and chefs who are blending flavors and building bridges in new found communities, bringing culture and camaraderie to the people. Screens in-person on September 24 at 7pm.   “Yuni” by Kamila Andini (Indonesia, France, Singapore & Australia) in Indonesian with English subtitles screens in-person only September 28 – October 6, 2022. Yuni is a clever teenage girl with dreams of attending university. When two men she barely knows ask for her hand in marriage, she rejects them sparking gossip about the myth that a woman who rejects three proposals will never marry. So when a third suitor appears, Yuni must choose between the fulfillment of this myth or her dream of future happiness. The Northwest Film Forum is on 1515 – 12th Ave. 206-329-2629.

The 3rd annual 3rdi San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival screens in city theatres September 23 – 25 and online as well on October 6, 2022. Go to www.thirdi.org for full details. 

Ann Kaneko’s documentary film “Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust” recently aired on PBS’s POV series. It can be screened online until August 18, 2022 on PBS website and on the PBS Video app. You can now access free curriculum focused on this film via PBS Learning Media. The film connects the story of the Manzanar concentration camp to the longer history of the dispossession of Native American land. This film is a  collaboration  between a Japanese American director and a Native American executive producer (Tracy Rector) and combines native dispossession and sovereignty as well as issues related to climate change, conservation and the environment. There will also be a chance for a local screening with Ann Kaneko and Tracy Rector on Friday, January 27, 2023 at the University of Washington. More details forthcoming as we get closer to the date.

Film Movement Plus (www.filmmovementplus.com) offers consumers immediate access to over 400 festival favorites feature films and shorts as well This is a subscription service available on various formats. New films premiering on this channel include the following – “Center Stage” by Stanley Kwan is available starting September 16, 2022. This story of silent screen siren Ruan Lingyu who committed suicide at age 24 stars international superstar Maggie Cheung. Another exlusive premiere is “Sunshine that can Move Mountains” by Wang Qiang. A Tibetan Monk living in a temple, takes the long way home to visit his brother who is in a vegetative state after falling off a cliff. Despite finding himself enamored by his brother’s fiancée, he refuses his mother’s offer to stay and marry her and instead embarks on a long soul-searching journey. 

“Anek” is an action thriller directed by Anubhav Sinha that looks at divergent political and cultural identities in India’s northeast. Stream it o Netflix.

“Baby Assasins” by Yugo Sakamoto has an introverted teenage girl teaming u with er roommate as a hit-woman duo battling the yakuza in this Japanese crime flick filled with a dark humor. Buy or rent on most platforms.

Lee Sang-Yong places his film “The Roundup” in a lawless Ho Chi Minh City. Two Korean detectives trace a greedy killer from Vietnam back to South Korea. An action-packed stylish  crime drama full of major battles between cops and mercenaries. Buy or rent on most platforms.

MUBI presents the following – Koji Fukuda’s 2019  film entitled “A Girl Missing” is a suspenseful drama starring Mariko Tsutsui as a nurse that has served a family so long that she has almost become part of the family. But when a younger sister in the family disappears, things begin to unravel. “I Am Not Madame Bovary”  done in 2016 by Feng Xiaogang pairs one of China’s most successful commercial filmmakers with one of its biggest stars. This formally adventurous morality play is a captivating Kafkaesque epic starring Fan Bingbing. Tulapop Saenjaroen is a Thai artist and filmmaker. In his 2021 animated short “Squish!”, he melds animation and live action into a slippery, slimy concoction that celebrates the joys of creating.  In Zhang Yimou’s 2018 film “Shadow”, the director re-imagines The Three Kingdoms era with this film about palace intrigue filled with stunning sword-fights that conjure up the beauty and terror of the struggle for power among men. Takashi Miike’s 2019 feature “First Love” drops all cute pretense to depict a pair of lovers-on-the-lam racing through the streets of Tokyo, fending off yakuza, goons and femme fatales along the way. And completing this Miike double-bill is the director’s 2001 film “Ichi the Killer” based on a popular manga that plays like a subversive ode to “the greatest pervert of all.” Stars Tadanobu Asano. 

In this year’s Emmys, the Netflix Korean drama “Squid Game” notched several awards. The top acting award went to the show’s star, Lee Jung-jae and its director, Hwang Dong-hyuk. Awards also went to the show’s guest acting, stunts, production design and visual effects. The drama focuses on a competition in which people in debt must compete with each other to the death for a $40 million cash prize. The show’s depiction of an unequal society, moral bankruptcy and the deep divide between rich and poor has struck a chord with people all over the world and also gives recognition to South Korea as a growing cultural powerhouse.

The Written & Spoken Arts

Bengali-American poet Sati Mookherjee travels from Bellingham to Seattle’s University Book Store to read from her debut poetry collection “Eye” (Ravenna Press) on Wed., October 5 at 6pm (PT). The book tells the story of the author’s grandfather who was exiled by the British Raj for his involvement in the Indian Independence movement, following him from his childhood in India to pre-WWII Europe and tracing his internal journey from grief to insight. 4326 University Way NE in Seattle’s University District. To register for this event, try University_Book_Store_Sati_Mookherjee_Tickets._Wed._Oct._5._2022_at_6:00_PM_/_Eventbrite.

Hugo House, a Seattle-based literary center that offers readings and writing classes offers a full slate of Fall & Winter writing classes for all levels. Some highlights – Radhika Sharma teaches “The World of Your Story: A Historical Fiction Primer from Sept. 18 – Oct. 23, 2022 and “Introduction To Short Story” from Sept. 30 – Nov. 4, 2022. Dilruba Ahmed teaches “Yearlong in Poetry” from Sept. 28, 2022 – May 31, 2023 and “Feast of Forms: 3-Day Intensive on Poetic Forms”, Oct. 28 – Nov. 11, 2022. Novelist Katie Kitamura teaches “The Architecture of Place” Dec. 9 – 13, 2022. Sonora Jha teaches two year-long intensives. “Yearlong in Narrative Storytelling in Thirty Session” from Sept. 22, 2022 – May 25, 2023 and “Book Lab”, a year-long intensive or writers to revise, restructure, rethink and finalize a book length manuscript Sept. 27, 2022 – December 6, 2023. Local writer Peter Bacho teaches “Our Stories To Tell: A Memoir Writing Workshop” set from Oct. 23 – Nov. 20, 2022. Natasha Moni teaches “Think Like An Editor, Publish Your Poetry” on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022 from 10am – 1pm.  Aimee Suzara teaches two classes – “Poetry For Social Action” from Sept. 26 – Oct. 31, 2022 and “Not Exotic: Poetry on Asian American Identity” on Oct. 7 – 28, 2022. Also Hugo House writers-in-residence are available for appointments starting Sept. 19, 2022. This year’s writers are Ching-In Chen and Joyce Chen. Some classes are in person or on a learning platform or via ZOOM. Go to hugohouse.org for complete details.

Jackstraw Writers Fall Readings take place on Saturday, October 1 at 4pm (PT) at Village Books at 1200 – 11th St. in Bellingham and again in a streaming event for the It’s About Time Reading Series on October 13, 2022 at 6pm (PT). Go to [email protected] for detais.  

Elliott Bay Book Company has a full slate of events in their reading series. Here are a few. Writers May-Lee Chai and Charles Yu appear together in a virtual reading on Monday, September 26, 2022 at 7pm (PT). Chai reads from her new collection o short stories “Tomorrow in Shanghai” (Blair) which portrays characters displaced across the Chinese diaspora as they navigate familial complexities and strange worlds, looking for a way home. Charles Yu is the author of four books, most recently the 2020 National Book Award-winner “Interior Chinatown” (Vintage) which explored issues of race and assimilation through the eyes of a minor Asian American actor. A ‘mixed-blood, middle-aged, nonbinary femme disabled and autistic writer, disability and transformative justice cultural and movement worker of Burgher and Tamil Sri Lankan, Irish and Galician ascent’, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarashinha does a virtual reading from her new book “The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs” (Arsenal Pulp). Set for Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 6pm (PT). Co-presented by The Seattle Public Library and EBBC.  On Tuesday, October 11, UW professors/authors Vincente L. Rafael and Moon-Ho Jung appear together on behalf of new books. Rafael is the author of “The Sovereign Trickster:Death and Laughter in The Age of Duerte” (Duke) and Moon-Ho Jung is the author of “Menace to Empire: Anti Colonial Solidarities and the Transpacific Origins of the U.S. Security State” (UC Press). This reading is live and in-person and takes place at 7pm (PT). For making reservations to the virtual events, go to elliottbaybook.com and click on the “Events Page” or call toll-free at 1-800-962-5311. Some events are virtual and accessed through eventbrite.com. 1521 – 10th Ave. Local # is 206-624-6600.

“Meet the Author: Simran Jeet Singh” is a KCLS online event. The author will read the powerful true story “Fauja Singh Keeps Going” about a senior who continued to challenge himself running in marathons. It’s the first children’s book by a major publisher to center on a Sikh Character. Set for October 18, 2022 at 10am (PT). Go to kcls.bibliocommons.com for details.

The Gardner Center For Asian Art & Ideas has a new Saturday University Lecture Series entitled “Relative Sanctity” which deals with different forms of  architecture in Asia through conversations with speakers from across the globe.On Saturdays at Seattle Asian Art Museum from 10am – noon. The series includes the following – October 10 is “We Lead Ourselves: Cold War Alignments and Modern Architecture in Sri Lanka”. November 12 is “The Shape of Water: Environmental Architecture in Ganges River & North Bihar”. December 10 is “Figurative and Performative: Tadao Ando & Religious Architecture in East Asia”. For details, try https://mailchi.mp/seattleartmuseum/saturday-university-lecture-series-522086?e=668ae51188.

Seattle Arts & Lectures has unveiled their new fall season. “A Conversation with Celeste Ng” will feature the novelist in conversation with Danya Kukafka. In-person and online set for Monday, October 17, 2022. At Town Hall Seattle’s Great Hall at 7:30pm (PT). Her latest novel explores the ways supposedly civilized communities can pretend to ignore the most searing injustice. A conversation with Julian Aguon, Indigenous rights activist from Chamorro (Guam) and author of the memoir, “No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies” happens on Wed. October 19, 2022 in person and online. On Tuesday, January 17. 2023, poet Jenny Xie appears in-person and online. Xie is the author of “Eye Level” which was a National Book Award and PEN Open Book Award finalist in poetry. Her newest book of poetry looks at the Cultural Revolution in China and the personal involvement of some of her family members in that historical movement. Visionary novelist Ruth Ozeki returns to Seattle to speak in-person and online on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Noted travel writer Pico Iyer appears in person and online on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. For details on these events, try sal.lectures.org or call 206-621-2230.

“Behind The Headlines” is a new series by the East Asia Resource Center  which brings specialists online from 4:30 – 6:30pm (PT) to speak on recent developments around Asia.  September 27, David Bachman speaks about “Hong Kong”, October 4 has Darren Byler speaking on “Xinjiang”. October 11 has Robert Pekkanen speaking on “Japan”. October 18 has David Bachman speaking on “China”. [email protected] or call 206-543-1921.

Humanities Washington has announced their 2021 – 2023 Speakers Bureau Roster with presentations ranging from the personal to the global. Public presentations are free and will start July 1, 2021. Some speakers include the following – Under “Arts & Literature”, Deepti Agrawal will speak on “The Ancient Art Of Madhubani Painting.” Under “History”, Julie Pham speaks on “Hidden Histories: The South Vietnamese Side of the Vietnam War.” Under “Life & Culture”, Lori Tsugawa Whaley talks about “The Samurai Code: How Bushido Changes Lives”. Under “Race & Identity”, Michelie Liu talks about “Laughing Matters: Asian Americans, Comedy And Inclusion”  and Rals Bhulyan speaks about being shot by a White supremacist in “One Second of Hate: A Story of Forgiveness” and how he learned to forgive. To reserve an online virtual program, contact [email protected]. For more information, try [email protected].

Eastwind Books in Berkeley has one of the extensive collections of books by Asian American authors and new books on Asia in the country. They also have a full calendar of events. “On Fighting For Love” is the title of a conversation surrounding love and identity with authors Pik-Shuen Feng (“Ghost Forest”) and Laura Gao (“Messy Roots”). On Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 3pm (PST). Live and in person and streaming. Register at aapiloveeventbrite.com. On Saturday, October 30, 2022 at 2pm (PST), a book event/reception celebrating “Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network 1990 – 2001” will be hld. It will feature a discussion with editor Howie Chen and local Bay Area Godzilla members Betty Kano and Arlan Huang. Register  at Godzilla.eventbrite.com. 2066 University Ave. in Berkeley, CA. 510-548-2350 or try asiabookcenter.com or email [email protected]

The University of Washington Press is seeking writers working on a manuscript or new book proposal. UW Press editors are eager to connect with current and prospective authors about new projects and book proposals. Contact them via email of set up a meeting by phone or Zoom. Executive Editor is Lorri Hagman at [email protected].

Below is a partial list of new books by or about Asian Americans and new titles on Asia. If you are interested in reviewing any of them, please let us know –

“Weasels In The Attic” (New Directions) by Hiroko Oyamada as translated by David Boyd. Due out October 2022. From the acclaimed author of “The Hole” and “The Factory” comes a thrilling and mysterious novel that explores fertility, masculinity, and marriage in contemporary Japan In three interconnected scenes, the writer revisits the same set of characters at different junctures in their lives. 

“Complicit” (Emily Bestler Books/Atria) by Winnie M. Li. A Hollywood has-been, Sarah Lai has  left her dreams of filmmaking success by the wayside. But when a journalist reaches out to her to discuss her experience working with a celebrated film producer, Sarah can no longer keep silent As she recounts the industry’s dark and sordid secrets, however, she begins to realize she has a few sins of her own to confess.

Marya Khan And The Incredible Henna Party (Amulet) by Saadia Faruqi and illustrated by Ani Bushry. With Marya’s eighth birthday coming up, all she wants is a party as awesome as her rich neighbor. But how can she make it happen? Everything she does seems to end in disaster. Will she find a way to throw the best party ever?

“Why We Can’t Have Nice Things – Social Media’s Influence on Fashion, Ethics, and Property” (Duke) by Minh-Ha T. Pham. In this book, Pham examines the way social media users monitor the fashion market for the appearance of knockoff fashion, design theft, and plagiarism.

“Anni Dreams of Biryani” (Two Lions/Amazon) by Namita Moolani Mehra and illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat. The café across the street from Anni’s home in Little India makes the best biryani in the world. Anni would do anything to know the recipe but the grumpy chef is not cooperative. Anni sets out on a mission to find out the ingredients but will she get the answers before it’s too late?

“A Bilingual Treasury of Chinese Folktales-Ten Traditional Stories in Chinese and English” (Tuttle) by Vivian Lin and Wang Peng and illustrated by Yang Xi. All cultures have stories telling you what life is all about. This collection tells you how to be a good person and have a good life. The lessons in this book are presented in a charming way, so children can discover them for themselves.

From the award-winning author of “Amina’s Voice” comes “Zara’s Rules for Finding Hidden Treasure” (Salaam Reads) by Hena Khan and illustrated by Wastana Haikal. When a new family moves in across the street, suddenly Zara who is queen of her neighborhood finds her reign threatened. To get everyone’s attention again, Zara decides she’s going to break a Guinness World Record. But when no one notices, Zara learns a lesson.

