nonfiction

Benjamin Duarte’s Story of Migration

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In his essay “Migration to Immigration,” Benjamin Duarte writes:

I was born in Esqueda, Sonora, Mexico and lived as a Mexican citizen until I was 10 years old, when my Texas-born Mother registered me as a “citizen of the U.S. born abroad.”  I was asked by the consular officer in Douglas, Arizona if I was now “renouncing” my Mexican citizenship. I said “Yes.”  

But what does it mean to renounce one’s citizenship? Join us tonight for Our Stories, Ourselves, a special Third Thursday event hosted by the San Jose Museum of Art, to hear Melinda Marks read this powerful piece.

Benjamin was born in Mexico, immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and came to San Jose at age fifteen. A graduate of James Lick High and San Jose State, he worked as a criminal defense attorney for 30 years before retiring with his wife to the Arizona desert in 2004. An avid runner, Benjamin ran marathons until the age of 73, and stays active with gardening and construction projects on his acre of land.

When asked what immigrant heritage means to him, Benjamin says:

“Immigrant heritage implies an inculcation into more than one culture, which gives one an enhanced understanding of humanity. Not only an understanding of different cultural perspectives on the world and we humans’ place in it, but more importantly, it gives one an insight into the multitude of similarities we humans share. For example, when I lived in Mexico as a child, there was a popular Mexican dance called ‘El Barillo Cervezero.’ When I moved to the U.S., not only was I surprised to learn that the ‘Beer-Barrel Polka’ was a familiar dance here as well, but that it had originated in Germany! Many ‘differences’ are constructed to eliminate or obscure our similarities. Migration and immigration are more than just bodies crossing land; they are a means for folk customs, games, legends, and traditions to spread and flourish. An immigrant heritage has the power to make one a better citizen of the world.”

join us tonight to hear his work performed aloud.

Kai Katayama’s Uniquely American Story

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Sometimes we get a submission that totally blows our socks off. It’s unusual, though, that it comes from a fourth grader.

This spring, Kai Yong-June Katayama sent us his own Ted Talk, entitled “My Uniquely American Story.” He writes movingly about his Korean and Japanese heritage — and what it has felt like to see Asians and Asian Americans unjustly blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. He pairs this with images of his ancestors, including his great uncle, Kazuo Katayama, who served in the 442nd regimental combat team, a segregated Japanese American unit who fought in World War II.

We are delighted to include a recording of Kai performing his story in Our Stories, Ourselves, our Third Thursday show held in partnership with the San Jose Museum of Art, on June 17.

Kai lives in Northern Colorado with his mom, dad, and aunt. He enjoys playing MineCraft, Roblox, skateboarding, and creating science videos, such as his submission to the Poudre School District Science Fair and his performance of “You’ll Be Back” from the Hamilton soundtrack.

He looks forward to playing with his friends in person someday.

Kai was kind enough to answer a few questions about himself in advance of our show.

How did you hear about Play On Words?

My aunt is a writer and a supporter of Play on Words. She saw the call for submissions and said that I should submit my Ted Talk to the show. 

How has your creative practice changed during the pandemic?

I don’t usually like to sing and dance or give speeches in front of people, but I like to share with my class on zoom and I like to record my presentations. Recording is better, because I can go back and fix things with the power of editing! Using technology tools like zoom and video recordings has helped me to express myself without any fear.

What does “immigrant heritage” mean to you?

I’m not sure. Maybe it means where you came from. I was born in California. My mom and my Halmoni and Haraboji (grandmother and grandfather in Korean) were born in Korea, but my dad and my grandma were born in Colorado. My dad is Japanese American and my mom is Korean, so that means I have Japanese and Korean heritage.

What else should we know about you?

I’m going to a parkour camp this summer. I hope you will subscribe to my YouTube Channel, Science Kai!

How awesome is this kid. Join us on June 17 to see him perform his story!

c’mon … how could you not subscribe to kai’s youtube channel?

Chaney Kwak’s Life as a Passenger

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“No matter how hard we try to make up narratives to explain past events, history seems to me no more logical than it is compassionate,” writes Chaney Kwak in “Seventy-some Years Ago,” an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir, The Passenger: How a Travel Writer Learned to Love Cruise & Other Lies from a Sinking Ship.

