• Blog for my current projects •
SOMETHING
is GOING ON
 I had a chance to interview Danni Quintos. She is the author of the poetry collection, Two Brown Dots (BOA Editions, 2022), chosen by Aimee Nezhukumatathil as winner of the A. Poulin Jr. Prize.  I have been teaching English to young Japanese students. A Japanese junior high school student explained to me the difference between an introduction and conclusion using this hamburger drawing. The challenging for Japanese students is that we do not repeat thesis statements in both introductions & conclusions in Japanese essays. It is one of the differences between English and Japanese essays. She explained English essays as: The top bun is an introduction. The sesame seads are important ideas for the essay, (thesis statements). The bottom bun has the flavors soaked. The most important discussion is the meat, and then tomato, lettuce... But in the conclusion, all flavors are contained, which is a reminder of the introduction & additional flavors for the conclusion. So genius.  My other Japanese students (around 10 years old) also have been studying English composition. The main challenge for Japanese students is that the main thesis is at the end of Japanese essays, but English essays have the thesis in the introduction. It took me forever to understand this concept. In the last class, each student presentated their thoughts on the English composition style. One student said, "English composition is like a snake. The most important thing is located on the face & introduction. The body has stripes, which represent paragraphs. And each paragraph has one color, which means one topic." Again, they are so genius. 日本語 Essay：
English Composition is a Snake!  This is an amazing poetry week WBEZ-Chicago! Thank you so much for selecting my poem. In July, I had a poetry reading at their station, promoting "Wherever I'm At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry". This is a joint publishing project of After Hours Press, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, and Third World Press. "Wherever I'm At" is a collection of poems & art by more than 150 artists. Each work has its own Chicago themes. Including poets like (from their website) Li-Young Lee, Elizabeth Alexander, Stuart Dybek, Angela Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, Sandra Cisneros, Campbell McGrath, Maxine Chernoff, Patricia Smith, Edward Hirsch, Kathleen Rooney, Luis Alberto Urrea, Emily Jungmin Yoon, Luis J. Rodriguez, Elise Paschen, Sterling Plumpp, Marianne Boruch, Haki R. Madhubuti, Rachel DeWoskin, Ed Roberson, Tara Betts, Reginald Gibbons…. My poem, "Lake Michigan" , will be broadcasted between their program transitions along with other featured poets. I am so honored. Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity.
WBEZ91.5 is Chicago’s NPR station. Their office is located at the beautiful Navy Pier! It was a perfect day to walk by the lake and river side with a gelato! |
NaokoPoet & Writer 
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