“American Caliph – The true Story of a Muslim Mystic, a Hollywood Epic, and the 1977 Siege of Washington, DC” (Farrar Straus & Giroux) by Shahan Mufti. This book tells the story of Haamaas Abdul Khaalis, the leader of the Hanafi Movement, a Black Muslim group that laid siege to three separate buildings in Washington, DC over the course of two tense days in March of 1977. A standout work of narrative journalism and history.

“My GrandMom” (Amazon Crossing Kids) written and illustrated by Gee-eun Lee and translated from the Korean by Sophie Bowman. With her parents always working, it’s Gee-eun’s grandma who cares for her until the end of the day. And at day’s end, it’s grandma who prepares the perfect meal for all.

“1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows – A Memoir” (Crown) by Ai Weiwei. This dissident Chinese artist tells the remarkable history of China while also illuminating his artistic process and divulging the tragic story of his celebrated poet father and how the family suffered during the Cultural Revolution.

“In The Beautiful Country” (Quill Tree) by Jane Kuo. A young adult novel  in verse about a Taiwanese family who move to America with hopes and dreams. But reality dashes hopes and brings doubt the family will last even one year. A moving novel about finding your way in the world and what it truly means for a place to become home.

“Holding On” (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) by Sophia N. Lee and illustrated by Isabel Roxas. There is always singing in Lola’s house. Her granddaughter tucks these sounds and Lola’s wisdom deep within her heart. And when Lola starts slipping into silence, she helps Lola hold on, piece by piece, with the joy and music that Lola taught her. The artwork is vibrant and colorful and moves the story along.

What’s The Rush? (Princeton Architectural Press) written and illustrated by Yiting Lee. In this reimagined picture book version of Aesop’s fable, children will learn the importance of friendship, tolerance and patience as they follow the adventures of Bunny and Turtle.

“The Love Match”(Salaam Reads) by Priyanka Taslim. This young adult novel is a rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teenager whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.

“Kaleidoscope” (Dutton) by Cecily Wong. A biracial Chinese American  family build a shopping empire sourcing luxury goods from around the world. But when calamity strikes, two sisters must wrestle with questions that challenge memory, identity, loyalty and the tenuous ties that hold them together.

“Love From Mecca To Medina (Simon & Schuster) by S. K. Ali. The young couple Adam and Zayneb return in this romantic sequel to the young adult novel, “Love From A to Z”. Enduring a long-distance relationship, the couple is thrilled when fate brings them together on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. But the trip is nothing like what they expect as emotions and anxieties come to the surface.

“Names and Rivers” (Copper Canyon) by Shuri Kido as translated by Tomoyuki Endo  and Forrest Gander. Considered one of the most influential poets in Japan today, these poems draw influence from Japanese culture, geography, Buddhist teachings and modernist poets. This is a book made of crossings, questionings and mysteries as unanswered and open as the sky.

“Astrid & Apollo” is a new series of books about a Hmong American sister and brother as they engage in a variety of activities and along the way the stories educate readers about Hmong American culture. They are written by V.T. Bidania and illustrated by Evelt Yanait and published by Picture Window Books, a Capstone imprint. The titles published thus far inclue the following – “Astrid & Apollo And The Family Fun Fair Day”, ”Astrid & Apollo And The Awesome Dance Audition”, “Astrid & Apollo And The Super Staycation” and “Astrid & Apollo And The Ice Fishing Adventure.” 

“Storybook ND” is a new series of slim hardcover fiction books from New Directions that aim to deliver the pleasure one felt as a child reading a marvelous book from cover to cover in just one afternoon. New in this series are a couple of stories by Japanese authors. “3 Streets” by Yoko Tawada as translated by Margaret Mitsutani introduces three ghost stories, each named after a street in Berlin. “Early Light” by Osamu Dazai offers three very different aspects of this fiction writer’s genius as translated by Donald Keene and Ralph McCarthy. The misadventures of a drinker and a family man in the terrible fire bombings of Tokyo at the end of WWII.  Another tale looks at the symbol of Mt. Fuji as a cliché as the author finds it unable to escape its famous views and reputation. The final story follows the ascension of a drunkard’s wife as she transforms herself into a woman not to be defeated by anything life throws at her.

“It’s Diwali!” (Beach Lane) by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal and illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan. Kids can read along to the tune of the nursery rhyme “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” and discover what makes this Indian festival so special.

“Mongolian Horse – Stories” (Black Lawrence) by David E. Yee. “Radiant, rhapsodic, and full of yearning, this book is a triumph of rich sensory details, propulsive rhythms, and characters who are wise, cunning, self-deprecatory and tender.” – Matthew Vollmer

“A Summer Day in the Company of Ghosts” (NYRB) by Wang Yin as translated by Andrea Lingenfelter with a foreword by Adonis.  Wang Yin is recognized as a leading member of the post-Misty poets, a group inspired by the underground movement that resisted the artistic mores of 1970s China. This collection maps his 40-year career in its brushes with Romanticism, Surrealism, satire and Deep Image poetry.

“6 Spices-60 Dishes”(Chronicle)  by Ruta Kahate. This book gathers Indian recipes that are simple, fresh, and big in taste. Using just six basic spices, the author prepares recipes that are easy to prepare but deliver rich, complex flavor.  With stories  from a culinary life on two continents, plus vibrant, colorful photography that reflects the lively recipes within.

“Geraldine Pu and Her Lucky Pencil, Too!” (Simon Spotlight) written and illustrated by Maggie P. Chang. Part of “The Ready-to-Read Graphics” series  which is a how-to guide to reading graphic novels for first-time readers. Geraldine loves to draw and write stories with her lucky pencil. But she’s stumped when she’s asked to write a story about her family for school. But then her grandmother tells her a family story that inspires her to be as brave as they are.

“Innocence” (Cleveland State University Poetry Center) by Korean American poet Michael Joseph Walsh. Winner of the 2021 Lighthouse  Poetry Series Competition. The series judge Shane McCrae said this of the book – “Complete as first books of poetry rarely are, integral as first books of poetry rarely are, “Innocence” reads as if it exists only to be; it pursues no end other than its own being which is the end of all successful works of art, whatever a particular work’s subject. “Innocence” is “that spoken thing/Only now created/That opens out into every room” which is to say, alive from beginning to end, a life.

“Dad, don’t Miss It! (MinEditions-Astra Books for Young Readers) written and illustrated by Qiaoqiao Li. A child and his father are off for a day in the countryside—but dad is distracted by  his computer. Why can’t dad see what the child sees? An enchanting story about the power of unplugging from our devices.

“My Nemesis” (Grove) by Charmaine Craig, author of “Miss Burma”. Tessa is a successful white woman writer who develops a friendship with Charlie, a handsome philosopher and scholar. But obstacles to this burgeoning relationship appear in the guise of Charlie’s mixed-race Asian wife Wah,  as she proves to be both adversary and conundrum to Tessa.

“Berani” (Pajama Press) by Michelle Kadarusman. Malia is determined to save the rainforests and endangered orangutans of her Indonesian homeland. Ari is grateful for the chance to live with his uncle and go to school but his uncle’s caged orangutan’s living condition is breaking his heart. When Malia and Ari cross paths, their futures— and the orangutan’s—will forever be changed in this middle grade novel.

“Dust Child” (Algonquin) by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, internationally bestselling author of “The Mountains Sing”. Due out March 2023. This novel gives voice to those Amerasian children born to American GIs and Vietnamese women during the Viet Nam War. A gripping, triumphant story about families lost and found and the eternal power of forgiveness.

“Brown Is Beautiful” (Farrar Straus & Giroux) by Supriya Kelkar and illustrated by Noor Sofi. On a day hike with her grandparents, a young Indian American girl takes pictures of things in nature that are brown like her. An uplifting story of self-love and new beginnings.

“Abundance” (Graywolf) is a novel by Jakob Guanzon. A father and son on the edge of poverty lose their safety net and fall into the abyss of hopelessness that plagues the American landscape. What makes people poor and what kind of system keeps them mired in that condition.

byYQ is a small press created by children’s author Yobe Qiu to publish her picture books for children. Here are three of their titles. “Our Moon Festival” illustrated by Christina Nel Lopez looks at the way this holiday is celebrated in China, Vietnam and Japan including the use of puppets, poetry, lion dances and lanterns. ”Asian Adventures A – Z” as illustrated by Jade Le journeys around Asia highlighting traditions and cultures of Asia’s countries while also teaching little ones, the alphabet. “I Am An Amazing Asian Girl – A Positive Affirmation Book For Asian Girls” as illustrated by Jade Le follows an assertive Asian girl on a journey of positive affirmations as she embraces her culture and identity.

Step away from your daily life and enter the stillness of “Mindfulness Travel Japan” (Hardie Grant) by Steve Wide and Michelle Mackintosh. This book brings you 100 of the best travel experiences all over Japan.

“The Boy Who Tried To Shrink His Name” (Farrar  Straus & Giroux) by Sandhya Parappukkaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira. In this picture book, a young boy with a long name starts at a new school. Worrying that the teacher and classmates will trip over pronouncing his name, he decides to abbreviate it. But deep down, it dosen’t feel quite right. This warm, uplifting story will encourage young readers to celebrate their authentic selves, and come to the realization that no one should ever have to shrink themselves to fit in.

“Glorious Boy” (Red Hen) by Aimee Liu. “Set in a penal colony on the remote Andaman Islands, this novel is the whirlwind story of vanishing cultures, Unbreakable codes, rebellion, occupation, and colonization, all swirling around the disappearance of a mute four-year-old boy on the eve of the Japanese occupation of Port Blair.” – Rahna Reiko Rizzuto.

“Model Machines – A History Of The Asian As Automaton” (Temple University Press) by Long T. Bui. “In this powerful and indispensable historiography, Long Bui puts to rest any lingering doubt about the pernicious pervasiveness of the model machine myth that has long cast Asians as technologized non-humans in American cultural and economic histories.” – Betty Huang

“Dragon Noodles Party – A Story of Chinese Zodiac Animals” (Holiday House) by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Paula Pang. This children’s picture book involves all the animals of the Chinese zodiac as they go on a journey one by one to prepare food for a party for one of their favorite friends.

“About Us – Young Photography in China” (Hirmer) by Eva-Maria Fahrner-Tutsek and  Petra Giloy-Hirtz. What does photography tell us about the life experience of an individual facing a rapidly changing society? What pictorial language is a younger generation of artists in China creating in its search for self-understanding? This book of over 200 photographs from the 1990s to the present by forty artists gives us an inside glimpse and shows how it is experienced and lived by its young people.

“Direwood” (Page Street) by Catherine Yu. When older sister Fiona goes missing, sixteen-year-old Aja discovers a vampire is responsible. But to find her sister, she must follow this vampire into the woods. Shocking body horror and dangerous romance with a vampire co-mingle in this debut novel. A gothic tangle of a tale.

“The Age of Goodbyes” (Feminist Press) by Li Zi Shu as translated by YZ Chin. In 1969, in the wake of Malaysia’s deadliest race riots, a woman named Du Li An secures her place in society by marrying a gangster. In a parallel narrative, a critic known only as The Fourth Person explores the work of a writer also named Du Li An. And a third storyline is in the second person: “you” are reading a novel titled “The Age of Goodbyes”. Floundering in the wake of your mother’s death, you are trying to unpack the secrets surrounding your lineage. This novel is a profound exploration of what happens to personal memory when official accounts of history distort and render it taboo.

“The Curious Thing” (W. W. Norton) by Sandra Lim. “These are poems of passion and self-scrutiny and female rage, but Sandra Lim is not a poet of explosive feeling. The poems have a prose elegance; they are cool, detached, ruminative, with a kind of whistle-in-the-dark bravado. Here is a mind studying itself and its ambivalence, exact at every turn, and by the end, breathtaking.” –Nobel-Prize winning poet Louise Gluck.

“Seen And Unseen – What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adam’s Photographs Reveal About The Japanese American Incarceration” (Chronicle) by Elizabeth Partridge and Lauren Tamaki. This young adult history book weaves together photo documentation, first hand accounts, and stunning original art to reveal the history, heartbreak, and injustice of the Japanese incarceration.

PAON – Real Balinese Cooking”  (Hardie Grant) by Tjok Maya Kerth Yasa and  I Wayan Kresna Yasa. Direct from the traditional home kitchens of Bali, “PAON” is a cookbook of true Balinese food and recipes. Locals share more than 80 traditional dishes alongside essays and beautiful photography, capturing the life, culture and food from across the island.

“The Book of Goose” (Farrar Straus & Giroux) is a novel by Yiyun Li. As children in a war-ravaged, back water town, Fabienne and Agnes built a private world, invisible to everyone but themselves—–until Fabienne, the ruler of their little world, hatched a plan that would change everything, launching Agnes on an epic trajectory through fame, fortune, and terrible loss. When her sister dies, Fabienne embarks on an entirely different relationship with her life and fame.

“Unspoken” (Hirmer) by Miwa Ogasawara. The human between  light and shade, closeness and distance. Ogasawara’s painting represents in all of their nuances. In her pictures she captures the brittle, shimmering present, the beauty and fragility of our existence.

Avatasha Rao’s “Latitude” (The American Poetry Review) was the 2021 winner of the APR/Honickman First Book Prize as selected by Ada Limon. It’s a book of poems that honor both the human animal and the timelessness of our earth in poem after poem.

“Plant-Based Himalaya – Vegan recipes from Nepal” (Red Lightning) by Babita Shrestha. This Nepalese author shares 38  vegan recipes from her home country that she has been cooking and eating since her youth. Born in Nepal’s Bara district, Shrestha is a chef, photographer, graphic designer, and filmmaker. This book is designed to inspire you to cook and eat exquisitely vegan home-style Nepali cuisine.

“Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club” (Berkley) by Roselle Lim. When a disgraced matchmaker returns from Shanghai to her hometown of Toronto, the prospects seem bleak. That is until she meets a group of older Chinese men who never found love. They adopt her and shower her with support. This is a story rich with a love of food, family support and cultural identity. 

“Ai Weiwei – In Search Of Humanity”  (Hirmer) Edited by dieter Buchhart, Elsy Lahner and Klaus Albrecht Schroder. This book serves as the catalog for the most comprehensive retrospective for this Chinese artist to date by the Albetina Museum. The exhibition offers an impressive overview of the artist’s career spanning more than four decades and includes key works from all his creative phases. With short essays by various writers.

“A Bit of Earth” (Greenwillow)by Karuna Riazi. A reimagining of the classic “The Secret Garden” tells the story of a Pakistani girl bounced between relatives after her parent’s death and then shipped off to America where she feels lost until she discovers the garden, a place off limits yet where her self  identity can bloom.

“This Place is Still Beautiful” (Balzer + Bray) by Xixi Tian is a story of two estranged sisters who could not be more unlike, forced together after a racially-motivated  hate crime marks their family in small town Ohio. It explores racism, identity, the model minority myth, sisterhood and how hometowns are inextricably part of who we are even as we leave them.

“My Magical Castle” (Abrams Appleseed) written and illustrated by Yujin Shin. This board book for toodlers flies kids off to a magical castle with a dragon and his friends. They can push, pull and slide the images inside to bring their adventures to life.