Chaney’s excerpt tells the story of his father, who immigrated to his native Korea from Japan, where he had been living with his family at the time. We love Chaney’s thoughtful and incisive writing, especially given the way he contextualizes his family’s journey seven decades later, from the prow of a sinking cruise liner off the coast of Norway. We’re delighted to perform his work on June 17 as part of our Our Stories, Ourselves show with the San Jose Museum of Art.

Chaney’s work appears regularly in newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as well as magazines such as Afar, Condé Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure. A recipient of scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Emerging Writer Award from the Key West Literary Seminar, Chaney teaches nonfiction writing with the Stanford Continuing Studies program and lives in San Francisco.

Before San Francisco, Chaney spent six years in Berlin where he failed to experiment with drugs or get into famed techno clubs. He did discover his love for exploration by sneaking into places like decommissioned Soviet military bases and the former Iraqi Embassy on Tschaikowskistraße. He broke into the world of professional travel writing by reporting on an abandoned East German amusement park for The New York Times.

Fast-forward ten years, he was freelancing for magazines like Travel + Leisure when he boarded the infamous Viking Sky cruise ship that lost power in the middle of a storm, charging straight toward the shore. After aging considerably during the 27 hours drifting at sea, he returned to California, where he now dedicates his time to more sedate pursuits like beekeeping and writing a book.

Chaney Kwak

Join us june 17 to see chaney’s work performed aloud.

Lyra Halprin Rescues Esther

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Lyra Halprin’s mother never liked raising money for raffles. It wasn’t until many years later that she discovered why: Saralee’s family hosted raffles to earn the money needed to help their family in Europe escape persecution. Somehow, selling candy door to door just didn’t seem that important.

We were moved by the voice and narrative in Lyra’s essay, “Rescuing Esther,” which ties the story of her family fleeing Europe to Trump-era America, where she was eager to show recent arrivals to the U.S. that they were, indeed, welcome and necessary parts of the community. We’re excited to read an excerpt of this piece on June 17 as a part of Our Stories, Ourselves, in partnership with the San Jose Museum of Art.

Lyra is a Northern California writer whose stories have aired on NPR, Capital Public Radio-Sacramento, and KQED-San Francisco, and appeared in newspapers, magazines and online venues. A former reporter, she worked for 20+ years as a public information person for the University of California sustainable agriculture programs. She is working on stories about growing up in an activist family in the 1950s and ‘60s and believes the secret to living in this crazy world is having a big humor gene, a loving family and a soft dog.

She was kind enough to answer a few questions in advance of our June show.

Lyra @ Davis Central Park rally 2017 for immigrants

How has your creative practice changed during the pandemic?

I used to meet with 2 writers every month, sending them what I was working on ahead of time. Now we meet every week, talk a little, then leaving the camera on we write.

What does “immigrant heritage” mean to you?

The dreams, fears, delights and memories we/they bring with us/them.

What else should we know about you?

A writer friend described her students stumbling into “completely unconfined, holy gears in their writing,” words that bring tears to my eyes because they explain how I often feel at the keyboard. I cherish those holy gears as I’ve been working on transforming my essays and journal entries into memoir stories about a girl growing up a feminist in California in the 1950s-70s. My stories feel more urgent in the wake of our frightening political reality.

I’m reminded that members of my family perished in the Holocaust, and family and friends were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, but I grew up in a vibrant activist household filled with hope and optimism. I want to share that with my children, other young people, and those grappling with feelings of hopelessness to show that natural beauty, art, music, and progressive action can thrive and sustain us during chaotic times.

Join us June 17 to hear Lyra’s work performed aloud.

Yunlu Shen and “Gung Haggis Fat Choy”

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Sometimes the best traditions are the ones we invent ourselves. That’s what Yunlu Shen discovered as a Chinese Canadian transplant reading the work of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Seeking community in a new city, Yunlu hosted Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a mash-up of the Chinese New Year and Burns Night, a celebration of the poet’s birthday.

