5-9

Naoko Fujimoto: poet, artist and the Japanese machine industry

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I met Naoko at a poetry reading in an Irish pub in South Bend, IN. After the reading, we learned that we both lived in Chicago and decided we should meet in Chicago next time and save ourselves the two hour drive. She is a dazzling poet and in this interview shares a lot of insight into a writer’s life. You can find out more about Naoko and her writing and art on her blog. 

Naoko 021513 D

But first a little bio: Naoko was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan. She came to America as an exchange student at Indiana University South Bend. There, she received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English. Currently, she works as a sales assistant in the Japanese machine industry to support her artistic pursuits.

Tell us, what do you write?

I write poetry and personal essays. My poetry is currently focused on the Japanese earthquake and following nuclear disaster. Before the earthquake happened, my focus was on war. My grandfather was in the navy in Hiroshima during World War II. He was a very quiet person; however, once a while, he rushed to speak about what he saw when the atomic bomb exploded. As Japanese poet, I have a passion to preserve how people live through those ongoing obstacles.  For my personal essays, I used to be a columnist in Indiana University South Bend’s college newspaper. The column series was called “Empty Suitcase.” The essays were about how an Asian exchange student survived American college life with a fork & knife over chopsticks. You may wonder, but they were not food critiques— though— I wrote about twizzler-astic experiments. Now I occasionally write personal essays for my blog.

Can you share a little about your writing process? 

I write everyday with a pen & paper and on the computer. My very first draft is written with both Japanese and English mixed in a notebook. I carry the notes everywhere like a yellow comfort blanket— just like a Linus from Snoopy. Once I am ready to formally write down a poem, I type it in English. For the final process, my husband proofreads my poem. He is a full-time industrial editor; however, we sometimes fight over his word choices, fixing former grammar, and comma rules. I scream, “You are destroying my poem!” even though he is right.

Who are the writers you return to for inspiration?

I like reading traditional literature and philosophic science articles in Japanese. Soseki Natsume (famous Japanese writer, 1867-1916) and Takeshi Yoro (doctor of anatomy at Tokyo Univ., 1937 – current) are my favorite authors. Natsume’s writing is funny in a kooky way even though he is writing about death. His sense of humor is like a ray of light in life. His writing teaches me that I cannot forget “hope” even though I am writing about tragedy. I read Yoro’s books when I need to think outside “common” sense. When I write a poem, I should be very flexible in American, Japanese, and other cultures. I want to write something that I can only create.  I also like “Firstborn” by Louise Glück, “Rose” by Li-Young Lee, “Internal West” by Priscilla Becker, “Rising” by Farrah Field.

So tell us more about being what you do for a living. 

I work as an inside sales support and translator in a Japanese-American company. I graduated in a horrible economic situation. All my college friends, including my husband, had really difficult times finding a job. Fortunately, I found a job through a Japanese agency and was hired.  For a long time I doubted my decision— should I be a starving artist?— However, I concluded that it is very important to have a secure environment financially and emotionally. It has been three years since graduation and I am finally happy where I am in my life.

However, it is tough to keep working in an office environment for artists or anybody; even though, I am paid with benefits. When I am upset, I try to think that I am in a business school with a full scholarship and allowance. I actually have learned a lot about business manners and rules— how to communicate with customers, decide work priorities, and have presentations with clear pronunciation! I am really thankful for my bosses. They understand my artistic characteristic and deal with me.

That business knowledge will help me when I become an established poet later.  Currently, I do not have any books; however, I want my readers to be happy when I sell my books. I would like to read my poems with proper pronunciation. And most importantly, I would like to entertain people through my art.

I recently opened a little art shop on Etsy.  I draw with soft pastels and colored pencils along with my poems. In addition, I am thinking to have a poetry and music reading concert again with a Russian-Estonian pianist sometime in the spring. We had a poetry concert about the Japanese tsunami last June in South Bend, IN.

For my dreams, I would like to create a poetry-musical-concert-theater-reading. I do not know how I am going to create one, but it is super-fun to think about that!

Thank you for sharing this insight and inspiration, Naoko. A mix-media art night sounds awesome. Keep up posted on this dream! 

I think Naoko makes an important point about whether it is nobler to be a starving artist or to create a stable, financially responsible lifestyle for yourself. Virginia Woolf weighed in on this conversation in A Room of One’s Own when she wrote, 

All I could do was to offer you an opinion upon one minor point – a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write …

5-9: Abdel Shakur on fiction, 9th grade, and patience

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Abdel and his daughter, setting up his classroom.

Abdel and his daughter setting up his classroom.

Happy New Year! I’m excited to post today’s interview with Abdel Shakur. I heard about Abdel long before I met him. At Indiana Review, he is the editor who brought you the unforgettable funk issue in 2008. I got there a year after he had moved on to bigger and better things, but the office was still feeling the glow of that issue. Recently, he was kind enough to carve out the time for to correspond with me about the writing life. Abdel’s work has appeared in 2bridges, Glint, and Scissors and Spackle. And you can find him blogging at misstraknowitall.blogspot.com. He lives in Chicago with his family and teaches ninth grade English.