“O.B.B.” (Nightboat Books) by Paolo Javier. Crafted through years-long collaborations O.B.B. aka The Original Brown Boy is a postcolonial techno dream pop comics poem. It is a book that can’t be pinned down with many identities; it is a comics poem and a manifesto on comics poetry; an experimental comic book sequel to a poem twenty years in the making; and an homage to the Mimeo Revolution, weird fiction, Kamishibai, the political cartoon, Pilipinx komiks history, and the poet bp/Nichol. Javier deconstructs a post-9/11 Pilipinx identity, amid the lasting fog of the Philippine American War, to compose a far-out comic book.

“Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon” (Abrams) by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Joy Ang. The author re-invents the old folktale of a girl in a red cape gobbled up by a wolf and presumes to tell the “real” story.  That of a little girl who lives with her mother near the Great Wall of China and practices kung fu. When she ventures into the woods to visit a sick grandmother she encouners a mighty dragon. With her wits and sword in hand, she defeats the monster. With action, humor and vibrant drawings, a classic fairy tale gets a new life.

“Poukahangatus” (Knopf) by Taye Tebble. Hilarious, intimate, moving and virtuosic, this young woman is one of the most exciting new voices in poetry today. She challenges a dazzling array of mythologies – Greek, Maori, feminist, Kiwi – peeling them apart, respinning them in modern terms. Along the way, Tibble scrutinizes perception and she as a Maori woman fits into trends, stereotypes, and popular culture.

“You’ve Changed – Fake Accents, Feminism, and Other Comedies from Myanmar” (Catapult) by Pyae Moe Thet War. A Myanmar millennial speaks back in this electric debut essay collection playfully challenging us to examine the knots and complications of immigration status, eating habits, Western feminism in an Asian home, and more, guiding us toward an expansive idea of what it means to be a Myanmar woman today.

“A Venom Dark And Sweet” (Feiwel & Friends) by Judy I. Lin. A great evil has come to the Kingdom of Daxi. The banished prince has returned. Mass poisonings have kept the people bound in fear and distrust. Ning, a young magician has escorted the princess into exile with her bodyguards. These four young women must go in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back the throne. But an evil more ancient than the petty conflicts of men haunts. What can be done before it consumes the world?

“The Boy Who Tried To Shrink His Name” (Abrams) by Sandhya Parappukkaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira. When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts at a new school, he knows he’ll have to introduce himself to lots of new people. To simplify things for people, he decides to use a shorter nickname. It works find but deep down, it doesn’t feel right. This picture book is a warm and uplifting story that encourages young readers to celebrate their authentic selves and eclaims that on one should ever have to shrink themselves to fit in.

“Virgil Kills: Stories” (Nightboat Books) by Ronaldo V. Wilson. Linked stories, alighting from a US, Black and Filipino imaginary through a central character, Virgil, and his accounts of race, sex, and desire. This book forms, manifesting a set of poetic investigations—revealing black and brown life, memory, dreams, the sea, the sex-act, the line. Virgil travels in theaters and lots, moves against class, whiteness, on stages, at lecterns, in studios and a luxury vehicle. Virgil records in the sensorium of cruising lovers, real love, family, T.V., and characters with names like “Butch,” “Stream,” “Clean”—his precise unfurling.

“Koreatown, Los Angeles – Immigration, Race, and the ‘American Dream’” (Stanford University Press) by Shelly Sang-Hee Lee. This book tells the story of an American ethnic community often equated with socioeconomic achievement and assimilation, but whose experiences as racial minorities and immigrant outsiders illuminate key economic and cultural developments in the United States since 1965.

“Sunday Pancakes” (Dial) written and illustrated by Maya Tatsukawa. Geisel Award honoree Tatsukawa has created a heartwarming and nourishing story that celebrates friendship and the ultimate comfort food. And aspiring young chefs can also test out the pancake recipe found in the story at the end.

“Becoming Nisei – Japanese American Urban Lives in Prewar Tacoma” (UW Press) by Lisa M. Hoffman & Mary L. Hanneman. Based on more than forty interviews, these informants share stories of growing up in Japanese American Tacoma before the incarceration. Recording these early twentieth-century lives counteracts the structural forgetting and erasure of prewar histories in both Tacoma and many other urban settings after WW II.

“Theo Tan And The Fox Spirit” (Feiwel & Friends) by Jesse Q. Sutanto. From the author of the adult bestseller, “Dial A For Aunties” comes her first middle grade fantasy.  Theo Tan doesn’t want a spirit companion – he just wants to be a normal American kid. But when his older brother dies, he ends up inheriting his fox spirit, Kai. Though both are not happy with this arrangement, they must set aside differences to honor the brother’s last wishes or the mystery he died for will remain unsolved forever.

“Saving Sorya-Chang And The Sun Bear” (Dial Graphic) by Trang Nguyen & Jeff Zdung. A poignant middle grade graphic novel adventure based on a true story, about a young conservationist who overcomes the odds to save a sun bear.

“Toasty” (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House) written and illustrated by Sarah Hwang. Toasty is made of bread but he loves dogs so much he wants to be a dog even though he knows there are a few differences. Can toasty find a way to become a dog? Or will he discover that he can be something more than he imagined?

“The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern” (Melville House) by Rita Zoey Chin. Raised as “the youngest and very best fortune teller in the world” by her mother, Leah Fern is devastated when that very same mother disappears from her life. Fifteen years later and no sight of her mom, Leah decides to end her life only to be interrupted by a knock on the door and a message that takes her on a journey that will be a revelation.

“The Dawn of Yangchen – Chronicles of the Avatar” (Amulet) by F. G. Yee. Yangchen has not yet earned the respect felt for her predecessor, and the loss of her sister has left her with few true allies. But in Bin-Er – a city run by corrupt shang merchants seeking to extract themselves from the Earth King’s influence – a chance encounter with an informant named Kavik leads to a wary partnership.  This propulsive third installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series illuminates our heroine’s journey from uncertain, young woman to revered leader.

“Yuna’s Cardboard Castles” (Beaming Books) by Marie Tang and illustrated by Jieting Chen. Yuna and her family have moved from Japan to the US and she doesn’t speak English yet. At first, her attempts to catch the attention of the neighborhood kids get lost in translation, but when she shows that she can do something very special with paper, a whole new world unfolds. In the back of the book, there is information about the origin of origami and how kids can fold their own paper boat.

“The Backstreets – A Novel From Xinjiang” (Columbia University Press) by Perhat Tursun as translated by Darren Byler and anonymous. “The publication of this book, together with Byler’s illuminating introduction, is a landmark event in English-language world literature. The narration of the life of a Uyghur office worker in Urumchi is unforgettable and mind-blowing. The style, mood and scope are evocative of Camus while still feeling utterly distinctive and unprecedented. A triumph.”- Elif Batuman. This novel is by a contemporary Uyghur author who was disappeared by the Chinese State.

“Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun” (Salaam Reads) by Hena Khan. The first book in a humor-filled middle grade series starring a young Muslim girl with an endless list of hobbies searching for ways to maximize fun for her family and neighborhood friends.

“Three Assassins” (Overlook) by Kotaro Isaka is the follow up to the international bestselling author of “Bullet Train” (now a Hollywood movie). Translated from the Japanese by Sam Malissa, the story pits an ordinary man against a network of quirky and effective assassins. To get justice for his wife’s murder, this man must take on each of the three assassins while struggling to maintain his moral center.

“Penguin and Penelope”(Bloomsbury) by Salina Yoon. This Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator reintroduces her beloved character Penguin who helps guide a lost baby elephant back to her herd. A lovely tale  about the bonds of friendship that resonate long after separation with simple yet evocative illustrations in bright colors.

“Diary Of A Void” (Viking) by Emi Yagi as translated by David Boyd and Lucy North. A thirty-something Japanese woman gets a new job in Tokyo to escape sexual harassment at her old one. In her new capacity, she finds as the only woman in the office, she is expected to do all the menial tasks. When she invents a story that she is pregnant, she is relieved of these tasks. But how long can she perpetrate this ruse before being discovered?

“Diwali in My New Home” (Beaming Books) by Shachi Kaushik and illustrated by Aishwarya Tandon. A poignant story about an Indian girl’s experience of celebrating Diwali for the first time since coming  to the US. What will be the reception when she introduces this holiday to her neighbors in a new place with those unfamiliar with this traditional holiday?

“A Catalog of Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On” (Columbia) by Dung Kai-Cheung as translated by Bonnie S. McDougall and Anders Hansson. “These half-allegorical sketches by a uniquely gifted Hong Kong writer bring to us a nostalgic mosaic of the sights and sounds of a city whose cosmopolitan splendor is fast fading.” – Leo Ou-Fan Lee 

“Nine Color Deer” (Levine Querido) Written and illustrated by Kailin Duan and translated by Jeremy Tiang. Inspired by a 1,500 year-old- mural found in the Mogao Caves of Dunhunag, China, Duan weaves a beautiful story about the power of kindness when a unique colored deer saves a drowning man.

“Fuccboi” (Little Brown), a novel  by Sean Thor Conroe. It’s late 2017, a year after Trump’s election and our main character is broke, bitter and washed up as a failure at everything he’s attempted in life. As he wonders how sustainable is this mode of failure, the reader gets a look at an unvarnished, playful and searching examination of what it means to be a man in today’s world.

“Never Teach a Stegosaurus to do Sums” (Kane Miller) by Rashimi Sirdeshpande and illustratd by Diane Ewen. Can you imagine what might happen if you taught a stegosaurus this skill? She might learn to code or build a robot or fly to the moon. And than what would happen? Celebrate the places that math can take you in the colorful fantasy.

“If You Could See The Sun” (Inkyard) is a young adult novel by Ann Liang. In this genre-bending debut, a Chinese American girl monetizes her strange new invisibility powers by discovering and selling her wealthy classmates’ most scandalous secrets. But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, she must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience for –or even her life.

“The Boy Who Met a Whale”(Peachtree)  by Nizrana Farook. The author of “The Girl Who Stole an Elephant” returns with a tale of  a Sri Lankan fisherboy who gets swept up in a thrilling seafaring adventure, complete with a kidnapping, missing treasure, and a huge blue whale. Set against the vibrant landscape of Sri Lanka, this delightful caper will thrill young fans of adventure with empathetic heroes, missing treasure, and a great beast lurking beneath the waters.

“Never Show a T. Rex a Book” (Kane Miller) by Rashmi Sirdeshpande and illustrated by Diane Ewen. A laugh-out-loud story for kids that’s brimming with imagination, mayhem, and a celebration of the power of books.

“Navigating Chamoru Poetry – Indigeneity, Aestheties, and Declonization” (University of Arizona Press) by Craig Santos Perez. Poet and scholar Perez looks at Indigenous CHamoru poetry from the Pacific Island of Guahan (Guam) and brings critical attention to a diverse and intergenerational collection of CHamoru poetry and scholarship.

“Muscle Memory” (Kaya) by Jenny Liou (forthcoming October 2022). This Washington-based poet grapples with violence and identity, beginning with the chain-link enclosure of the prizefighter’s cage and radiating outward into the diasporic sweep of Chinese American history.

“Boobies” (Groundwood) written and illustrated by Nancy Vo. This Canadian writer/artist approaches the theme of breasts in a refreshing humorous way taking us on a journey from mammals to humans to mountains and the differences and similarities that lie within.

“While I was Away”(Quill Tree) by Waka T. Brown is a young adult non-fiction book. When Waka’s mother suspects her twelve-year old daughter can’t understand basic Japanese, she makes a drastic decision to ship Waka from her rural Kansas home to Tokyo to live with her strict grandmother and reconnect with the culture and master the language. If she’s always been the “smart Japanese girl” in American but is now the “dumb foreigner in Japan, where is home…and who will Waka be when she finds it?

“Lost in the Long March” (Overlook) by Michael X. Wang. This gripping debut novel is set against the backdrop of Mao’s Long March and its aftermath.  It contrasts the intimate with the political, revealing how the history of a country is always the story of its people, even though their stories can be the first to be lost.

“Blanket” (Groundwood) by Ruth Ohi. This is the author’s first wordless picture book that tells the heartfelt, evocative story about those times when you want to hide away from the world — and how much it can mean to have a friend who will stay by your side and keep you company. She does all this with the characters of a sad cat and her friend, the dog.

“Afterparties” (Ecco) – Stories by Anthony Veasna So was the debut short story collection about Cambodian American life that offered insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities. It garnered much praise upon publication even after the author’s untimely death before its publication. Now this summer, it will make its paperback edition debut.

“Fairest” (Penguin) by Meredith Talusan. This book tells the story of a precocious boy with albinism raised in a rural Philippine village who would grow up to become a woman in America. Perceived as white in the U.S., Talusan would go on to Harvard but required a navigation through complex spheres of race, class and sexuality until she found her own place within the gay community.

“Vanished” (University of Nebraska Press) – Stories by Karin Lin Greenberg. Winner of the RAZ/Schumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, this book tells the story of women and girls in upstate New York who are often overlooked or unseen by those around them. Humorous and empathetic, the collection exposes the adversity in each character’s life, each deals with something or someone who has vanished – a person close to her, a friendship, a relationship – as she seeks to make sense of the world around her in the wake of that loss.

“Golden Age” (Astra House) is a novel by the late Wang Xiaobo as translated by Yan Yan. When a rumor surfaces that a man is having an affair with a woman in a Chinese village, a 21 year-old ox herder is shamed by local authorities and forced to write a confession for his crimes. Instead, he takes it upon himself to write a modernist literary tract. A leading icon of his generation, Xiabo’s cerebral and sarcastic narrative is a reflection on the failures of individuals and the enormous political, social and personal changes that traumatized 20th century China.

“People From Bloomington” (Penguin Classics) by Budi Darma. Translated by Tiffany Bao. This is the first English translation of a short story collection about Americans in Mid-west America by one of Indonesia’s most beloved writers. Set in Bloomington where the author lived as a grad student in the 1970s. In an eerie, alienating, yet comic and profoundly sympathetic portrait, the author paints a picture of the  cruelty of life and the difficulties that people face in relations to one another.

“And Those Ashen Heaps That Cantilivered Vase of Moonlight” (Wave) by Lynn Xu. This unique book-length poem is part protest against reality, part metaphysical reckoning, part international for the world-historical surrealist insurgency and part arte povera for the wretched of the earth.

“Complicit” (Atria) is a novel by Winnie M. Li. It tells the story of a young but eager daughter of Chinese immigrants who takes a lowly but coveted position at a New York film production company. Gradually she works her way up the ladder only to see her dream crumble to dust. Ten years pass and when a reporter appears, investigating the director she once worked for before quitting the business – she must decide what to do. Does she tell the world her story? Does she want revenge? And can she face her own involvement in her downfall?

“Beating Heart Baby” (Flatiron) by Lio Min is a tender friends-to-enemies-to lovers story with AAPI leads, celebrates first love, second chances, indie rock and transitions in life of many kinds. An anime-influenced, young adult, queer coming-of-age love story not without complications and  challenges.

“House of Sticks”(Scribner),a memoir by Ly Tran. The author weaves together her family’s immigration experience with her own fraught and courageous coming-of-age to form a portrait of one girl’s struggle to reckon with her heritage and forge her own singular path.

“Solo Dance” (World Editions) by Li Kotomi is an important queer Chinese-Japanese novelist who as a millennial paints a picture of growing up in today’s Japan and Taiwan and his efforts to find a place for himself in a  this shifting, confusing landscape. Translated by Arthur Reiji Morris.