We fell in love with Yunlu’s essay, “To a Chinese Mouse,” and are excited to perform it on June 17 at Our Stories, Ourselves, in partnership with the San Jose Museum of Art.

A structural engineer working in New York City, Yunlu likes to read and go on long bike adventures in beautiful places. She kindly answered a few questions for us in advance of our show.

How did you hear about Play On Words?

I first heard about Play On Words from writer friends in the Bay Area.

How has your creative practice changed during the pandemic?

I began writing more letters to friends during the pandemic. That process often generated ideas for other pieces. I also became more patient. The lock-down created more time and space for introspection and drew me closer to the physical process of writing. I write more drafts by hand and set them aside for longer between editing.

What does “immigrant heritage” mean to you?

As someone who moved to North America at the age of 11, immigrant heritage is an direct and personal experience for me. Over the past two decades I have also learned to love the cultural contributions from other immigrant communities and how well they sometimes complement one another. There is a banjo-guzheng duet by Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei, Wusuli Boat Song/The Water is Wide, that melds together a Chinese folk song and an American folk song of Scottish origin. It’s a beautiful example of shared immigrant heritage in America and resonates with me deeply.

What else should we know about you?

I spend most of my day designing structures – skyscrapers, airports, museums. But I think the act of creation is really the same process, whether we are constructing sentences, ideas, or buildings.

JOIN US JUNE 17 TO SEE YUNLU’S WORK PERFORMED ALOUD.

Mairead Brodie’s Love for Rain

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‘Tis the season for rain. How does one’s relationship to rain change in a new environment? Irish writer Mairead Brodie writes that it took her 20 years to miss rain in her piece, “Rain: In Spite of Everything, I Still Love You.” We are excited to perform this piece on Jan. 12 at our Beyond Boundaries show at the San Jose Museum of Art.

Mairead lived in Berlin, Brussels and Edinburgh, working in research communications and technology before moving to the United States in 2012. Since moving here, she has completed a two-year online novel writing program at Stanford Continuing Studies, worked in a nonprofit, written freelance and raised two children who are now 8 and 5. She is currently completing a masters in education at Stanford and teaching economics and government at a high school.

mariead
Mairead Brodie

What inspired you to participate in Play On Words?

I had a piece performed with Play on Words at the San Jose Museum of Art last year and it was a wonderful experience!

Which writers or performers inspire you?

On the fiction side, mostly George Saunders, Mohsin Hamid, Edna O’Brien, Flann O’Brien (no relation!), Anne Enright. Recently, I have also enjoyed reading Colson Whitehead and Bay Area writer, Lydia Kiesling.

Join us Jan. 12 at the San Jose Museum of Art to see Mairead’s work performed. Tickets are free but going fast—reserve yours now.

The Pandillero of Gerardo Pacheco Matus

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Who do you see when you look in the mirror? The narrator in Gerardo Pacheco Matus’ “Pandillero Without a Gang” says that he resembles his “indio father and indio-mulatto mother,” the features of “millions of other Mayan men.” We were struck by Gerardo’s prose and look forward to performing his piece on January 12 at our Beyond Borders show at the San Jose Museum of Art.

Head shot pic
Gerardo Pacheco Matus

Gerardo Pacheco Matus is a Mayan Native and recipient of fellowships from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, CantoMundo, The Frost Place, and Macondo. Pacheco was awarded the Joseph Henry Jackson Award. His poems, essays, and short fiction have appeared and are forthcoming from the Grantmakers in the Arts, Apricity Press, Amistad Howard-University, Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, The Packinghouse Review, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, West Branch Wired, Four Way Review, The Cortland Review, Nashville Review, Pilgrimage Magazine, Memorious Magazine, Rivard Report, Tin House Magazine.

 

AWARDS: 

  • San Francisco Foundation Joseph Henry Jackson Award for his poetry project, The Child of the Grasses.
  • Miami Writers Institute.
  • Redwood City Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program.
  • “Faces of Our Community 2.0.”
  • Frost Place’s the Conference on Poetry Scholar.
  • Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Work-Study Scholarship in Poetry.
  • Pushcart Prize Nominee, “Everything is a Dream.”
  • “The Pintura:Palabra National Ekphrastic Workshops, in tandem with the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Travelling Exhibit, “Our America: The Latino Presence in America Art.”

