By Daily Press staff
Poetry that addresses the struggle between cultural heritage and the need to belong is the source material for Santa Monica College’s latest lecture in its Literary Series.
SMC’s fall series continues Thursday, Oct. 12, with poet Amy Uyematsu, who will read from and discuss “Stone Bow Prayer,” her most recent collection. She will speak at 11:15 a.m. in SMC’s Art Lecture Hall 214, 1900 Pico Blvd.
“Stone Bow Prayer” is a collection that continues to explore her personal journey as a Sansei, a third-generation Japanese American from the grassy plains of China to the coast of Japan to the classrooms and sidewalks of Los Angeles.
Uyematsu was born in 1947 and grew up in Southern California. Her poetry grows out of the conflict between her wish to belong to the culture around her and her strong sense of ethnic identity. Like many Japanese-Americans during World War II, her parents and grandparents were interned. A high school math teacher, she has published two collections besides “Stone Bow Prayer” — “30 Miles from J-Town” and “Nights of Fire, Nights of Rain.”
Currently in its fourth year, the SMC literary series has brought to campus such acclaimed authors as Khaled Hosseini, author of the best-selling “The Kite Runner.” The series is free and seating is on a first-arrival basis.
The literary series is sponsored by the SMC Associates, a private organization that funds speakers and special programs on campus, and the SMC English Department.
For information, call (310) 434-4303.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 29, 2006. Read the original PDF.