“A Mermaid Girl” (Viking) by Sana Rafi and illustrated by Olivia Aserr.  When a Muslim girl enters the water at a community pool in her yellow birkini, she is met with skepticism. But when her mother instills confidence in the tradition of her family, she begins to shine.

“Chinatown” (New Directions) by Thuan. An abandoned package is discovered in the Paris Metro: the subway workers suspect it’s a terrorist bomb. A Vietnamese woman sitting nearby with her son, begins to reflect on her life, from her constrained childhood in Communist Hanoi, to a long period of study in Leningrad and finally to the Parisian suburbs where she now teaches English. Through everything runs her passion for Thuy, the father of her son, a writer who lives in Saigon’s Chinatown, and who, with the shadow of the China-Vietnam border war falling darkly between the, she has not seen for eleven years.

“Tomorrow In Shanghai” (Blair) by May-Lee Chai is a book of short stories that explores multicultural complexities through the lenses of class, wealth, age, gender, and sexuality—always tackling the nuanced, knotty, and intricate exchanges of interpersonal and institutional power. Essential reading for  an increasingly globalized world.

“Bloom and other poems”(New Directions) by Xi Chuan as translated from  the Chinese by Lucas Klein. This poet delves into the incongruities of daily existence—its contradictions and echoes of ancient history—with sensuous exaltations and humorous observation.  Melding lyrical beauty with philosophical intensity, the collection ends with a conversation between the poet and the writer Xu Zhiyuan.

“I Guess I Live Here Now” (Viking) by Claire Ahn. When Melody and her mother are suddenly forced to leave New York to join her father in Seoul, she is resentful and homesick. But she adjusts into her fashionable Korean lifestyle until cracks begin to appear on its glittering surface. The story is a revealing exposure of who and what “home” really is.

“Kundo Wakes Up” (Tordotcom) by Saad Z. Hossain. “Cyberpunk, high fantasy, climate catastrophe, and at its heat, a compelling story about broken people finding each other and a way to become whole again.” –Samit Basu. A companion to the Ignite  And Lucus Award-nominated novella “The Gurkha And The Lord Of Tuesday”.

“Sewing Love – Handmade  Clothes for Any Body” (Sasquatch) by Sanae Ishida, author of  “Sewing Happiness”. Learning to create and customize your own patterns empowers you to make exactly the kinds of clothes you want, and it solves the fit issues of ready-to-wear clothing (and even commercial patterns) designed to fit one “ideal” body type.  Take a journey to loving the body you have, as you learn to sew beautiful, simple handmade clothes.

“UNNIE” by Yun-Yun is inspired by a true tragedy. Yun-Young’s sister who was a secondary school teacher and was one of those who go missing during the sinking of the Sewol ferry in South Korea in 2014. Yun-young and the family await word of her rescue or that her body has been found. Yet no news comes as the days, months and years go by. Yun-Young’s sorrow feels poisoned. She can’t move on with her life without understanding her sister’s life. Thus begins a journey to discover who her sister really was.

“Zachary Ying And The Dragon Emperor” (McElderry Books) by xiran  Jay Zhao.Zachary Ying had never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of Chin for a vital mission. To save the mortal realm, a young hero must journey into a world where myth and history collide.

From the winner of the Philippine National Book Award for Fiction comes the novel entitled “The Betrayed” (Europa) by Reine Arcache Melvin. This book tells the story of two sisters who love the same man. As dictatorship and political upheaval ravage the Philippines, the sisters’ conflicting passions threaten to lead them to betray not only each other, but all that their father stood for.

“COSPLAY – The Fictional Mode of Existence” (Minnesota) by Frenchy Lunning. Flourishing far beyond its Japanese roots, cosplay has become an international phenomenon with fervid fans who gather at enormous, worldwide conventions annually. Lunning offers an intimate, sensational tour through cosplay’s past and present, as well as its global lure.

“Bronze Drum – A Novel Of Sisters And War” (Grand Central) by Phong Nguyen. This is a fictionalized account of the true story of the Trung sisters, shared in Vietnam through generations for thousands of years. A tale of women warriors who rise  up against the oppressive rule of the Han Chinese, ushering in a new period of freedom and independence.

“TSUCHI: Earthy Materials In Contemporary Japanese Art” (University of Minnesota Press) by Bert Winther-Tamaki. This book is an examination of Japanese contemporary art through the lens of ecocriticism and environmental history. Collectively referred to by the word “tsuchi”, earthy materials such as soil and clay are prolific in Japanese contemporary art. Highlighting works of photography, ceramics, and installation art, the author explores the many aesthetic manifestations of “tsuchi” and their connection to the country’s turbulent environmental history, investigating how Japanese artists have continually sought a passionate and redemptive engagement with the earth.

“Fierce And Fearless –Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Congress”(NYU Press) by Gwendolyn Mink. “This book chronicles Mink’s transformative leadership as she fought for ethnic, racial, gender, and environmental justice-and an end to war – even as she encountered systemic discrimination, physical and psychological abuse, and betrayal by her party. This gripping narrative illuminates the extraordinary policy accomplishments and the astounding personal costs of a principled and path breaking life in U.S. politics.” Excerpted from a quote from author Mary Hawkesworth.

“Taste Tibet – Family Recipes from the Himalayas” (Interlink Publishing) by Jule Kleeman & Yeshi Jampa.  Nourishing, simple, seasonal food that heals as well as fuels might be popular today but it has been traditional in Tibet for over 8,000 years. This book offers over 80 recipes from the Tibetan Plateau, written for today’s home cook. Alongside the recipes, stories are interwoven of a Tibetan childhood in Tibet.

“Dream of the Divided Field” (One World)  by Yanyi. “Here is a book of the body, a book like no other: tender and eloquent, a singing across borders, across silences. This is a book to read when we wake in the middle of the night and need a voice that is filled with longing, triuth, and the delight of being, despite all the painful odes” – excerpted from a quote by Ilya Kaminsky.

“Activities Of Daily Living” (Norton) is a novel by Lisa Hsiao Chen. Built around the performance art of Tehching Hsieh and the act of witnessing the end of a father’s life, our narrator struggles with issues of time, death, illness and the making of art and its symbiotic relationship to everyday life.

“Self-Portrait With Ghost” (Mariner) by Meng Jin (publication date of July 5, 2022) is a new book of short stories by the author of “Little Gods”. Written during the turbulent years of the Trump administration and the beginning of the pandemic, this book explores intimacy and isolation, coming-of-age and coming to terms with the repercussions of past mistakes, fraying relationships, and surprising moments of connection. The stories move between San Francisco and China, and from unsparing realism to genre-bending delight, this collection considers what it means to live in an age of heightened self-consciousness, with seemingly endless access to knowledge, but to have little actual power.

“The Noh Family” (Kokila) by Grace K. Shim. A Korean American teenage girl in Tilsa, Oklahoma is obsessed with K-dramas but she gets a real shock when she learns she’s related to an extended family on her deceased father’s side. When an invitation is extended, she is exposed to this family’s luxurious life-style. While the grandmother is welcoming, the rest of the family gives her the cold shoulder. What deep, dark secrets are hiding in this family’s closet?

“Japan’s Best Friend – Dog Culture In The Land Of The Rising Sun” (Prestel) by Manami Okazaki. For thousands of years, dogs have played a crucial role in Japanese society. This profusely color illustrated book looks at the country’s love affair with canines, exploring how they are represented through local traditions, as well as the extraordinary lengths to which they are exalted within pop culture.

“Only the Cat knows” (Red Hen Press) is a novella by Ruyan Meng. This harrowing and extraordinary story, based on a true event, is part of a series of tales illuminating the microcosm of all humanity contained in a typical Chinese “worker village” in the 70s. Here, an exploited young factory worker has nothing to live for beyond a frail chance of a pay raise. When it  never  happens, he feels trapped between his family and official greed, indifference, and corruption.

“The Interrogation Rooms Of The Korean War – The Untold History” (Princeton) by Monica Kim. “This is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material. Kim casts a fresh, innovativ1e light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict.” – Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. 

“Kin Thai – Modern Thai recipes to Cook at Home” (Hardie Grant)  by John Chantarasak. The title translates as “Eat Thai” and is a collection of accessible, modern and classic recipes from one of London’s leading chefs. Influenced by his Thai and British heritage, Chantarasak shines a light on lesser-known Thai cuisine as well as the more popular dishes by exploring the use of western ingredients to achieve the flavors synonymous with Thai food. With over 60 delicious recipes and accompanying photography, “Kin Thai” is a celebration of the culture, cooking techniques and flavors of Thailand.

“Scatterted All Over The Earth” (New Directions) by Yoko Tawada as translated by Margaret Mitsutani. In this novel, the world’s climate disaster and its attendant refugee crisis are viewed through the loving twin lenses of friendship and linguistic ingenuity. In the not-too-distant future, Japan as a country has vanished. Hiroko, a former citizen and climate refugee  teaches immigrant children in Denmark. As she searches for anyone who  an still speak her native tongue, she makes new friends through her travels.

 “Troubling the Water – A Dying Lake and a Vanishing World in Cambodia” (Potomac Books – University of Nebraska Press) by Abby Seiff. A eulogy to Cambodia’s once magnificent Tonle Sap Lake and the water culture of Cambodia and how it was destroyed by global warming, a dam and the greed of people.

“Love Decoded” (Razobill) by Jennifer Yen. When the niece of a professional matchmaker gets it in her head to create a fun-friend-making app online, it goes viral. But when this success turns into a major scandal and threatens her relationship with her best friends, this teenage girl is put in a dilemma only she can solve, but can she really?

“Winter Love” (McNally Editions) by Han Suyin. This short novel by the author of “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” recalls a love affair between two women at the end of WWII in war-torn London.

“The Last Ryu” (Levine Querido) by Emi Watanabe Cohen. Kohei has never seen a big dragon in real life like his grandpa says he has. But when his grandfather falls seriously ill, Kohei goes off on a journey to find this dragon with the help of friends.

“Woman Running in The Mountains” (NYRB) by Yuko Tsushima with an introduction by Lauren Groff as translated by Geraldine Harcourt. A young single mother seeks refuge in the company of other women, then ventures beyond the city into the countryside towards a mountain that captures her imagination and desire for a wilder freedom.

“Tokyo Dreaming” (Flatiron) by Emiko Jean is the sequel to “Tokyo Ever After” in which a common Japanese American family learn their connection to Japanese royalty and a teenage girl becomes a princess. But just as her parents are about to be married, the Imperial Household questions their pedigree. What can she do if playing the perfect princess means sacrificing her own path and the failure to follow her own heart. 

“Racist Love – Asian Abstraction and the Pleasures of Fantasy” (Duke) by Leslie Bow. The author traces the ways in which Asian Americans become objects of anxiety and desire. Conceptualizing these feelings as “racist love”, she explores how race is abstracted and then projected onto Asianized objects.

“Fish Swimming In Dappled Sunlight” (Bitter Lemon) by Riku Onda as translated by Alison Watts. Set in Tokyo over the course of one night, a couple meets for one last time before breaking up. Their relationship broken down by the death of their guide on a mountain trek, each believes the other to be a murderer.

“All the Flowers Kneeling” (Penguin)  by Paul Tran. Visceral and astonishing, this debut book of poetry investigates intergenerational trauma, sexual violence, and US imperialism in order to radically alter our understanding of freedom, power and control.

“Peasprout Chen – Battle of Champions” (Henry Holt) by Henry Lien. Now in her second year at Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword, Peasprout Chen tries to reclaim her place as champion of wu liu, the deadly and beautiful sport of martial arts figure skating. But Peasprout faces a surprising threat. As Peasprout guides her mission to save a kingdom, she must learn what it truly means to be a leader.

“Vulgar Beauty – Acting Chinese in the Global Sensorium” (Duke) by Mila Zuo. In this book, Zuo offers a new theorization of cinematic feminine beauty by showing how mediated encounters with Chinese film and popular culture start to produce a feeling of Chineseness.

“Disorientation” (Penguin Press) by Elaine Hsieh Chou tells the unforgettable story of a Chinese American grad student trying to finish a dissertation on a late canonical Chinese poet and be done with the cultural thing. A curious note in the archives leads to an explosive discovery that sets off a rollercoaster of mishaps and mis-adventures. A blistering send-up  of privilege and power in America.

“All About Vietnam – Projects & Activities for kids” (Tuttle) by Phuoc Thi Minh Tran as illustrated by Dong Nguyen & Hop Thi Nguyen, In this lavishly detailed picture book, children will get an inside look at Vietnam’s vibrant culture, while learning through fun, hands-on games, songs, and activities. This multicultural children’s book is a great fit for story time at home or in a classroom.

“Climate Lyricism” (Duke) by Min Hyoung Song looks at how climate change affects the work of American authors as varied as Frank O’Hara, Tonny Pico, Sholmaz Sharif, Kazuo Ishigoro and others. This is a powerfully argued case for literature and poetry as a way of cultivating sustained attention to climate change in this tumultuous time.

“Birds of Paradise Lost” (Red Hen Press) by Andrew Lam is a collection of short stories that looks at what happened to the “Boat People” who escaped after the fall of Saigon.

“My Mechanical Romance” (Holiday House) by Alexene Farol Follmuth. When Bel accidentally reveals her talent for engineering, she finds herself a loner in her school’s legendary robotics club. Fortunately, Mateo who is captain of the club recognizes Bel as a potential asset. As competition heats up for national competition, the two form a closer relationship. This YA novel explores the challenges girls of color face in STEM and the vulnerability of first love with wit and honesty.

“Eighteen Vats of Water” (Creston) by Ji-Li Jiang as illustrated by Nadia Hsieh.  The award-winning author of “Red Scarf Girl” returns with another story of Chinese culture and history. Xian has always wanted to be a great calligrapher like his father. As he studies, Xian learns how much work and creativity go into what look like effortless strokes. Based on actual history, this book is about creativity, learning to see, and determination, as well as the importance of family traditions.

“Love Decoded” (Razorbill) by Jennifer Yen. A young adult novel about a teenage girl creates a friend-making app to earn a shot to represent her school and the chance at a prestigious tech internship. Trouble is, the app becomes a major scandal and ends up hurting her friends. How can she salvage her friendships?

“When I’m Gone, Look For Me In The East” (Pantheon) by Quan Barry. From the acclaimed author of “We Ride Upon Sticks” comes her new novel that moves across a windswept Mongolia, as estranged twin brothers make a journey of duty, conflict, and renewed understanding. Are our lives our own, or do we belong to something larger? This novel is an examination of our individual struggle to retain our convictions and discover meaning in a fast-changing world, as well as a meditation on accepting simply what is.

“And Those Ashen Heaps That Cantilevered Vase of Moonlight” (Wave) by Lynn Xu. This book-length poem is epic yet intimate and in various shades of design that unrolls itself across the page s it spreads its words like seeds in the wind. Part protest against reality, part metaphysical reckoning, part international for the world-historical surrealist insurgency and part arte povera for the wretched of the earth.

“Tokyo Dreaming” (Flatiron Books) by Emiko Jean is a sequel to the bestseller “Tokyo Ever After”. When Japanese American teenager Izumi Tanaka learns that her father was the Crown Prince of Japan, she goes to Tokyo to finally find a place she belongs. When it appears that she will have a royal wedding and marry her bodyguard turned boyfriend, things turn awry.  Her parents are breaking up, the Imperial Household Council refuses to approve the marriage and her boyfriend makes a shocking decision about their relationship. Will Izumi pull it all together.

