Claire
Kageyama-Ramakrishnan
Ms Kageyama-Ramakrishnan has published two books of poetry: Shadow Mountain, winning selection of the Four Way Books Intro Prize in Poetry, and Bear, Diamonds and Crane.
She explores tragedy and trauma as they interact with history and culture. Her poetry evokes the atmosphere surrounding WWII, with the the xenophobia that victimized Japanese Americans and the internment camps that remain an ever present shadow on so many lives. She mines the memories of her grandparents, personal reflections, Japanese American history, and classical Japanese folktales, presenting the results in an array of poetic forms.
At the center of this mix are the people.
She also continues to grow her hair and donate 8 inch locks to create wigs for cancer patients.
"If my niece and nephew protest anything it’ll be to choose between a trip to Lego Land and Disneyland. At least that’s my hope. I am hopeful that things like the Iraq war will end by the time they make that transition from childhood to adolescence."
OTHER INFORMATION:
Terzanelle: Manzanar Riot
This is a poem with missing details,
of ground gouging each barrack’s windowpane,
sand crystals falling with powder and shale,
where silence and shame make adults insane.
This is about a midnight of searchlights,
of ground gouging each barrack’s windowpane,
of syrup on rice and a cook’s big fight.
This is the night of Manzanar’s riot.
This is about a midnight of searchlights,
a swift moon and a voice shouting, Quiet!
where the revolving searchlight is the moon.
This is the night of Manzanar’s riot,
windstorm of people, rifle powder fumes,
children wiping their eyes clean of debris,
where the revolving searchlight is the moon,
and children line still to use the latrines.
This is a poem with missing details,
children wiping their eyes clean of debris—
sand crystals falling with powder and shale.
from: Shadow Mountain. Copyright 2008.
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