Suzanne Kamata's Blog, page 5
August 4, 2013
Ten First Lines – Which do you like the best?
I also like to give my creative writing students a list of ten first lines, unattributed, and find out which ones they are attracted to, to get them thinking about what makes a compelling beginning. Here’s a list for you:
1. My father has blue hands. – from this book
2. At first, our pack was all hair and snarl and floor-thumping joy. – from a story in this book
3. When I was eight, my papai took me to the park to watch a king die. – from this book
4. Sophronia intended to pull the dumbwaiter up from the kitchen to outside the front parlor on the ground floor, where Mrs. Barnaclegoose was taking tea. – from this book
5. I felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough. – from this book
6. A friend of mine has a habit of going to the zoo whenever there’s a typhoon. – from a story in this book.
7. Before Victor arrives, we are bored. – from a story in this book
8. I inherited a 1968 three-quarter ton Chevy pick-up from my grandfather who mowed lawns and trimmed shrubbery in suburban Los Angeles until he was eighty-seven. – from this book.
9. What do you wear to the birthday party of your ex-best friend? – from this book
10. Destiny is a saddled ass, my daughters; he goes where you lead him. – from this book
So. Which first line do you like best, and why?
July 27, 2013
My Top 10 Movies About Women Writers
Last week, in my creative writing class, we did lists. I don’t know about my students, but I had a really good time, and I decided that this month, I will post lots of fun lists on my blog! So here’s the first one – my very personal, totally biased top ten movies about women writers, in no particular order.
I recently bought the DVD to this because it seems so relevant to my life right now. In this story two college roommates remain friends although their lives diverge greatly. The Jacqueline Bissest character becomes a critically acclaimed writer, while the Candace Bergen character marries a wealthy man, wears fur, and starts a family. Then, one day, the Bergen character decides to write a book, which becomes a bestseller…
2. Leonie
Her son, the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi is better known, but Leonie Gilmour was a writer in her own right, publishing pieces about Japan in the New York Times, and helping the caddish Yone Noguchi, father of Isamu, edit and publish his book, The American Diary of a Japanese Girl, in English. Beautifully filmed and superbly acted by Emily Mortimer, Leonie is a compelling story of a fascinating woman.
3. Sylvia
The life of the American poet (and expat) Sylvia Plath as portrayed by American (and expat) Gwyneth Paltrow.
4. Young Adult
This is Diablo Cody’s follow-up to Juno, starring Charlize Theron as a struggling YA novelist. I saw this on the plane last summer on the way to America. I thought it was really funny, and I want to see it again.
5. Miss Potter
Who knew that the creator of Peter Rabbit lived such a tragic and bohemian life? I’d always imagined her as a virginal school teacher type.
A moody retelling of the night that Mary Shelley thought up Frankenstein. Also starring Hugh Grant, before he became famous.
A moody retelling of the Bronte sisters’ literary struggles and successes. In French!
This film isn’t really about writing, but it is about the writer, Isak Dinesen, aka Karen Blixen. And Africa!
Just for fun. A romance writer gets swept up in a jungle adventure in South America …and by the young Michael Douglas.
The life of the flamboyant author of Gone With the Wind as portrayed by Shannon Doherty.
What’s your favorite movie about a woman writer?
July 14, 2013
Fred is Dead
Fred, our pet goldfish, has died.
He first came to us about three years ago. We agreed to adopt him from family friends who were moving to Australia. They’d already had him for a few (several?) years. On a recent visit back to Japan, we were proud to show them that he was still alive, still healthy. We calculated that he was about 12 years old, which I believe is quite elderly for a goldfish.
The other day I was thinking that he’d gotten too big for his aquarium and didn’t have much space to swim around. And then a couple mornings ago, I woke to find him belly-up.
My husband had been the one to feed him every morning. He was also the one who cleaned the aquarium, sometimes with the grudging help of our children. He was perhaps the saddest.
Mornings are busy around here, so I suggested putting the dead goldfish in the refrigerator until he could be given a proper burial. When I was a kid, my parents flushed dead goldfish down the toilet. At about 6-inches, Fred was too big to make it through the pipes. Another thought, which I did not express was: “Today is garbage day.”
My husband was appalled. “That’s so rude,” he said. “Putting him with the food.” I wasn’t sure if he meant rude for us, as a human family, or rude for poor Fred.
