Episode 120 with traci kato-kiriyama, Thoughtful and Reflective Artist, Creative, Historian, and Activist, and Writer of the Work of Art that is Navigating With(out) Instruments

Episode 120 Notes and Links to traci kato-kiriyama’s Work 

 

 

   On Episode 120 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes traci kato-kiriyama, and the two discuss, among other topics, traci’s upbringing with her thoughtful and well-read curators of history and art-her parents-her life as a creative, both as an individual and in collective spaces, themes from her work that are inspired by various muses within and without her family and her local communities, racism against Japanese and Japanese-American and other marginalized communities, and her creative and thought-provoking Navigating With(out) Instruments.  

   traci kato-kiriyama (they+she), author of Navigating With(out) Instruments--based on unceded Tongva land in the south bay of Los Angeles-- is an award-winning multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, and community organizer. As a storyteller and Artivist, tkk is grounded in collaborative process, collective self-determination, and art+community as intrinsically tied and a critical means toward connection and healing. She is a performer & principal writer for PULLproject Ensemble, two-time NET recipient; NEFA 2021-22 finalist for their show TALES OF CLAMOR.  tkk —presented for over 25 years in hundreds of venues throughout North America as a writer, actor, poet, speaker, guest lecturer, facilitator, Artist-in-Residence, and organizing / arts & culture consultant— has come to appreciate a wildly hybrid career (w/ presenters incl. LaMaMa Cabaret; Enwave Theatre; The Smithsonian; The Getty; Skirball Cultural Center; and Hammer Museum, to Zero Gravity; Grand Park; Whisky a Go Go; Hotel Cafe; House Of Blues Foundation Room; and countless universities, arts spaces, and community centers across the country).  Their work is also featured in a wide swath of media and print publications (incl. NPR; PBS; Elle.com; Entropy; Chapparal Canyon Press; Tia Chucha Press; Bamboo Ridge Press; Heyday Books; Regent Press).

tkk is a core artist of Vigilant Love, member of the H.R. 40 Coalition and organizer with the Nikkei Progressives & NCRR joint Reparations Committee, and Director/Co-Founder of Tuesday Night Project (presenter of the Tea & Letterwriting initiative and Tuesday Night Cafe series in Little Tokyo).

 

 

traci kato kiriyama's website

 

Buy Navigating with(out) Instruments

 

traci’s profile on DiscoverNikkei.org

 

traci’s bio for Tuesday Night Project

 

traci reads "Remember All the Children Who Were Never Born to Me" for Poetry Lab

At about 4:00, Pete asks traci about notions of the “writer as speaker,” including a profound quote from Zora Satchell

 

At about 6:20, traci’s cat makes an appearance!

 

At about 6:30, traci talks about her background and her parents’ focus on education and intellectual and historical curiosity, including how The Japanese American Historical Society was founded by her parents 

 

At about 8:30, traci discusses what stories drew her interest in adolescence, including song lyrics, theater, and art of all types

 

At about 11:30, Pete and traci freak out over their collective love and admiration for Tori Amos

 

At about 12:25, traci describes the artists and writers-often playwrights-who thrilled her through high school into college and beyond, such as Wakako Yamauchi, Rumi, Yusuf, Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, and Janice Mirikitani 

 

At about 15:30, Pete wonders about the connection between natural sociability and performance for traci

 

At about 17:30, traci responds to Pete’s question about which artists and creatives inspires her Nancy Keystone and Kennedy Kabasares, Howard Ho, and LA and West Coast standouts Writ Large Press, Not a Cult, Kaia Press, The Accomplices

 

At about 21:20, traci discusses ideas of “representation,” especially with regard to her childhood and the Japanese-American communities of which she was part

 

At about 23:15, traci recounts her experience in seeing Sixteen Candles and the thought process that followed the viewing-regarding racist representations in Hollywood and beyond

 

At about 27:45, traci gives background knowledge on a poem from her collection that references her mother and Dec. 7; it is instructive about the ways in which memory works

 

At about 30:35, traci talks about the aforementioned incident in the school and connections to Michi Weglyn’s book/if and how the story was a microcosm

 

At about 33:35, traci gives background on the book, includiing an impetus from Ed Lin that didn’t exactly bring immediate publication

 

At about 34:40, traci discusses inspiration for the book’s title

 

At about 38:00, traci discusses the idea of the “muse,” including inspiration from her grandfather, Taz Ahmed, her mom, and others

 

At about 40:00, traci responds to Pete’s questions about the rationale for the many different forms used in her collection

 

At about 45:50, Pete and traci discuss “Where We Would Have Gone” and the ideas of “what if” and “predicting the past”

 

At about 48:10, the two talk about the spectrum of sexuality as a theme in traci’s collection, as well as meanings of “queer” and pronoun usage and comfortability with names

 

At about 51:20, traci references her longest acronym and ideas of a “collective coming out” that comes from real life and a poem of hers

 

At about 53:20, traci explains some background on “Death Notes” that are featured in the collection, as well as ideas/themes associated with being close to death; she highlights editor Chiwan Choi’s great help in sharing difficult and “heavy and important” moments

 

At about 58:00, traci discusses her use of “bury” throughout her work

 

At about 59:25, the two explore ideas of racism, family, and resistance in traci’s family; traci shows the photo of her bearded grandfather and talks of discovering his rebellion, which is instructive in many ways

 

At about 1:02:55, traci talks about her mother’s political awareness and Yuri Kochiyama’s “massive impact”; she talks about how traci spoke at a Los Angeles memorial

 

At about 1:06:00, traci connects the “collectivity” of art with artists and the “continuum” of the world’s people and the world’s artists and activists; traci cites WorldMeter as an addictive and important website 

 

At about 1:07:45, traci talks about the poems/letters in the collection that serve as conversations between her and Taz Ahmed, including conversations where the subject matter evolved

 

At about 1:09:45, traci and Pete discuss ideas of “eminent domain” that populate her work

 

At about 1:10:50, traci reads a poem about her grandfather/reparations after reminding listeners about the annual visits/pilgrimages to Manzanar

 

At about 1:14:25, traci reads “Remember All the Children who were Never Born to Me”

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The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

   Please tune in for Episode 121 with Michael Torres, a VONA distinguished alum and CantoMundo fellow. His first collection of poems, AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF NAMES, (Beacon Press, 2020) was selected by Raquel Salas Rivera for the National Poetry Series, named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020, and was featured on the podcast Code Switch. He teaches in the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.

   The episode will air on May 3.