Authors: Allan Cho
AlliterAsian (22 page)
Carolyn Nakagawa
Ricepaper
20, no. 2 (2015)
Went to the library, ran my fingers up rows of “Jewish Canadian” until it switched to “Japanese.” Built an FC106 stack longer than my arm: the best representatives. Found my cousin's eyes in a photo history, a trace. Someone's brother, names I recognize, maybe own a piece of. Tried to read the text, get a sense; made my choices. Upstairs, saw my poetry professor.
Did you get the good ones?
Stammeredâmy heritage was showing. Tucked them in my bag, forgot to laugh. I've got a list. I don't think I'm in it. Is this what you had in mind?
   Â
touch everyone's heart. Can be held close
like a pocket mirror. Draw their borders
gracefully, within
what can be done.
   Â
have clean (white) pages. Won't look you
in the eye. The good ones will know. Recommended
by doctors, teachers, mothers. Well
executed.
   Â
submit to their place on the shelf, demure,
waiting to be known. Piles of them around my head, all
the good ones, better and better.
The good ones will get chosen.
The good ones will tell you who you are.
      Â
A
BOUT THE
P
OET
Carolyn Nakagawa is a fourth-generation Japanese Canadian poet and playwright. She holds a BA Honours from UBC in English Literature with a minor in Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies. Other poems of hers have been published by
QWERTY, The Maynard, Echolocation
, and
The Puritan
; play production highlights include UBC Players Club, Brave New Play Rites, and staged readings with Ruby Slippers Theatre and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. She was born, raised, and, after a year studying in Japan, continues to live and write in the Greater Vancouver area, on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Julia Lin
is a graduate of the Humber Creative Writing Program and a protégé of M.G. Vassanji. She is the author of
Miah
, the first book-length work of Taiwanese-Canadian literary fiction ever published.
julialinbooks.com
Allan Cho
is an academic librarian at the University of British Columbia where he has written on topics about community, culture, and publishing. His writing has appeared in
Ricepaper, The Georgia Straight
, and
Diverse
.
Jim Wong-Chu
is a writer, historian, and editor. He is a founding member of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop, the publisher of
Ricepaper
magazine and co-editor (with Bennett Lee) of
Many Mouthed Birds: Contemporary Writing by Chinese Canadians
(Douglas & McIntyre, 1992) and (with Andy Quan)
Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology of Chinese-Canadian Poetry
(Arsenal Pulp Press, 1999). He is the winner of two Queen's Jubilee Awards for Canadian heritage.
ricepaper
Ricepaper
magazine is a quarterly print publication from Vancouver, BC, Canada, showcasing Asian-Canadian literature, culture, and the arts since 1994. Originally formed as a newsletter in the 1960s by the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society, it has since grown to be a nationally distributed publication and also the community's hub to inspire and mentor many prominent Asian-Canadian writers.
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