In any case, I dropped my suggestion.
My husband sent our fourteen-year-old son into the yard with a shovel to search for a burial site. He dug a hole. Fred was interred. We all put our hands together and said a sutra, showing proper respect for the end of a life.
My husband said, “I was going to clean his aquarium yesterday, but I didn’t.” He’s not a sentimental kind of guy, but his voice was choked with regret. And grief.
July 10, 2013
A Few Thoughts About Aprons
Souvenir stalls around the world tend to offer more or less the same things – T-shirts, mugs, keychains, and snow globes. But on my recent visits to Paris, I noticed something new – just about every vendor offered a selection of aprons embellished with Parisian motifs. No doubt these aprons are a nod to France’s world class cuisine, but I have another theory of how they came to be so widely sold.
Paris is full of Japanese tourists. Japanese visitors, as everyone in the tourist trade must know by now, are more or less obligated to buy gifts for all of their friends, family, and colleagues back home. (For the record, I gave all of my neighbors packages of French cookies. I brought my sister-in-law macarons the first time, and chocolates from Aoki Sadaharu’s shop the second.) And Japanese women wear aprons.
As far as I can tell, Japanese housewives wear aprons all day long. In movies and picture books, they are always wearing aprons. I imagine they don one as soon as they get up in the morning. And at the grocery store, there is often a woman shopping in her apron. As an American brought up to be a career woman, one who would split housework with her husband, I associate aprons with 1950s-style submissiveness. I occasionally put one on when I’m baking, because I have a tendency to wipe my hands on my clothes, but I would never wear one in public.
Years ago, when I was about to get married, some of my adult English language conversation students threw a bridal shower for me. I was appalled to find that many of them had given me aprons.
Nevertheless, they have been out to use. They actually come in quite handy. Every time there is a school event, it seems mothers are required to wear aprons. My kids do a lot of cooking at school, too, and these occasions require aprons.
I actually bought an apron at a tourist stall near Notre Dame…for my sister-in-law. I thought about getting one for my husband, too, since he is now our chief breakfast-maker and does most of the cooking on the weekends. And maybe I could have gotten one for my son, who is a grill-meister in training. But I only had so much space in my suitcase.
I’m planning on looking for a manly apron at the shopping mall near my house. What do you think the odds are of finding an apron for a guy in the most conservative corner of Japan?
June 19, 2013
Paris, Again!
So I mentioned awhile back that Gadget Girl was awarded the Grand Prize in the Paris Book Festival. Part of the prize was a plane ticket to Paris to attend the awards ceremony and dinner on May 30, which was my twins’ birthday. I agonized a bit over whether or not to go. After all, I’d just been to Paris with my daughter! And I didn’t want to miss my kids’ birthday! But everyone (except my husband) urged me to go. And, well, it is pretty hard to turn down a free ticket to one of my favorite cities in the world.
This time, I decided to go the budget route. I found the cheapest hotel that I could, which was in Montmartre. My room was on the fourth floor. There was no elevator. But I had free Wifi!
I did some of the things that I didn’t get around to on my previous visit, in March. For example, I finally had a chance to check out the legendary English-language bookstore Shakespeare & Company. Of course the location has changed, but it’s still a huge tourist attraction, still full of interesting books and history. Of course I bought some books. I also left a copy of Gadget Girl with one of the clerks, in the hopes that someone there will read it, like it, and stock it!
On a rainy day, I went to see “Gatsby,” which I loved, and bought some chocolates and chocorons (chocolate-covered macarons) at Sadaharu Aoki’s renowned patissiere. I had a little chat in Japanese with the young woman at the counter, who was from Saitama Prefecture, but who’d danced in the summer Awa Odori Festival here in Tokushima. Small world, huh?
It was my first time to be in Paris in May. I figured it would be warmer, but it was pretty cold. Nevertheless, irises were in bloom in the Luxembourg Gardens.
May 15, 2013
Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible – The Book Blog Tour!