AS: Who are the authors you return to for inspiration?

James Baldwin the most. He’s an awesome role model for purposeful artistry and purposeful living. He’s not perfect, but you got to learn to love your imperfections.

AS: How does teaching influence/inspire/interrupt your writing?

I think one of the biggest insights I had as a teacher is how important it is to present yourself to your students as a model of thoughtful creativity. If I want kids to think, I have to show them how I think. If I want them to read critically, I’ve got to model it. If I want them to be writers than I have to make sure I’m still a writer myself. Of course that’s easier said then done, but I write all of the projects I ask my students to do, which motivates me to want the writing to be as fun and interesting as possible. I also started taking the train to school, which gave me time in the mornings. But this is the first year I could write like that. This is my fifth year of teaching and I feel like I pretty much know what I’m doing. Instead of directing all my creativity to creating projects and worksheets, I try to do a little on my writing every day. Starting that up again is one of my big goals for 2013.

AS:  That’s awesome that you write all the assignments that you give your students. Have any of the assignments turned into a full fledged story for you? Do any of your stories ever take place in fictitious class room? Or do you usually leave the classroom behind when you are writing?

I can’t say that any of my class writing has turned into anything I’d really like to work on further. The stuff I write for class displays a part of my writing, but a lot of the stuff I write isn’t necessarily school-appropriate. I just published a story, The Substitute, in 2 Bridges Literary Review that was influenced by my experience working in a school in Baltimore. It’s one of those class-from-hell experiences.

I’ve also written a bit since then about school stuff, but it’s kind of hard when you’re still immersed in that world to find the distance you need to examine what’s going on. Plus, with a lot of journals being available online, you’ve got to be careful because people have certain expectations about what teachers can and cannot write. Although I love teaching high school, that’s one of the real drawbacks.

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I’m grateful for Abdel sharing his thoughts on what its like to be a writer and ninth grade english teacher. I also feel encouraged by his words of wisdom about patience and by the integrity he models for his students. He’s taking the do-what-I-do approach instead of the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do approach which often is the easier way.

As this new year continues to roll forward what are your big goals of 2013?

5-9: Angela Narciso Torres, poet, mother, editor

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I was lucky to meet Angela Torres at the Poetry Foundation here in Chicago during a poetry reading honoring Lucille Clifton. It was a magnificent evening–the kind of poetry reading that leaves you energized and feeling like everything is brimming with potential. During the wine reception, I sat next to Angela and bumbled over some words while trying to balance a plate of cheese and crackers on my lap. I think I asked her if she was a writer, and she said, Yes, a poet. And then, I asked some awkward question like: What do you do to be a poet. She responded graciously, I write.

This meeting is what sparked the idea to create this series of interviews with poets living and working in the real world. What does it mean to be a writer, a poet? and how does one go about it? Angela agreed to be interviewed, and I think you will agree with me, her thoughtful answers will inspire you to go to your desk and write.

319298_2263232213979_1193589406_n-1First, a little bio: Angela Narciso Torres completed her MFA from Warren Wilson. Her recent poetry is available in the Baltimore, Cimarron, Collagist, Colorado, Crab Orchard, Cream City, and North American Reviews, and in A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. Her poetry manuscript was a finalist in the Crab Orchard, Philip Levine, Brittingham/Pollak, and Idaho Poetry Prize contests. A recipient of an Illinois Arts Council grant, she serves as an editor for RHINO.

AS: Who are the authors you are likely to return to for inspiration? Why?

AT:
  • Jack Gilbert for his ability to sing despite the brokenness of the human condition. See, for instance, his poem “A Brief for he Defense” from his book Refusing Heaven.
  • Sharon Olds who is a master at metaphor-making and who speaks with incomparable clarity, beauty, and truthfulness about the body, the family, being a woman in various roles (mother, daughter, writer, self) without privileging any one over another.
  • Donald Justice because his poems teach us to stand on traditional forms while making them new, and for the melancholy beauty and musicality of his writing.
  • Yusef Komunyakaa for how his work draws directly from experience yet somehow transcends it to create something totally otherworldly through rhythm, sound, and image.
  • Li Young Lee for the spirituality that infuses his writing, and for his use of white space and breath to invite the reader to participate in meaning-making.
AS: What sort of work do you do outside of writing? And how does it influence/inspire your writing?

AT: I help edit RHINO magazine and raise my three boys.

