Episode 120 Notes and Links to traci kato-kiriyama’s Work
On Episode 120 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes traci kato-kiriyama, and the two discuss, among other topics, traci’s upbringing with her thoughtful and well-read curators of history and art-her parents-her life as a creative, both as an individual and in collective spaces, themes from her work that are inspired by various muses within and without her family and her local communities, racism against Japanese and Japanese-American and other marginalized communities, and her creative and thought-provoking Navigating With(out) Instruments.
traci kato-kiriyama (they+she), author of Navigating With(out) Instruments--based on unceded Tongva land in the south bay of Los Angeles-- is an award-winning multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, and community organizer. As a storyteller and Artivist, tkk is grounded in collaborative process, collective self-determination, and art+community as intrinsically tied and a critical means toward connection and healing. She is a performer & principal writer for PULLproject Ensemble, two-time NET recipient; NEFA 2021-22 finalist for their show TALES OF CLAMOR. tkk —presented for over 25 years in hundreds of venues throughout North America as a writer, actor, poet, speaker, guest lecturer, facilitator, Artist-in-Residence, and organizing / arts & culture consultant— has come to appreciate a wildly hybrid career (w/ presenters incl. LaMaMa Cabaret; Enwave Theatre; The Smithsonian; The Getty; Skirball Cultural Center; and Hammer Museum, to Zero Gravity; Grand Park; Whisky a Go Go; Hotel Cafe; House Of Blues Foundation Room; and countless universities, arts spaces, and community centers across the country). Their work is also featured in a wide swath of media and print publications (incl. NPR; PBS; Elle.com; Entropy; Chapparal Canyon Press; Tia Chucha Press; Bamboo Ridge Press; Heyday Books; Regent Press).
tkk is a core artist of Vigilant Love, member of the H.R. 40 Coalition and organizer with the Nikkei Progressives & NCRR joint Reparations Committee, and Director/Co-Founder of Tuesday Night Project (presenter of the Tea & Letterwriting initiative and Tuesday Night Cafe series in Little Tokyo).
traci kato kiriyama's website
Buy Navigating with(out) Instruments
traci’s profile on DiscoverNikkei.org
traci’s bio for Tuesday Night Project
traci reads "Remember All the Children Who Were Never Born to Me" for Poetry Lab
At about 4:00, Pete asks traci about notions of the “writer as speaker,” including a profound quote from Zora Satchell
At about 6:20, traci’s cat makes an appearance!
At about 6:30, traci talks about her background and her parents’ focus on education and intellectual and historical curiosity, including how The Japanese American Historical Society was founded by her parents
At about 8:30, traci discusses what stories drew her interest in adolescence, including song lyrics, theater, and art of all types
At about 11:30, Pete and traci freak out over their collective love and admiration for Tori Amos
At about 12:25, traci describes the artists and writers-often playwrights-who thrilled her through high school into college and beyond, such as Wakako Yamauchi, Rumi, Yusuf, Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, and Janice Mirikitani
At about 15:30, Pete wonders about the connection between natural sociability and performance for traci
At about 17:30, traci responds to Pete’s question about which artists and creatives inspires her Nancy Keystone and Kennedy Kabasares, Howard Ho, and LA and West Coast standouts Writ Large Press, Not a Cult, Kaia Press, The Accomplices
At about 21:20, traci discusses ideas of “representation,” especially with regard to her childhood and the Japanese-American communities of which she was part
At about 23:15, traci recounts her experience in seeing Sixteen Ca
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