PUBLICATIONS

Gerardo answered a few questions for us in advance of the show.

What are you working on now?

I am working on my debut poetry collection, Child of the Grasses. An excerpt from Child of the Grasses’ was awarded the distinguished Joseph Henry Jackson Award administered by The San Francisco Foundation. The award-winning poet and juror Lorna Dee Cervantes writes, “Child of the Grasses presents us with the Native’s view of The Americas: spare, rich, glistening with truths of the ‘natural world’ and bristling with insights into the human condition within that true world…Here is the meaty voice of the immigrant, the worker, the watcher, the Elder’s wisdom.” Child of the Grasses is my lifelong project and I hope to find a nice home for my collection of poetry soon. 

What inspired you to participate in Play On Words?

One of my great mentors and friends, Anniqua Rana, was featured in Play on Words. Anniqua told me about how great she felt about having her piece performed in Play on Words since then I have been intrigued by Play on Words. Thus, I decided to send a “Pandillero without a Gang.” In addition, I have been writing Pandillero without a Gang for a long time, and I hope that by participating in Play on Words, I will be able to see sparks of what is next in this collection of short stories. 

Which writers or performers inspire you?

I love Jimmy Santiago Baca. His poetry moves mountains. I found myself reading his poetry collection Martin and Meditations on the South Valley to get inspired to write new work. 

Name a book or performance that fundamentally affected you.

Reading Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo changed the way I understand my role as a writer. As a Mayan Native, Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo opened a new realm of possibility to understand where I come from and the traditions that have influenced me since I was a young man.

Come see us perform Gerardo’s work! Tickets are free but going fast; reserve yours now for our January 12 show at the San Jose Museum of Art. Entrance includes free admission to the museum.

Marching Through Jody Ulate’s “Morning Training”

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How does a young girl’s life prepare her for becoming a solider? The narrator in Jody Ulate‘s “Morning Training” marches in the four a.m. cold at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, considering the motivational power of hunger and her family’s poverty. We look forward to performing this excerpt of Jody’s memoir on Sunday, January 12, when we return to the San Jose Museum of Art for Play On Words: Beyond Boundaries.

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Jody Ulate. Photo by David Schmitz.

Originally from Upstate New York, Jody Ulate moved to California in 2000 by way of Washington, D.C. She writes and edits essays, profiles and feature articles as San Jose State University’s chief storyteller and editor of the award-winning alumni magazine, Washington Square. For more than 13 years, she has found inspiration in uncovering student, alumni and faculty stories of resilience at San Jose State, where she has also given lectures on profile writing and storytelling that drives philanthropy. A U.S. Army veteran, Jody has written a memoir about survival and reinvention—and how becoming a soldier helped reshape the narrative of her life. She is the recipient of The Writer’s Hotel 2019 Sara Patton Nonfiction Stipend.

She was kind enough to answer a few questions in advance of the show.

What inspired you to participate in Play On Words? 

Having someone else creatively interpret and perform live something I’ve written in quiet solitude feels like an adventure. 

Which writers or performers inspire you? 

Arundhati Roy, Maya Angelou, Amy Hempel, Mary Karr, Cynthia Ozick, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, David Guterson, Denice Frohman. 

Name a book or performance that fundamentally affected you. 

Book: Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Short story: Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.”

Can’t wait to see Jody’s work performed aloud? Tickets are free but going fast; reserve yours now for our January 12 show at the San Jose Museum of Art. Entrance includes free admission to the museum.

 

 

Julia Halprin Jackson reads “Road Trip” by Becky Kling

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What, exactly, does the open road bring? Becky Kling‘s hilarious “Road Trip” rounded out our evening of stories at Play On Words: Live in San Francisco on Oct. 19. In case you missed it, watch Julia Halprin Jackson perform her story:

Big thanks to Becky for trusting us with your story, to Branden Frederick for taking photos and Cleveland Motley for filming.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be gearing up for our January 12 return to the San Jose Museum of Art. Stay tuned to learn all about our amazing writers and readers.