May 15th
-Lisa’s Gadget ‘N Book World >> Review
-Wintry Words >> Excerpt
-Bookwyrming Thoughts >> Guest Post
May 16th
-Izz “Pingle” Bookish Place >> Interview
-Sab The Book Eater >> Review
-Must Read Faster >> Review
-Bookmarks, Spoilers and Happily Ever After >> Excerpt
May 17th
-Lola’s Reviews >> Review
-Carti nemuritoare >> Review
-Books and Insomnia >> Excerpt
-Alexa Loves Books >> Review
May 20th
-Cherie Reads >> Review
-Words and Tea Bottles >> Review
-Bookworm’s Multiverse >> Interview
-Stephanie Parent YA Author >> Review
-Moosubi Reviews! >> Excerpt
May 21st
-JennReneeRead >> Review
-Mythical Books >> Excerpt
-Word Spelunking >> Review + Interview
-Alice Marvels >> Review
May 22nd
-Reader Girls >> Review + Interview
-lilybloombooks >> Review
May 23rd
-Actin’ Up with Books >> Review
-Curling Up With A Good Book >> Guest Post
-She’s Got Book on Her Mind >> Review
-ReadingToTheStarsAndBack >> Review
May 24th
-Tumbling In Books >> Review
-Nazish Reads >> Review
-Total Book Geek >> Review
-Mother/Gamer/Writer >> Review
-Froggarita’s Bookcase >> Interview
May 27th
-Dustykatt’s Stuff >> Review
-Book Adoration >> Review
-Reviewing Shelf >> Review
-Teen Blurb >> Review + Guest Post
May 13, 2013
Book Birthday – The Language Inside by Holly Thompson
Today is the official publication date of the long-awaited (by me) verse novel The Language Inside by Holly Thompson.
Here is a description of the book:
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it’s the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma’s family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts to stay with her grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment.
Emma feels out of place in the United States, begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother’s urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena’s poems, dance, and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return early to Japan.
Some review excerpts if you want to use any of them (more on the website):
*STARRED REVIEW* “Thompson captures perfectly the feeling of belonging elsewhere. A sensitive and compelling read that will inspire teens to contemplate how they can make a difference.” – School Library Journal “Thompson nimbly braids political tragedy, natural disaster, PTSD, connections among families, and a cautious, quiet romance into an elegant whole. This is an artistic picture of devastation, fragility, bonds and choices.” – Kirkus Reviews
“There’s a lot going on here, but Thompson keeps the many plot elements cohesive, and the vivid imagery in the lyrical free verse lends immediacy to Emma’s turbulent feelings. Readers will finish the book knowing that, like Zena, the Cambodian refugees, and the tsunami victims, Emma has the strength to “a hundred times fall down / a hundred and one times get up.” Lists of poems referenced in the narrative and recommended resources are appended.” –The Horn Book Magazine
May 4, 2013
Speaking of Paris…
I’m so pleased to announce that my new book Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible has been named the Grand Prize winner in the Paris Book Festival competition! Details here.
April 30, 2013
Bonjour Paris!
During spring vacation, my daughter and I went to Paris! It was my fifth trip to France, counting my semester abroad when I was nineteen, but it was the first visit for my daughter. It was fun to see everything through new eyes. It was also our first major mother-daughter trip apart from visiting grandparents in the States.
Lilia wanted to stay near the Eiffel Tower, so I booked us a room in an apartment hotel within walking distance.
She’s holding a copy of Eye-Ai Magazine, which includes an essay by me about another trip we took together. The June 2013 issue has a story about yet another trip – this one to see a musical based on the famous, best-selling girls’ manga The Rose of Versailles.
Later we took a taxi to the Louvre. The entrance is through the Pyramid designed by I.M. Pei, so you get to experience the very old and the extremely modern at the same time. Apparently the Pyramid is now lit up with LED lights from Japan. We were there during the day, however (along with many, many Japanese tourists). There were lots of signs around warning against pickpockets. I felt pretty safe among the Japanese tourists, but the week after we left, the Louvre was closed down because the guards went on strike to protest the pickpocket problem. Supposedly there are bands of Gypsy children running around filching tourists’ wallets.
Lilia took photos of just about everything she saw, including many beautiful ceilings.
I enjoyed the ripped torsos of ancient Greece.
We couldn’t immediately find a taxi after our visit to the Louvre and the nearby Orangerie, so we wound up taking a spin in a tuktuk. The driver had no problem loading the wheelchair into the back and driving us to our hotel in the crazy Parisian traffic. He was super-friendly, and posed for Lilia at the end of our ride.