“Peach Blossom Spring” (Little, Brown) by Melissa Fu. It is 1938 in China, and Meilin, a young wife, has a bright future. But when the Japanese army approaches, Meilin and her four-year old son, Renshu are forced to flee their home. Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter, Lily, is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. Spanning continents and generations, this book is a look at the history of China, told through the journey of one family.

“CURB” (Nightboat) by Divya Victor won the 2022 Pen Open Book Award. These poems document how immigrants and Americans navigate the liminal sites of everyday living undergirded by violence. It bears  witness to immigrant survival, familial bonds, and interracial parenting within the context of nationalist and white-supremicist violence against South Asians. 

“The Verifiers” (Vintage) is a novel by Jane Pek. Claudia Lin is an amateur sleuth who verifies people’s online lives and lies for a dating detective agency in New York. Things go smoothly until a client with an unusual request goes missing. She breaks protocol to investigate—and uncovers a maelstrom of personal and corporate deceit. Part literary mystery and part family story, this novel offers an incisive examination of how technology shapes our choices, and the nature of romantic love in the digital age.

“Set On You” (Berkley) by Amy Lea is a romance novel that follows the life of a fitness instructor who after a recent break-up takes solace in the gym, her place of power and positivity. That calm turns competitive when a firefighter enters the gym and the two begin to spar.

“Red Thread Of Fate” (Berkley) by Lyn Liao Butler is a story of loss and recovery and a powerful message about the ties of family. After the tragic death of her husband and cousin on the eve of their adoption of a son from China, things get complicated. Tam Kwan finds herself a widow and sudden mother. She is named the guardian of the cousin’s five- year-old daughter without her knowledge. Now, Tam must decide if she will complete the adoption on her own and bring home the son waiting for her in a Chinese orphanage.

“Sunday Funday in Koreatown” (Holiday House) written and illustrated by Aram Kim. Yoomi has big plans for her day – make kimbap for breakfast, wear her favorite shirt, get her favorite books from the library and visit Grandma with her dad. But nothing goes right. This charming picture book shows how even when things don’t turn out the way you want to, the day can be rewarding. This is a story of resilience, family, and Korean culture.

“The Sunflower Cast A Spell To Save Us From The Void” (Nightboat) by Jackie Wang. Although dreams, in psychoanalytic discourse, have been conceptualized as a window into the unsconscious, Wang’s poetry emphasizes the social dimensions of dreams, particularly the use of dreams to index historical trauma and social processes.

“Search History” (Coffee House Press) is a novel by Eugene Lim. Frank is dead—or is he? While eavesdropping on two women discussing a dog-sitting gig over lunch, a bereft friend comes to a shocking realization: Frank has been reincarnated as a dog! This epiphany launches a series of adventures—interlaced with digressions about AI-generated fiction, virtual reality, Asian American identity in the arts, and lost parents—as an unlikely cast of accomplices and enemies pursues the mysterious canine.

“A Magic Steeped In Poison” (Feiwei & Friends) by Judy I. Lin. When Ning realizes it was she who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her mother and now threatens to take away her sister too, she is beside herself. But she takes on the challenge to find the kingdom’s true masters of the magical art of tea-making for the princess will grant a favor to the winner. A favor she hopes will save her sister.

“The Trees Witness  Everything” (Copper Canyon Press) by Victoria Chang. This latest book of poetry by Chang balances the Japanese traditional from of tankas to grab at the core of the world. Largely insipid by the poet W.S. Merwin, she explores the self and how it abuts nature, often running through that boundary entirely.

“Aerial Concave Without Cloud” (Nightboat) by Sueyeun Juliette Lee. This is a collection steeped in the bluest apocalypse light of solar collapse and the pale, ghostly light of personal devastation.nr Lee channels and interprets the language of starlight through her body into poetic form.

“Hana Hsu And The Ghost Crab Nation” (Razorbill)  by Sylvia Liu. Desperate to figure out what’s going on, Hana and her friends find themselves spying on one of the most powerful corporations in the country – and the answers about the mystery could be closer to home than Hana’s willing to accept. Will she be able to save her friends – and herself – from a conspiracy that threatens everything she knows?

“Cadenzas” (Redbat Books) by Alex Kuo. This is a unique, double-sided work of fiction that narrates a conversation between music and languge, with walkins by Dorothy Parker, Dante, Edith Sitwell, J.S. Bach, Qiu Jin, Dmitri Shostakovich and June Jordan. It is Alex Kuo’s accumulation of more than eighty years of living, listening, and writing on several continents and breathing in the cadences of several languages, including three Chinese dialects.

 “Loveboat Reunion” (Harper Teen) by Abigail Hing Wen. A couple teenagers emerge from a tumultuous past in which hearts were broken and revenge was plotted but all is forgiven as they become friends Determined to forge a future, Sophia has college plans and Xavier plays the waiting game, hoping to dodge his overbearing father long enough to collect his trust fund when he turns eighteen. But obstacles are in their way, can they succeed together or are they destined to combust?  Find out in this young adult romance novel.

 “Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest” (Groundwood) by Uma Krishnaswami as illustrated by Christopher Corr. In this colorfully illustrated picture book, the author lets the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and mountain climber Edmund Hillary both tell their story as they ascend Mt. Everest.

“Back To Japan – The Life and Art of Master Kimono Painter, Kunihiko Moriguchi” (Other Press) by Marc Pettijean and translated from the French by Adriana Hunter. This book describes the life and art of a master Kimono painter and Living National Treasure whose influences ranged from the Paris art scene of the1960s to the Japanese world of tradition where he began to contemporize the craft of yuzen (resist dyeing) through his innovative use of abstraction in patterns.

“Maizy Chen’s Last Chance” (Random House) by Lisa Yee. A Chinese American teenage girl finds herself in a small all-white town where her family’s Chinese restaurant has been around for years. But something’s not right. A family treasure is missing and someone has left a racist note. This book is a tribute to Chinese Americans and to immigrant families, and an unforgettable celebration of love, belonging and asking hard questions.

“The Village Of Eight Graves” (Pushkin Vertigo) by Seishi Yokomizo as translated by Bryan Karenyk. A mountain village called “Eight Graves” takes its name from a centuries-old massacre. When a young man arrives from the city to claim a mysterious inheritance and death follows in his wake, the villagers suspicions fall upon the newcomer. The young man must rely on the help of detective Kosuke Kindaichi to uncover the murderer and save his own reputation before the villagers take justice into their own hands.

“Brother’s Keeper” (Holiday House) by Julie Lee. Its 1950 in North Korea and everything is restricted. A family prepares to flee but war breaks out. Only the twelve year old daughter and her mother’s eight-year old son can make it out to escape to the South.  They face insurmountable obstacles as they begin this journey.

“The Dreamweavers” (Holiday House) by  G. Z. Schmidt. As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, 12 year olds Mei and Yun Wu are excited as the Emperor of China’s son comes to their village to sample their grandfather’s incredible moon cakes. But when disaster strikes that night, these kids are left to their own devices on how to rescue their grandfather and village from a terrible fate. A middle-age novel  for youngsters.

 “The Wishing Tree” (Harper) by Meika Hashimoto and illustrated by Xindi Yan. This picture book tries to depict the spirit of giving and the spirit of xmas in a young child and how it lights up a whole town.

 “The Grandmaster’s Daughter” (Green Willow) by Dan-ah Kim. In a small quiet village sits a martial arts school where the daughter of the grandmaster must teach as well as learn from every daily task. Colorful illustrations enhance this picture book.

 “Love and Reparation – A Theatrical Response To  The Section 377 Litigation In India” (Seagull Books) by Danish Sheikh. On 6 September 2018, a decades-long battle to decriminalize queer intimacy in India came to an end. The Supreme Court of India ruled that Section 377, the colonial anti-sodomy law, violated the country’s constitution. ‘LGBT persons,’ the Court said, ‘deserve to live a life unshackled from the shadow of being “unapprehended felons”.’ But how definitive was this end? The playwright navigates these questions with a deft interweaving of the legal, the personal, and the poetic in these two plays.

“It All Comes Back To You” (Quill Tree) by Farah Naz Rishi. For fans of “Pride & Prejudice” comes an enemies-to-lovers rom com about first love and second chances by this Pakistani American YA novelist.

 “Rouge Street – Three Novellas” (Metropolitan Books) by Shuang Xuetao and translated by Jeremy Tiang.  With an introduction by Chinese Canadian novelist Madeleine Thien. An  inventor dreams of escaping his drab surroundings in a flying machine. A criminal, trapped beneath a frozen lake, fights a giant fish. A strange girl pledges to ignite a field of sorghum stalks. These are the characters that populate the world of this writer who evokes the voice of people from China’s frigid northeast in Shenyang, China. A gritty region once an industrial hub but now weighed down by unemployment, poverty, alchoholism, domestic violence, divorce and suicide.

“Word Travelers And The Taj Mahal Mystery” (Sourcebooks) by Raj Haldar and illustrated by Neha Rawat. Best friends Eddies and MJ are going to play outside, create an obstacle course for MJ’s newts, watch their favorite movies and then travel to India to solve a mystery and save a kingdom.

 “Touring The Land of The Dead” (Europa Editons) by Maki Kashimada as translated by Haydin Trowell. This book consists of two novellas that concern memory, loss and love. The title story invokes a woman who takes her chronically ill husband to a spa, the site of a former luxury hotel that her grandfather had taken her mother to when she was small. “Ninety-Nine Kisses” portrays the lives of four unmarried sisters in a close-knit neighborhood of Tokyo. Inspired by Tanizaki’s “The Makioka Sisters”.

 “Longing and Other Stories” (Columbia University Press) by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki.  Tanizaki is one of the most eminent Japanese writers of the twentieth century and known for his investigations of family dynamics, eroticism, and cultural identity. He is acclaimed for postwar novels such as “The Makioka Sisters” and “The Key”. This book presents three early stories of family life from the first decade of the author’s career. Translated by Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy.

“Pillar of Books – The Moon Country Korean Poetry Series” (Black Ocean) by Moon Bo Young as translated by Hedgie Choi. Still in her early 30’s, Young is part of a younger generation of poets in South Korea. As Kim Na-Young, judge of the Kim Soo-Young Prize awarded to this volume said, “The work of witnessing and representing life is so easily marred and thwarted by the anxieties and loneliness present in each of our lives, and yet, this poet looks squarely at the world, presenting the truth in it with such solidity and composure that I can’t help but root for her and the new language she discovers in the process.” 

“Winter Phoenix – Testimonies In Verse” (Deep Vellum) by Sophia Terazawa.  A book of testimonies in verse, this book is a collection of poems written loosely after the form of an international war crimes tribunal. The poet, daughter of a Vietnamese refugee, navigates the epigenetics of trauma passed down, and across, the archives of war, dislocation and witness, as she repeatedly asks, “Why did you just stand there and say nothing?”

 “The One Thing You’d Save” (Clarion) by Linda Sue Park and illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng.  In this book, a Newbery medalist poses a provocative question about what matters most. Students talk, argue and stand by their choices as they discover unexpected facets of one another—and of themselves. With insight and humor, Park captures the voices of an inclusive classroom in verse inspired by the Korean poetry form sijo.

“Murakami T – The T-Shirts I Love” (Knopf) by Haruki Murakami. Photographs of Murakami’s T-shirt collection are paired with short, frank essays that include his musings on the joy of drinking Guinness in local Irish pubs, the pleasure of eating a burger upon arrival in the United States and Hawaiian surf culture in the 1980s.

In “Gamma  Draconis” (Titan Comics), acclaimed artist Eldo Yoshimizu teams up with writer Benoist Simmat to create a dazzling crime tale of a Japanese heroine who takes on a sinister crime organization.

The Gleaner Song – Selected Poems” (Deep Vellum) by Song Lin as translated by Dong Li. Song Lin is one of China’s most innovative poets. When the Tianamen protest exploded in Beijing, Song led student demonstrations in Shanghai for which he was imprisoned for almost a year. Leaving China, this selection of poems spans four decades of exploration with a focus on poems written in France, Singapore and Argentina and more recently, his return to China.

“Leilong the Library Bus” (Gecko Press) by Julia Liu and illustrated by Bei Lynn. This award-winning book from Taiwan translated by Helen Wang tells the charming tale of a dinosaur who loves books and story time. Unfortunately his huge size causes problems when he tries to enter the library with the kids. How the problem is solved and how the dinosaur becomes an ambassador of library books is cleverly and humorously resolved in this picture book that parents will enjoy reading to their kids.

 “Wombat” (Candlewick) by Christopher Cheng and illustrated by Liz Duthie. This picture book teaches kids about the wombat, Australia’s “bulldozer of the bush.”

“The Wedding Party” (Amazon Crossing) by Liu Xinwu and translated by Jeremy Tiang. A wedding party is planned in a Beijing courtyard. Set at a pivotal point after the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, Xinwu’s tale weaves together a rich tapestry of characters, intertwined lives, and stories within stories. A touching, hilarious portrait  of life in this crowded city.

“The Secret Listener – An Ingenue In Mao’s Court” (Oxford)  by Yuan-Tsung Chen tells the fascinating tale of an extraordinary life in a tumultuous China from the 1920s to the 1970s. It’s a vivid, compelling portrait of life, conflict and love among the elite and downtrodden circles in the Republican and Communist eras.

Newbery Medal winner Erin Entrada Kelly makes her middle-age level debut which she illustrates herself with “Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey” (HarperCollins). It’s a story about friendship and being brave when you feel shy or shaky.

 “Bodhi Sees the World – Thailand” (bala kids) is written and illustrated by Marisa Aragon Ware. A young girl finds herself in a foreign city, exploring the streets of Bangkok where she begins to experience the world through a new culture.

“The School For Good Mothers” (Simon & Schuster) is a novel by Jessamine Chan. A taut thriller of a story about a mother who struggles to get her daughter back under the punishing scrutiny and judgment aimed at mothers everywhere – especially against those who aren’t wealthy or white.

“Dragon Legend – The Dragon Realm Series, Book 2” (Sterling) by  Katie & Kevin Tsang. When a friend is kidnapped and taken through a time portal, Billy Chan and his friends must travel through time on their dragons to save him in this middle-grade level adventure novel.

 “Scars of War – The Politics of Paternity  and Responsibility for the Amerasians of Vietnam” (University of Nebraska Press) by Sabrina Thomas. This book explores ideas of race, nation, and gender in the aftermath of war. Thomas exposes the contradictory approach of policymakers unable to reconcile Amerasian biracialism with the U.S. Code. As they created an inclusionary discourse deeming Amerasians worthy of American action, guidance, and humanitarian aid, federal policymakers simultaneously initiated exclusionary policies that designated these people unfit for American citizenship. 

“India Mahdavi” (Chronicle) is the first monograph on this world-renowned, award-winning Iranian interior designer. Along with her design projects, the book highlights her custom furniture, lighting, accessories and brand collaborations in a visually stunning design that sets off the work.

“Of Arcs And Circles – Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature and Art” (Stone Bridge Press) by Marc Peter Keane. From his vantage point as a garden designer and writer based in Kyoto, the author examines the world around him an delivers insights on the Japanese garden, the meaning of art and other fascinating topics.

