My own private MFA: the blog of writer Tamiko Nimura
I’ve been working on a personal essay for a few weeks now, trying to process the Japanese American National Museum conference that I attended a few weeks ago. I’m starting to see how to write longer and longer pieces, warming up again for the book project.
Here it is, all grown up, at The Seattle Star. I’d love for you to take a look.
Yesterday, Ichiro Suzuki left the Seattle Mariners and was traded to the New York Yankees. I wrote this short personal essay for The Seattle Star, “Why Ichiro’s Departure Makes This Nikkei Girl Sad.” It wasn’t an essay about his baseball career (the 2001 team, the All-Star appearances, etc.), but what he represented for me as a Japanese American who had also just moved into Seattle, and as a student of the region’s ventolin inhaler online shop history and literature.
The news happened very quickly, and I didn’t take very long to write the piece. However, I’m starting to see how I might approach a longer personal essay, and I’m starting to think about what essays that are not lyric, and more “traditional” essays, might look like.
8/2/12: Update: the piece has been reprinted on Discover Nikkei, web project of the Japanese American National Museum. I’m thrilled and honored.