As a writer, I consider it one of my greatest fortunes to be associated with RHINO magazine. The editor-poets I’ve met there are some of the most genuine and generous individuals I’ve ever met. Knowing them helped me gain a sense of connection in the larger Chicago writing community when I moved here 5 years ago. Some of these editors have helped me invaluably in my poetry writing through a poetry critique group in which we exchange and comment on each others’ work. It’s also been very instructive to be on the receiving side of poetry submissions, and humbling too, to see not just the immense talent but also the sheer volume of poetry being written out there.
Though I’ve always been drawn to writing, I like to think that becoming a mother was the main impetus for my beginnings as a serious writer of poetry. When my three boys were under the age of five, I found writing poetry to be a means of carving for myself a sacred space, a room of my own, so to speak. Yet it was the constant tug of daily life that kept me grounded and allowed me to soar with my imagination during the quiet moments–between feedings, during naps, and later, while waiting in the car during piano lessons or soccer practice. In the midst of parenting I learned  to develop the solitary discipline necessary for a writer’s life.  When they got older, I started attending more writers’ workshops and conferences and eventually pursued an MFA through the low-residency program offered by Warren WIlson. But without the constant demands of parenthood on my time and energy, and also without the rewards of raising these wonderful curious beings who saw the world with such freshness and wonder–I don’t think I would ever have found my way into writing poetry.
AS: “The solitary discipline necessary for a writer’s life.” Well said! I am still working on learning how to develop that, but just hearing you speak about it makes me wants to write.
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You can read a few of Angela’s poems here, here and here and learn more about her writing process by reading another interview with her here.
If you were inspired by Angela’s discussion of what its like to be involved with a literary journal, consider getting to know a journal near you. I just learned about Journal of Ordinary Thought published out of Chicago’s Neighborhood Writing Alliance, a social justice and writing organization and am hoping on getting involved in their editing stages.
All literary journals are labors of love and can often use another intern, proofreader, editor, or subscriber, so go, get connected.

5-9: Ellis Felker, poet and owner of Red Oak Publishers

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I am excited to post the interview of the first contributor to my blog series 5-9 which asks poets and writers who are working outside of academia what they do and how they do it. With this series I hope to create a place of dialogue for writers pursuing their craft away from the ivory towers.

I live for the colors of the morning! — Ellis Felkerellis-felker-2012

Ellis Felker is a poet and owner of an independent greeting card company. He is the author of several volumes of poetry which he published through his company. I recently asked him a few questions about his writing and his career.

Alessandra Simmons: What do you write?

Ellis Felker: I write daily journal entries, poetry, short essays and dreams.

AS: Who are the authors your are likely to return to for inspiration or other sources of inspiration?

EF: Depok Chopra and Henri Nouwen.
AS: I’ve also enjoyed reading Henri Nouwen. When did you first read him? Do you have a favorite title?
EF: I first read Henri Nouwen about thirty years ago when my printer was publishing a little book of his. My favorite title is: The Inner Voice of Love. I am now reading a short biography of his called : Genius Born of Anguish. Poor Henri. He never overcame his harsh Catholic upbringing. And he never embraced the fact that he was gay. He clung to the Church until the bitter end.
AS: Tell us more about the work you do outside of writing. 
EF: I own a greeting card company called Red Oak Publishers. I edit art and take photographs for the company. I also do marketing and sales.
AS: Owning a card publishing company sounds like creative and all encompassing work. I’m intrigued. How did you come into that kind of work?

EF: I started my card company 31 years ago. I was taking great photographs and I wanted to share them with the world. I always would rather sell one hundred photos at a dollar each than one photo at one hundred dollars. Again, I had my own vision and I could find no publisher who shared that vision. Out of nowhere I inherited some money. That was the seed money for my card company. I had a vision and a destiny to fulfill and I knew that only I could do it.

AS: What is the most rewarding part of the job? What is your least favorite part?

EF:  The most rewarding part of my card company is taking or finding new images that sell to the public. And that move and influence them. I love selling the card I shot of an archway in Ireland. It is a sympathy card that I have probably sold 10,000 of. I also love the printing of new cards on my printers new digital press. The worst part of my job is all the business and marketing and constant selling. It sometimes fries my poet’s brain! Luckily I have a very good sales director who helps me. Without him I could not run this thing.

AS: How does your profession influence/inspire/interrupt your writing or How do you manage your writing life alongside your professional life?

EF: I blend the two together as much as possible but running my own card company can get mentally overwhelming at times. I sometimes feel split between poetry and business.  Yet some of my writing does end up on my cards. It is still all “me” afterall.  I do wish I had more time to write but that will have to wait a few more years when I sell my card company. I hope I will be “freer” then!?!

AS: Tell me, how did you decided to go the self-publishing route? 

EF: [My poems] are all self-published. I started my own publishing company because I couldn’t find another publisher to publish me. And I felt I could have more control if I published my books myself. Greeting cards too. All I had to do was to come up with my company name (Red Oak Publishers) and hire a printer. Pretty easy. No rejection. Total control.

AS: That sounds great that you can use your writing in your professional work. Can you share an example?

EF: My all-time best selling card (about 30,000) has a photo I took of one of our kittens and below it my words that say: I once asked a four year old what the secret of life was. “Feed the kitties,” she said. “Feed the kitties.” A true story!

AS: Thanks Ellis! I love hearing about your career and writing. It takes a lot of thought and faith to start your own company! Thanks for sharing your story with me and the readers of this blog!