“Happy Diwali” (Henry Holt) by Sanyukta Mathur and Courtney Pippin-Mathur. Pippin-Mathur also did the illustrations This radiant picture book celebrates Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

“Borderless – A Memoir Of A  Young Revolutionary In The 21st Century” (Wake Up Press) by Gary Pak. A fifteen-year-old revolutionary of mixed  ethnicities, narrates this story of promise and opportunity in a post-captitalist/post-imperialist country formerly part of the USA. Join this teenager and his sister on a journey through a city devastated by earthquakes and breed, but during a time when a new world of sharing and equality is being built from the ashes of the old.

“Ready for the Spotlight” (Candlewick) written and illustrated by Jaime Kim. This picture book demonstrates the sometimes competitive but always loving relationship between two sisters who shine in different ways. Little sister trains hard to be a ballerina but is always overshadowed by her big sister who gets the leading role.

 “Roxy The Unisaurus Rex presents Oh NO! The Talent Show” (Feiwel & Friends) by Eva Chen and illustrated by Matthew Rivera.  The annual talent show is coming. Many dinosaurs have brilliant skills to show off but Dexter feels like he has no talent at all. With encouragement from Roxy, he learns being a good friend could be the most important talent of all.

 “Where Is Bena Bear?” (Henry Holt)  written and  illustrated by Mike Curato. Tiny is having a party but the bear is nowhere to be found. Searching for Bina, Tiny realizes something is wrong and sets out to make it right. A humorous picture book about friendship, understanding and embracing our loved ones  just as they are (even if they are painfully shy).

“American Home” (Autumn House Press) by Sean Cho A. won the 2020 Autumn House Chapbook Prize. The poems reflect a keen eye on everyday occurrences and how these small events shape us as individuals.

 “Genghis Chan on Drums” (Omnidawn),  poems by John Yau. This noted arts writer and poet returns in his latest book to his alter-ego of Genghis Chan and lacerates with acerbic humor and wit the  topics of the day, clichés about being Chinese, the language of philosophers and the residue of racism and popular culture.

“Usha and the Big Digger” (Charlesbridge) by Amitha Jagannath Knight and illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat. Part of the “storytelling Math” series in which books depict children using math as they play, build, and discover the world around them. When two kids look up at the seven stars in the sky, they see different things. One sees the Big Dipper and another sees the Big Digger and a cousin sees the Big Kite. What exactly is going on?

“Anzu The Great Kaiju” (Roaring Brook Press) written and illustrated by Benson Shum. All great Kaiju are born with a superpower to strike fear into the heart of their city but Anzu is different. Instead of mayhem, he likes mayflowers. Instead of striking fear, he prefers to be sincere. Can Anzu find a way to make his family proud and still stay true to himself. From this Disney illustrator comes this heartwarming book about making your own way and the unexpected power of gentleness.

“Idol Gossip” (Walker) by Alexander Leigh Young. A Korean American girl from San Francisco goes from singing lessons to a K-pop boot camp when she and her mom move to Seoul. This debut YA novel is all about dreaming big but staying true to your own values.

 “Brown Boy Nowhere” (Skyscape) by Sheeryl Lim. When a 16 year old Filipino American boy is uprooted from his San Diego home to the middle of nowhere just as he plans to enter a big skateboarding competition, he can’t help but think that “life sucks”. And now he’s the only Asian in an all-white school. But being an outcast has its rewards when he bands together with the rest of his high school outsiders.

 “Remembering Our Intimacies – Modelo, Aloha Aina, and Ea” (University of Minnesota Press) by Jamaica Healimeleikalani Osorio. Hawaiian “aloha ‘aina” is often described in Western political terms as nationalism, nationhood, or even patriotism. In this book, the author focuses on the personal and embodied articulations of aloha aina to detangle it from the effects of colonialism and occupation.

“Faraway” (Columbia University Press) by Taiwanese novelist Lo Yi-Chin and translated by Jeremy Tiang. A Taiwanese man finds himself stranded in mainland China while attempting to bring his comatose father home. He finds himself locked into a protracted struggle with byzantine hospital regulations while dealing with relatives he barely knows. A book that examines  the rift between Taiwan and China on the most personal of levels.

“Manifest Technique – Hip Hop, Empire, and Visionary Filipino American Culture” (University of Illinois) by Mark R. Villegas. Filipino Americans have been innovators and collaborators in hip hop since the culture’s early days. But despite some success, the genre’s significance in Filipino American communities is often overlooked. The author takes into consideration the coast-to-coast hip hop scene to reveal how Filipino Americans have used music, dance, and visual art to create their worlds.

“Enforced Rustification In The Chinese Cultural Revolution” (Texas Review Press) by Jianqing Zheng sounds like an academic study when it actually is a poetic retelling of the author’s experience working in the countryside as a young student. It’s told in poems full of humor, wit and poignancy.

“This Jade World” (University of Nebraska Press) by Ira Sukrungruang , Thai American poet and writer, chronicles a year of mishap, exploration, experimentation, self-discovery, and eventually, healing. It questions the very nature of love and heartbreak, uncovering the vulnerability of being human.

“Personal Attention Roleplay” (Metonymy Press) – Stories by  Helen Chau Bradley. A young gymnast crushes on an older, more talented teammate while contending with an overworked mother. A  newly-queer twenty-something juggles two intimate relationships. A codependent listicle writer becomes obsessed with a Japanese ASMR channel. A queer metal band’s summer tour unravels in the summer heat. These tales offer portrayals of awkward interactions and isolations of a generation, community and culture.

“Pure Invention – How Japan Made The Modern World” (Crown) by Matt Alt. Japan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man, online imageboards and emojis. But in this book,  a Japan media reporter proves in his investigation, these novelties did more than entertain, they paved the way for our perplexing modern lives.

 “ABC Of Feelings”(Philomel) written and illustrated by Bonnie Lui. This picture book is a journey through the alphabet that shows kids it’s perfectly okay to feel many different things, sometimes all at once. The perfect read-aloud for little ones learning all about feelings and their ABC’s.

“Beasts Of A Little Land” (Ecco) is a novel by Juhea Kim. It is an epic story of love, war, and redemption set again the backdrop of the Korean independence movement. From the perfumed chambers of a courtesan school in Pyongyang to the glamorous cafes of a modernizing Seoul and the boreal forests of Manchuria, where battles rage, Juhea Kim’s unforgettable characters forge their own destinies as they wager their nation’s.

First published in 1937, Genzaburo Yoshino’s “How Do You Live?” (Algonquin) has long been acknowledged in Japan as a crossover classic for young readers and a favorite of Academy Award-winning anime director Hayao Miyazaki who will base his final film on the book. With a foreword by Neil Gaiman and translated by Bruno Navasky, the story involves a young boy who loses his father at the age of fifteen and the journal entries he receives from his uncle about life’s big questions.

“Goodbye, again – essays, reflections, and illustrations” (Harper Perennial) by Jonny Sun. The author of “everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too” returns with this offering of meditative essays, short humor pieces and memorable one-liners covering topics such as loneliness and burnout, advice on caring for dying houseplants, and a recipe for scrambled eggs that might make you cry.

“Faultlines” (Custom House) by Emily Itani. A bittersweet love story of a bored Japanese housewife in a dilemma who  must make choices and a piercing portrait of female identity.

“Outside Voices, Please” (Cleveland University Press) is a new book of poetry by Valerie Hsiung due out October 5, 2021. “Hsiung orchestrates a symphony of voices, past, present, and prescient: time (and with it, history) compresses and expands, yielding long poetry sequences reminiscent of Myung Mi Kim’s sonic terrains and C.D. Wright’s documentary poetics.” – Diana Khoi Nguyen

“Heaven” (Europa Editions) by Mieko Kawakmi. From the best-selling author of “Breasts And Eggs”, a striking exploration of working women’s daily lives in Japan comes a new story of the experience of a teenage boy who is tormented by his schoolmates. It explores the meaning and experience of violence and the consolations of friendship. Translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.

 “Alma Presses Play” (Make Me A World) by Tina Cane. Alma is a half-Chinese and half-Jewish teenage girl going through changes with her Walkman on most of the time. Friends move away, love comes and goes and her parents divorce. In this world of confusing beginnings, middles, and endings, is Alma ready to press play on the soundtrack of her life?

 “Japanese Dress in Detail (Thames & Hudson/Victoria & Albert Museum) by Josephine Rout is the catalog for an exhibition held in Britain in 2020. It brings together more than 100 items of clothing and reveals the intricacies of Japanese dress from the 18th century to the present and includes garments for women, men and children. The details have been selected for their exquisite beauty and craftsmanship and for how much they impart about the wearer’s identity. 

A Way of Looking” (Silverfish Review Press) by Jianqing Zheng. Winner of the 2019  Gerald Cable Book Award.  Zheng, shaped by the Cultural Revolution in China somehow ended up in Mississippi and fell in love with the blues and in this book, he takes the haiga Japanese literary form (one prose journal entry followed by the echo of a haiku poem to end it) and plants it in the deep south.  autumn night/a freight train chugging/across the Yazoo.

 “XOXO” (Harper Teen) by Axie Oh. A teenage romance that blossoms in L.A. and re-ignites in Seoul. A Korean American girl meets a Korean guy on his last day in the city of angels and sparks fly. But she forgets about him when he flies off to Seoul. But when the girl and her mother fly to Seoul to take care of an ailing grandmother, guess who she discovers is in her class. But he is not an ordinary guy, he’s in one of the most popular K-pop bands in the land. And in K-pop, dating is strictly forbidden. Read the book if you want to find out how this complex relationship turns out.

“Head – Hoard” (University of Chicago Press) by Atsuro Riley. Winner of the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, juror Julie Carr had this to say about Riley’s new book – “A landscape charged with the bright light of discernment, where emotions are stirred by rhythmic torsion and sonic density.”

 “Amira’s Picture Day” (Holiday House) by Reem Faruqi and illustrated by Fahmida Azim. A joyful and sensitive look at the Muslim holiday of Eid as seen through the eyes of a young girl who loves to celebrate but feels conflicted because her school class photo shoot happens the same day.

“Colorful” (Counterpoint) by Eto Mori. Translated from the Japanese by Jocelyne Allen. This popular novel in Japan finally finds its way to the U.S. in this English translation.  A young adult tale of death, mental health and what it means to truly live. When a formless soul is given a second chance to return to earth and inhabit the body of a fourteen-year-old boy who has just committed suicide, things get complicated.

Now it’s becoming more common for foreign players to break into U.S. professional baseball but “MASHI – The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams Of Masunori Murakami, The First Japanese Major Leaguer” (Nebraska) by Robert K. Fitts takes us back to 1964 and tells the story of Japan’s first major leaguer in America. A baseball  pioneer’s tale.

“The Alpactory – Ready, Pack, Go!” (Harper) written and illustrated (charmingly, I might add) by Ruth Chan. Most kids when embarking on a trip have trouble deciding what and how to pack. Let an alpaca with unusual packing skills be your guide as you contemplate your next journey. 

“In The Watchful City” (Tor Dot Com)  by S. Qiouyi Lu. Anima is an extrasensory human with the task of surveilling and protecting the city. But what happens when a mysterious outsider enters this world with curiosities from around the world? A multifaceted story  of borders, power, diaspora and transformation.

“City of Illusion” (Viking Graphic) is the graphic novel follow-up to Victoria Ying’s “City of Secrets”. In this sequel our child heroes Hannah and Ever live with the Morgan family in peace until Mr. Morgan is kidnapped. The kids get in a spat with street magicians but the two must learn to work together if the mystery of the missing is ever solved.

“Silent Parade – A Detective Galileo Novel” (Minotaur) by  Keigo Higashino. Detective Galileo, the author’s best-loved character from “The Devotion of Suspect X” returns in a complex and challenging mystery – several murders, decades apart, with no solid evidence. DCI Kusanagi turns once again to his college friend, Physics professor and occasional police consultant Manbu Yukawa, known as Detective Galileo, to help solve the string of impossible to prove murders.

 “The Rice in the Pot Goes Round and Round” (Orchard) by Wendy Wan-Long Shang and illustrated by Lorian Tu.  A clever twist on “The Wheels on the Bus” in which  the eating of Chinese food is celebrated with love and laughter within a multi-generational family.

Ghost Food (One World) by Pik-Shuen Fung. A sparely written novel about a first generation of immigrants in Canada whose father decides to stay in Hong Kong earning him the title of “astronaut” father. With a lonely mother and ill father, a daughter struggles to understand her family history revealing threads of matrilineal history and the inheritance of stories and silences.

 “Intimacies” (Riverhead) by Katie Kitamura. An American woman newly relocated to The Hague works as an interpreter at a war crimes tribunal. Interpreting for a notorious former president accused of crimes against humanity, and entangled in a complicated love affair with a married man, she wrestles with mounting professional and personal dramas.

 “On The Ho Chi Minh Trail  –The Blood Road, The Women Who  Defended It, The Legacy”(ASIALINK, London) by Sherry Buchanan. Buchanan reveals the stories of the women who defended the Trail against the sustained American bombing campaign – the most ferocious in modern warfare – and of the artists who drew them. She focuses on what life was really like for the women and men under fire, bringing a unique perspective to the history of the Vietnam War.

“Not Here to Be Liked” (Katherine Tegen Books) by Michelle Quach. This young adult novel is about a high school girl Eliza Quan who sees herself as the perfect candidate to be editor of her school paper until an ex-jock white male candidate appears and threatens her ambitions. To thwart his challenge, she writes a viral essay inspiring a feminist movement. But what happens when she starts to like the guy?

“Anne’s Cradle – The Life & Works of Hanako Muraoka” (Nimbus) by Eri  Muraoka as translated by Cathy Hirano. Hanako Muraoka  is revered in Japan for her  translation of L. M Montgomery’s children’s classic, “Anne of Green Gables.” Because of her translation the book had a massive and enduring popularity in that country. This bestselling biography of Muraoka written by her granddaughter, traces the complex and captivating story of a woman who risked her freedom and devoted her life to bringing quality children’s literature to the people during a period of tumultuous change in Japan.

 “Second Sister” (Black Cat) by Chan Ho-Kei. When a schoolgirl commits suicide by leaping from the twenty-second floor, her older sister refuses to believe it. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game through the streets of Hong Kong as big sister hunts for the truth about the murder and the murderer.

 “Faraway Places” (Diode Editions) by Teow Lim Goh. The poems in this book reside in the spaces between the wild and the tamed, from orchid gardens and immense seas to caged birds and high alpine landscapes. It resists narrative and instead inhabits the residues of experience. It may be a private dictionary.

 “Jenny Mei Is Sad” (Little, Brown and Company) written and illustrated by Tracey Subisak. This book introduces young readers to the complexity of sadness and shows them that the best way to be a good friend – especially to someone sad – is by being there for the fun, the not-fun, and everything in between. Charmingly illustrated.

“Vessel – A Memoir” (HarperVia) by Cai Chongda. This tender collection of personal essays by the Editorial Director of GQ China spotlights the family, friends and neighbors of his small town who helped shape him as he struggled to understand himself and what the future might bring as a young boy from simple means.

 “A Way of Looking” (Silver Fish Review Press) by Jianqing Zheng. Half prose, half verse, this book is a heartfelt account of exile and homecoming. Uprooted from Chinese soil after the Cultural Revolution, this immigrant found new roots in the rich dark soil of the Mississippi delta and the home of the blues. Winner of the 2019  Gerald Cable Book Award.

