Alternative career choices? Next travel destinations? Favorite food? We welcome back Haruka Aoki for a fun round of lightning questions.

Haruka Aoki is a queer Japanese poet-illustrator and hope bender. They write and illustrate a regular narrative art column in The New York Times. Their picture book about a square navigating a world of circles, "Fitting In," was published in 2022 by Sky Pony Press / Simon & Schuster. Haruka’s narrative artwork aims to inspire individuals with both wit and sincerity as their hand-drawn characters engage the world around them. Growing up often unsure of where “home” would be next, Haruka has befriended the abundant imagination found in nature and community, a constant starting point in their work. By foraging inspiration from ancestral and metaphysical realms to nurture their artistic practice, they hope to grow and provide an accessible space for collective healing. Haruka often feels deeply grateful to be an earthling.

Episode References:

• Haruka Aoki | Website
• Haruka Aoki | Newsletter
• Haruka Aoki | Instagram
• Rei Inamoto | Instagram
• I&CO | Corporate Site

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