[Note: This essay was commissioned for a collection on the art of writing that was published in 1999. Each writer selected a topic from a list. The editor was very enthusiastic about my draft; but in the final stages, looking to reduce the overall number of pages, the editorial board decided to cut my piece. […]
You are browsing archives for
Category: Talking about writing
Writing “American Fish”
“American Fish” was initially written as a scene in a play. I was taking a playwriting class from Ed Bullins, African-American playwright, and we were assigned to write one scene per week. I wrote it in 1985, so I honestly can’t say that I remember what inspired the scene. I thought it would be very […]
Bridging cultures
In 2000, students at the American School in Japan read The Loom and Other Stories and had the following questions, which I responded to by e-mail two hours after landing in Tokyo from California (and it was around 4 am California time): 1. How much of the book is autobiographical? I would say that many […]
Where stories come from
In 2001, a young woman in Florida wrote, asking if I would answer some questions about my writing. I said I would be happy to (and refrained from adding, although I wanted to, “…if you’ll answer some of MY questions about what the heck is going on with voting in Florida!”) She and her friends […]
How much of it is true?
In 2011, I responded to some questions from a young man in Minnesota who was taking a short story class and had read The Loom. Would you be willing to give me a short biography of yourself? In short: I was born and raised in San Francisco, the granddaughter of Japanese immigrants. My family moved […]
To Dorothy
I wrote this around 2005 for my long-time friend, Dorothy Stroup, when, in her 70s, she began suffering from Alzheimer’s. After not seeing her for a few years, an unexpected encounter with her (at Trader Joe’s) made me realize that something was amiss. She was friendly and warm as always, but I had the distinct […]