 “Singing Emptiness – Kumar Gandharva Performs The Poetry Of Kabir” (Seagull) by Linda Hess. In this book, two men, five centuries apart, make contact with each other through poetry, music and performance. A great twentieth-century Hindustani classical vocalist takes up the challenge of singing the songs of Kabir, the great fifteenth century poet.

“Boys I Know” (Peachtree Teen Books) by Anna Gracia. A high school senior navigates messy boys and messier relationships in this bitingly funny and much-needed look into the overlap of Asian American identity and teen sexuality. June Chu is leaving high school to face an unknown world, battling her mother’s expectations and the drama of relationships and unsure on how she should work her path through it all.

“Glyph – graphic poetry + trans.  sensory” (Tupelo) by Naoko Fujimoto. The poet finds a new way to connect word and image. Inspired by Emaki (Japanese picture scroll). The poet/artist uses bright colors and designs to bring the words of each poem to the reader in novel ways and  from different directions. Or as Gabrielle Bates states, “I was wondering around the house of poetry and this book showed me to a door I didn’t know existed.”

“Lurkers” (Soho) by Sandi Tan. The author peoples her corner of surburban Los Angeles with two Korean American sisters rocked by suicide and a cast of characters like a creepy drama teacher, a gay horror novelist and a white hippie mom and her adopted Vietnamese daughter. Add drama and stir with a deft pen for optimum results.

“The Many Meanings of Meilan” (Kokila) by Andrea Wang. Meilan’s world is made up of a few key ingredients: her family’s beloved matriarch, the bakery the family owns and a run in Boston’s Chinatown; and her favorite Chinese fairy tales. But things change after her grandmother dies putting the family on the road in search of home. This young adult novel is an exploration of all the things it’s possible to grieve, the injustices large and small that make us rage, and the peace that’s unlocked when we learn to find home within ourselves.

A God at the Door” (Copper Canyon) by Tishani Doshi. Doshi is an award-winning  writer and dancer of Welsh-Gujarati descent. She has published seven books of fiction and poetry. This new volume of poems calls on the extraordinary minutiae of nature and humanity to redefine belonging and unveil injustice.

“Finding My Voice” (Soho) is a reprint of a classic young adult novel by Marie Myong-Ok Lee. It is a timeless coming-of-age story of a Korean American teenage girl who attends an all-white high school in Minnesota. She struggles to fit in while being different. When she falls for a popular white football player. Can this relationship withstand the bigotry of a small town and her family’s disapproval?

 “Tokyo Ever After”(Flatiron) by Emiko Jean. It’s hard growing up Japanese American in a small, mostly-white Northern California town with a single mom. But when Izumi or “Izzy” as she’s known discovers her missing dad is the crown prince of Japan, things become surreal. Traveling to Japan to find her dad, her life is turned upside down. Not American enough in the States, not Japanese enough in Japan. Will Izumi ever land on her feet?

“The Bombay Prince” (Soho) by Sujata Massey. This popular mystery writer’s latest book is a Perveen Mistry series volume. Bombay’s fist female lawyer tries to bring justice to the family of a murdered female Parsi student just as the city streets erupt into riots protesting British rule. Set in 1920s Bombay.

“Angel & Hannah – A Novel in Verse”  (One World) by Ishle Yi Park.The electricity of first love in the heart  of New York’s neighborhoods.  When a Korean American girl from Queens meets a Puerto Rican American boy from Brooklyn at a  quincecanera, sparks fly and so does family opposition and cultural complexity. This former poet laureate of Queens uses bursts of  language and imagery in sonnet and song form to bring alive the glow of first love.

“Swimming Back To Trout River” (Simon & Schuster) by Linda Rui Feng. It’s 1986 and a ten-year-old girl lives in a small Chinese village with her grandparents. Her parents left for the opportunities in America years ago. Now her father promises to pick her up and take her to America by her 12th birthday. The little girl is determined to stay. And what she doesn’t know is that her parents are estranged, burdened by demons from their past. Can one family, with an ocean between them, start anew without losing themselves –or each other? Jean Kwok calls this novel, “A beautifully written, poignant exploration of family, art, culture, immigration, and most of all, love.”

 “Body Facts” (Diode Editions) by Jody Kim. These poems tell the story of a voice that is Korean, American, woman and body. It weaves together Korean history and aesthetics, the speaker’s childhood and family stories, US foreign policy with North Korea, and the things we do and shouldn’t do to our bodies.

“Made In Korea” (Simon & Schuster) by Sarah Suk. A “rom-com” novel debut depicts two entrepreneurial teens who butt heads – and maybe fall in love- while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.

“At The End Of The Matinee” (Amazon Crossing) by Keiichiro Hirano as translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter. Billed as a love story and psychological thriller, this novel traces the years long relationship between a concert guitarist and a journalist and examines whether the relationship will endure and perhaps blossom into something deeper.

 “Finding Junie Kim” (Harper) by Ellen Oh. A young adult novel about a Korean American girl who tries to fit in at school by not sticking out. But when racist graffiti appears at her middle school, she must make a decision. When a teacher assigns an oral history project, Junie decides to interview her grandparents about the Korean war and her world changes.

“A Pho Love Story” (Simon & Schuster) by Loan Le is a romantic YA rom-com in which two Vietnamese American teens must navigate their new  found love amid their family’s age-old feud about their competing pho restaurants.

“If I Were A Tree” (Lee & Low)  by Andrea Zimmerman as imaginatively illustrated by local artist Jin Jing Tsong. This picture book traces two siblings journey into the woods and how they use the five senses to explore the natural world. Tsong’s kaleidoscopic art makes the wooded world come to life and illuminates the author’s poetic ode to trees.

 “Death Fugue” (Restless) by Sheng Keyi as translated by Shelly Bryant. This novel is a dystopian allegory of the Tiananmen Square massacre and banned in China. 

“When Father Comes Home” (Orchard) is written and illustrated by Sarah Jung. June’s father is like a goose: he flies away for long periods of time so when he comes home, it’s a special occasion. This picture book turns the story of migrant fathers who work abroad in hopes of widening the field of opportunity for their children into a heart-warming, reflective tale.

“The Intimacies of Conflict – Cultural Memory and The Korean War” (NYU) by Daniel Y. Kim. The author delves into novels, films and photos to reconstruct memories of war and what it means to Koreans, Asian Americans and people of color

“The Tangle Root Palace” (Tachyon) by Marjorie Liu (“Monstress”} is her debut collection of dark, lush and spellbinding fantasy fiction. It’s full of thorny tales of love, revenge and new beginnings.

 “Tell Me Who You Are: Sharing Our Stories of Race, Culture, And Identity” (Penguin Random House) by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi. Two 17 year old girls (a Chinese American and an Indian American) take a year off after high school and travel the country asking Americans how race has impacted their lives. Out of 500 stories, they edited it down to 115 for this anthology.

Inspired by the Peabody Award-winning podcast, “The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel” (Walker) by Sheila Chari is a young adult thriller. As kids are disappearing one by one from a middle school and their parents don’t seem to care, Mars Patel and his crew go on a desperate search for answers.

“Mapping Abundance For a Planetary Future- Kanaka Maoli and Critical Settler Cartographies in Hawai’i” (Duke) by Candance Fujikane. Fujikane criticizes settler colonial cartographies that diminish life and instead highlights the all encompassing voices of Hawaiian communities and their perspective of abundant healing and protection for the land.

“All You Knead Is Love” (FSG)by Tanya Guerrero. When a 12 year old girl must leave her mother to live with her grandmother in Barcelona, she feels estranged. But then she grows to love that city that her mother once called home. She connects with her Spanish roots, becomes close with her Filipino grandmother and discovers a passion and talent for baking bread. When her favorite bakery is in trouble, she learns what she can do to help.

International bestseller “Kim Jiyong, Born 1982” (Liveright) by Cho Nam-Joo as translated by Jamie Chang is now available in a paperback edition. It follows one Korean millennial “everywoman” as she descends into a psychic deterioration in the face of a rigid misogyny. A rallying cry of feminism and gender that resonated  with women all over Korea.

 “I Am A Bird” (Candlewick) by Hope Lim as illustrated by Hyewon Yum. When a little girl goes on her morning bike ride with her dad, she imitates the sounds of birds. But when she sees a strange woman with a stern demeanor and a mysterious bag, she becomes frightened. A children’s book that encourages readers to embrace over similarities rather then letting our differences divide us.

“Planet Omar Incredible Rescue Mission” (Putnam) by Zanib Mian as illustrated by Nasaya Mafaridik. Omar is excited about his first trip to Pakistan but then tragedy strikes. His favorite teacher goes missing. Could his teacher been abducted by aliens? Omar investigates. Will creative thinking and a galactic spirit of adventure help solve this young adult mystery?

 “Much Ado About Baseball” (Yellow Jacket/Little Bee) by Rajani LaRocca. When Trish finds herself on the same summer baseball team as Ben, her math competition rival, two people must set aside their animosity and join together to help their team win. Will solving a math puzzle help the team succeed? Trish and Ben think so.

 “The Unicorn Rescue Society – The Secret of the Himalayas (Dutton) by Adam Gidwitz & Hena Khan is a continuation of the New york Times bestselling young adult series about the juvenile members of this group who travel to the rugged mountains of Pakistan to rescue a unicorn.

 “The Elephant Doctor of India” (Chicago Review Press) by Janie Chodosh. When a young elephant touching a sagging electric line in Assam, India gets stuck in the mud, there  is only one person to call – Dr. Sarma, the elephant doctor. Chodosh spends time with the doctor and reveals to young readers what this unique veterinarian does for the elephants he encounters.

 “Kudo Kids – The Mystery in Manhattan” (Razorbill) by Maia and Alex Shibutani. This brother & sister Olympic ice skating pair have turned their hands at writing young adult novels. The Kudo Kids come to New York to see the sights but when a dress from their fashion designer auntie’s collection goes missing, they end up in a chase around the city to nab the culprit.

“From Little Tokyo With Love” (Viking) by Sarah Kuhn. Rika is an adopted bi-racial girl with formidable judo skills and a fiery temper. When she hears rumors in her neighborhood that her real mother is not only alive but a Hollywood movie star, she goes on a quest to find her. Accompanied by actor friend Hank, she must make some big decisions that could change the direction in her own life.

“Dial A for Aunties” (Berkley) by Jesse Q. Sutanto. In this rom-com/murder mystery mash-up of mistaken identity and sisterhood, a wedding photographer enlists the aid of her mother and her sisters in hiding the dead body of her blind date while attempting to pull off an opulent wedding for a billionaire client.

 “Renegade Flight” (Razorbill) by Andrea Tang. In this YA fantasy adventure, a young pilot-in-training is grounded when found cheating on an entrance exam. Eager to re-join, she competes in a combat tournament to regain entry only to find she must battle a strangely attractive nemesis.

“Daddy’s Love For Me” (Mascot) by Sarah and JoAnn Jung as illustrated by Chiara Civati. A daughter feels resentment towards her overworked dad when he has no time to spend with her and show his love. When she overhears a conversation between her parents, she realizes how wrong she was.

“Counting Down With You” (Inkyard) by Tashie Bhuiyan. A reserved Bangladeshi teenage girl looks forward to a restful break when her demanding parents go abroad. Instead, she is roped into tutoring the school’s resident bad boy and then talked into a fake-dating façade. But then her life changes as the days go by and the two get to know each other.

 “Nina Soni, Sister Fixer” (Peachtree)  by Kashmira Sheth as illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky. This continuing series on the adventures of a young Indian American girl who looks for a new project while at the same time getting aggravated by her little sister’s behavior. Maybe there is a way to solve both issues at the same time?

 “Fatima’s Great Outdoors” (Kokila) by Ambreen Tariq as illustrated by Stevie Lewis. This picture book is a celebration of an immigrant family’s first outdoor camping trip and how it brings them all together for once inside one big tent under a canopy of stars.

 “Queen of Ice” (Duckbill) by Devika Rangachari. This young adult historic novel delves into the turbulent history of tenth-century Kashmir and Didda, princess of Lohara who learns how to hold her own in a court ridden with factions and conspiracies.

 “Foreign Bodies” (Norton) by Kimiko Hahn. Inspired by her encounter with the Jackson Collection of ingested curiosities at the Mutter Museum, this poet investigates the grip that seemingly insignificant objects have on our lives.

“Black Water Sister” (ACE) by Zen Cho. A modern fantasy  tale of ghosts, gods and the eternal bonds of family ties in the setting of modern-day Malaysia. A young woman returns to Penang and reunites with her extended family while at the sa

 “Leave Society” (Vintage) is Tao Lin’s first work of fiction since 2013. It follows a thirty-year-old novelist living part-time with his parents in Taiwan and part-time in New York who grows increasingly alienated from friends and community back in the U.S. As he rotates between places, the novel chronicles his growth as son, writer and misfit. 

“The Henna Wars” (Page Street Kids) by Adiba Jaigirdar. This romcom about two teen girls with rival henna businesses who find despite their competition, they have to come to terms with a realization of the affection they have for each other.

“In the Watchful City” (TorDotCom) by S. Qiouy Lu. An unforgettable futuristic tale in a secondary world that feels familiar in essence, and that centers trans, nonbinary, queer, mentally ill and Chinese-coded identities. It asks the eternal question, “What good is a city if it can’t protect its people?”

“Clues to the Universe” (Quill Tree) is the Young Adult debut novel by Chrsitina Li. What do an aspiring young rocket scientist reeling from her father’s death and an artistic boy who loves superheroes and comic books have in common? When the two become science class partners, they embark on an adventure and discover themselves while banding together to confront bullying, grief and their own differences.

 “Love Without A Storm” (Blood Axe Books) by Arundhathi Subramaniam is filled with poems that celebrate an expanding kinship: of passion and friendship, mythic quest and modern day longing, in a world animated by dialogue and dissent, delirium and silence.

“Heiress Apparently” (Abrams) by Diana Ma is the first book in an epic, romantic young adult series following the fictionalized descendants of the only officially recognized regent of China. When a young Chinese American woman from Illinois embarks on an acting career in Los Angeles having abandoned plans for college – things turn strange. When she gets a role in “M. Butterfly” shooting in Beijing, she uncovers a royal Chinese legacy in her family her parents would rather she never knew.

“Catcalling” (Open Letter) is a book of poems by Lee Soho. This poet is part of the new wave of innovative feminist and queer poetry appearing in South Korea today.

 “Terminal Boredom – Stories” (Verso) by Izumi Suzuki. This book of short stories introduces readers to a cult figure in Japanese literature who takes a unique slant on science fiction and concerns about technology, gender and imperialism.

“Forty Two Greens – Poems of Chonggi Mah” (Forsythia) as translated by Youngshil Cho. Winner of the Korean Literary Award, this poet’s search for the infinite in nature illuminates moments of beauty in the subconscious.

 “Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing” (LACMA/Prestel) by Stephen Little and Virginia Moon is the exhibition catalog for a major show that illuminates the restrained beauty strength and flexibility of Korean calligraphy. It is the first exhibition held outside Asia to focus on the history of writing and calligraphy in Korea.

“A Sky Beyond The Storm” (Razorbill) is the finale to the popular “Ember in the Ashes” series by Sabaa Tahir. This fantasy series finds the soul catcher must look beyond the borders of his land and take on a mission that could save or destroy – all that he holds dear.

“The Surprising Power of a Dumpling” (Scholastic) by Wai Chin. A teenage girl balances looking after her siblings, working in her dad’s restaurant and taking care of a mother suffering from a debilitating mental illness. A deep true-to-life  exploration through the complex crevices of culture, mental illness and family.

 “The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World” (Overlook) by Laura Imai Messina. A Japanese woman loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami. When she hears of a phone booth where people come to speak to departed loved ones, she makes a pilgrimage there only to find her grief won’t allow her to pick up the phone. A novel based on a true story.

 “Ten – A Soccer Story” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Shamini Flint. A good half-Indian girl in  1980’s Malaysia isn’t supposed to play a “boys” sport but Maya is all game as she achieves her goals while placating a bossy Indian grandmother and holding together a mixed race family on the verge of drifting apart. A young adult novel  that will inspire.

 “The Secret Talker” (HarperVia), a novel by Geling Yan as translated by Jeremy Tiang. Hongmei and Glen seem to have the perfect idyll life in the Bay Area even though their marriage is falling apart. When a secret admirer contacts Hongwei on the internet, his flirting turns into an obsession. 

“The Collected Poems of Chika Sagawa” (Modern Library) won the Pen Award for “Poetry in Translation” for translator/poet Sawako Nakayasu. Now it’s brought back in print in the new Modern Library Torchbearers Series that highlights women who wrote on their own terms, with  boldness,  creativity and a spirit of resistance. Sagawa was a turn-of-the-century daringly experimental voice in Tokyo’s avant-garde poetry scene. Her life was cut short by cancer at the age of 24 but the words she left behind linger on.

“CURB” (Nightboat) is a new collection of poems by Divya Victor. This book documents how immigrants and Americans both, navigate the liminal sites of everyday living, ripped by violence and paved over with possibilities of belonging.

 “Séance Tea Party” (RH Graphic) by Reimena Yee. A lonely girl meets a ghost who haunts her home and finds a new friend. But what happens as the girl grows older and the ghost stays the same age?

 “Nina Soni, Master of The Garden” (Peachtree) by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky. This young adult series about an Indian American fourth grader finds her working on a   garden project with her siblings supervised by their landscape architect mom. What they hadn’t counted on was the unpredictability of mother  nature. Can Nina Soni help this garden survive?

Mindy Kim, Class President” (Aladdin) by Lyla Lee is part of a series of books on the adventures of a teenage Korean American girl. In this story, she decides to run for class president but first she must overcome her fear of public speaking.

“The Truffle Eye” (Zephyr) by Vann Nguyen is the debut collection of poems by this Vietnamese-Israeli poet as translated by Adriana X. Jacobs. In it she tackles questions of identity and cultural legacy from points of emotion and shock.

“Flowering Tales – Women  Exorcising History in Heian Japan” (Columbia University Press) by Takeshi Watanabe. This is the first extensive study of this historical Japanese tale. It unravels 150 years of happenings in Heian era society penned by female writers.

“Pippa Park Raises Her Game” (Fabled Films Press) by Erin Yun. This loose reimaging of “Great Expectations” follows a young Korean American girl learning to navigate her new life at an elite private school in this young adult novel.

 “Some Girls Walk Into The Country They Are From” (Wave) is a new book by Sawako Nakayasu, an artist working with language, and translation – separately and in various combinations. She, alone is responsible for introducing a wide variety of modern Japanese poets  to English readers throughout the years with her fresh and skillful translations. This new volume is a multilingual work of both original and translated poetry.

 “A Taste for Love” (Razorbill) by Jennifer Yen. When a rebellious teenage girl agrees to help her mom’s bakery stage a junior competition, she soon realizes it’s a setup. All of the contestants are young Asian American men her mom has handpicked for her to date. What can she do?

“That Was Now, This Is Then” (Greywolf Press) is the first new collection from Paris Review Editor Vijay Seshadri since his 2014 Pulitzer Prizewinning book, “3 Sections.” Rosanna Warren says of this new book, “These are poems of lacerating self-awareness and stoic compassion. It is a book we need, right now.”

“Midsummer’s Mayhem” (Yellow Jacket) by Rajani LaRocca. When her dad , a renowed food writer loses his sense of taste, it puts a damper on this eleven-year old girl’s dream of becoming a baker and winning a cooking contest. When she meets a boy in the forest, he teaches her about new natural ingredients. Will the everyday magic of baking give her the courage she needs to save her father?

“Every Reason We Shouldn’t” (Tor Teen) by Sara Fujimura. When a teenage girl’s Olympic figure skater dreams fade, she meets a young man at her family’s rink who’s driven to get to the Olympics in speed skating. As a rivalry develops, so does a romance.

“My Name Will Grow Wide Like A Tree” (Greywolf) by Yi Lei and translated from the Chinese by Changtai Bi and Tracy K. Smith. Yiyun Li says of this book, “Yi Lei, one of China’s most original and independent poets, documents not only Chinese history in the past four decades, but also more importantly a woman’s private history of rebellion and residence.”

“Disappear Doppelganger Disappear” (Little A) is by the author of “The Hundred-Year Flood”, Matthew Salesses. Laura Van den Berg writes “How to live in a world that refuses to see you? Matt Kim’s intoxicating battle with his mysterious doppelganger moves him deeper and deeper into the vast and urgent sea of this question – and towards a possible answer. Inventive and profound, mordantly hilarious and wildly moving.”

“The Boys in the Back Row” (Levine Querido) by Mike Jung. When band geeks, comic nerds and best friends Eric and Matt tire of being bullied by racist comments and being called “gay”, they hatch a plan to meet a famous comic book artist during regional marching competition but an enemy has other ideas.

“The Girl Who Stole an Elephant” (Peachtree)  by Nizrana Farook. Deep adventures in the Sri Lankan jungle await young readers as a nobleman’s rebellious daughter steals the queen’s jewelry and makes her escape on the king’s elephant. How will things turn out in the end?

“Pink Mountain on Locust Island” (Coffee House) by Jamie Marina Lau. In her debut novel, shortlisted for Australia’s prestigious Stella Prize, old hazy vignettes conjure a multi-faceted world of philosophical angst and lackadaisical violence. A teenage girl drifts through a monotonous existence in a Chinatown apartment until her dad and boyfriend plot a dubious enterprise that requires her involvement.

“Kimono Culture – The Beauty of Chiso” (Worchester Art Museum) by Vivian Li and Christine D. Starkman tells the story of a Kyoto-based designer that is one of the oldest and most prestigious kimono makers in Japan today.

 “Everything I Thought I Knew” (Candlewick) by Shannon Takaoka. A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor when odd things begin to happen. As she searches for answers, what she learns will lead her to question everything she assumed she knew.

 “Goat Days” (Seagull Books) by Benyamin as translated by Joseph Koyippally. A poor young man in Southern India dreams of getting a job in a Persian Gulf country so he can earn enough money to send to his family back home. When his wish becomes reality, things don’t turn out as planned and he is locked into a slave-like existence herding goats in the desert. Circumstances force him to conceive of a hazardous scheme  to escape his life of loneliness and alienation. But will it be enough?

“Last Tang Standing” (Putnam) by Lauren Ho. “Crazy Rich Asians” meets “Bridget Jones” in this funny debut novel about the pursuit of happiness, surviving one’s thirties intact and opening one’s self up to love.

“AN I NOVEL” (Columbia) by Minae Mizumura as translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter. This novel focuses on a single day of a Japanese expatriate in America as she reflects on her life in this country and why she wants to return to Japan to become a writer and write again in Japanese.

“Sacrificial Metal” (Conduit Books & Ephemera) by Esther Lee. It won the Minds on Fire Open Book Prize. Sean Dorsey writes that the book “dances with astute curiosity and deep tenderness across the shifting grounds of grief, touch, bearing witness, memory, and our obstinate human instinct for future planning. With great compassion, Lee’s poems remind us that everything human eventually unravels…”

 “Forbidden Memory – Tibet During the Cultural Revolution” (Potomac)  by Tsering Dorje. Edited by Robert Barnett and translated by Susan T. Chen. The author uses eyewitness accounts with expert analysis to tell the story of how Tibet was shaken by foreign invasion and cultural obliteration. This book is a long-overdue reckoning of China’s role in Tibet’s tragic past.

 “Paper Bells” (The Song Cave) by Phan Nhien Hao and translated by Hai-Dang Phan is a new volume of poems by a poet shaped by the Vietnam War, forced to re-start a life as a teenager in the U.S. His poems bear witness to a delicate balance between two countries and cultures.

 “So This Is Love: a Twisted Tale” (Disney) by Elizabeth Lim. A young  adult re-telling of the Cinderella story. In this one, Cinderella leaves the house where she works and gets a job as the palace seamstress. Here she becomes witness to a grand conspiracy to overthrow the king. Can she find a way to save the kingdom?

“From Maybe To Forever – An Adoption Story” (Creston) by M. L. Gold and N. V. Fong as illustrated by Jess Hong. Told from a big sister’s point of view, this picture book makes the complicated adoption process clear for the youngest readers and the colorful art show

 “Butterfly Sleep” (Tupelo) by Kim Kyung Ju as translated by Jake Levine is a historical drama based in the early Joson Dynasty. With a mixture of magic realism and dark humor, he tells an existentialist allegory of Korean’s rapid development. This play is a modern fable of a rapidly changing country that must confront its ghosts.

“Lion Boys and Fan Girls” (Epigram) by Pauline Loh looks at teenage boys who make a pledge to ban dating and focus on lion dancing. But they must contend with unusual girls and cyberbullying. The rich culture of Singapore and the fascinating history of lion dance make this a compelling young adult read.

Set in a New England town where accusations led to the Salem witch trials, Quan Berry’s novel “We Ride Upon Sticks” (Pantheon) looks at a 1980’s girls field hockey team who flaunt society’s notions of femininity in order to find their true selves and lasting friendship.

“People From My Neighborhood – Stories” (Soft Skull) by Hiromi Kawakami and translated by Ted Goossen. From the author of the internationally bestselling “Strange Weather in Tokyo”, this new book is a collection of interlinking stories that masterfully blend the mundane and the mythical. In these people’s lives, details of the local and everyday slip into accounts of duels, prophetic dreams, revolutions and visitations from ghosts and gods. Here is a universe ruled by mystery and transformation.

“A Bond Undone” (St. Martin’s Griffin) by Jin Yong is the second volume of “Legends of The Condor Heroes”, one of Asia’s most popular martial arts novels. Translated by Gigi Chang.

 “Taiwan In Dynamic Transition – Nation Building And Democratization” (UW)  edited by Ryan Dunch and Ashley Esarey. This book provides an up-to-date assessment of contemporary Taiwan highlighting that country’s emergent nationhood and its significance for world politics.

 “The Journey of Liu Xiabao – From Dark Horse to Nobel Laureate” (Potomac) edited by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman with Yu Zhang, Jie Li and Tienchi Martin-Liao. Liu Xiabao was more than a dissident poet and this collection of essays capture the intellectual and activist spirit of this late literary critic and democracy icon.

“Harris Bin Potter And The  Stoned Philosopher” (Epigram) by Suffian Hakim. This young Singapore-based writer’s parody of Harry Potter bases the story in Malaysia and seasons it with local and pop cultural references.

“Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade” (Aladdin) by Lyla Lee and illustrated by Dung Ho. Mindy is excited to go to the annual lunar new year parade but things don’t go as planned. Can she still find a way to celebrate?

 “From Maybe To Forever – An Adoption Story” (Creston) by M.L. Gold and N.V. Fong and illustrated by Jess Hong. Told from the view of an eager older sister, this is an endearing story about adoption from an often-neglected point of view.

News & Information

Artist Trust Fellowships are merit-based awards of $10,000 for practicing artists of exceptional talent/ability that reside in Washington state. Applications are open on October 3, 2022 and close on November 7, 2022 at 11:59pm (PST). Go to [email protected] for details.

The Asian American Foundation has partnered with Sundance Institute to launch a new scholarship for AAPI artists. This “Collab Scholarship” will provide technical and creative support. This year’s recipients include Vera Brunner-Sung, Desdemona Chiang, Shayok Misha Choudhury, Tadashi Nakamura, Neo Sora and Sean Wang. In addition, The Asian American Foundation announced this year’s scholarship recipients which included Georgia Fu, Leomax He, Jenna Lam, Simi Prasad, Norbert Shieh and Nicole Solis-Sison.

Centrum has announced the 2022 Emerging Artist and Writer residents for residencies at Centrum, a residency program for creative artists in Port Townsend. This year marks the first Emerging Writers component to the annual Emerging Artist Residency. All residents will receive a month of lodging and stipends for October 2022. Among the ten selected are Frank Abe, Josephine Lee and Satpreet Kahlon. Congratulations to them all and may their stay there reap creative rewards that we all can enjoy. For more details, go to centrum.org.

For opera fans, Operavision is a free opera streaming service. Go to the link https://operavision.e/ for details.

The Seattle Public Library offers free tickets to visit Puget Sound museums. Visit www.spl.org/museumpass for details. Also available for loans is the Discover Pass which provides access to more than 100 state parks and other recreational amenities. Go to www.spl.org/outdoorrecreation.

The University of Washington Press issues a call for writers working on a manuscript or new book proposal. The editors at this local press want to connect with current and prospective authors about new projects and book proposals. They invite writers to contact them by email to set up a meeting by phone or zoom. If interested, contact Executive Editor Lorri Hagman at [email protected].

Fernland Studios artist residencies provide the space, time and ability for BIPOC creative to explore environmentalism through their proposed medium. 2022 Residency Fellows include Borte Batbold, Sophia Callahan, Ching-in Chen, Christina Tran and Ari Laurel (an IE contributing writer) amongst others. For more details, go to fernlandstudios.org.

Congratulations to Wendy Lu, a journalist, disability rights advocate and editor for the New York Times. She was one of 20 recipients of $50,000 grants from the Ford and Mellon Foundation’s 2022 Disability Awards. Winners were  selected by fellow disabled artists from a pool of about 60 nominees.

The 2022 Washington State Book Award finalists were announced by The Washington  Center For The Book and The Seattle Public Library. A winner in each category will be announced on September 13, 2022. Congratulations to these finalists. Under “Bio/Memoir”, Anne Liu Kellor was nominated for “Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging” (She Writes Press). Under “Creative Nonfiction”, Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura were nominated for “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration” (Chin Music Press) along with Ross Ishikawa and Matt Sasaki who did the artwork. Abe and Nimura are IE contributing writers. Under “Fiction”, E. Lily Yu was nominated for “On Fragile Waves” (Erewhon). “Under the category of “General Nonfiction”, Daniel James Brown was nominated for “Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II” (Viking). Under “Poetry”, Sharon Hashimoto was nominated for “More American” (Grid Books/Off the Grid Press). Hashimoto is also an IE contributing writer. For more information about the awards, visit Washington Center for The Book or call 206-386-4636.

Applications are open for The Jack Straw Artist Residency Programs. Writer’s Program deadline is Monday, October 11, 2022. Artist Support and New Media Gallery Program deadline is Monday, November 28. 2022. Questions? – go to [email protected] or call 206-634-0919.

The 2022-23 Hugo House Fellows include Lili Gu, Ari Laurel (an IE contributing writer), Meera Vijayann amongst others. Hugo House provides space and resources to emerging Seattle area writers to complete a proposed project. For details, go to hugohouse.org.

What it means to be Asian in America is a research ? that was undertaken in the fall of 2021 by the Pew Research group. To see the results, go to https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/08/02/documentary-being-asian-in-america.

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