30 Miles From J-Town

by Amy Uyematsu

Book by Uyematsu, Amy

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

About the author

Amy Uyematsu (born in 1947) is a Japanese-American poet. She is a third-generation Japanese American from Pasadena, California. A graduate of UCLA in mathematics, Amy became active in Asian American Studies in the late sixties. As a college senior, she penned the essay “The Emergence of Yellow Power in America” (Gidra, 1969), an assertion of Asian American identity influenced by the consciousness-raising theories of the Black Power movement.

That same year she joined the staff of the newly formed UCLA Asian American Studies Center, where she co-edited the widely-used anthology, Roots: An Asian American Reader (1971).

In the 1970's she was involved in what would become known as the Asian American movement. Modeled after the Black Power movement it too emphasized racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of political and cultural institutions but for Asian American people in the United States.

She was a public high school math teacher for 32 years, and in the 1990s she began publishing her poetry. In 1992 she won the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize for her first book, 30 Miles from J-Town. Her poetry reflects her Japanese American heritage and continues to address issues of racism and social inequities. The Poetry Foundation states, “Uyematsu’s poems consider the intersection of politics, mathematics, spirituality, and the natural world.” In 2012 she was recognized by the Friends of Little Tokyo Branch Library for her writing contributions to the Japanese-American community.

Reviews

[sweet orange books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I read it in one sitting. She writes about growing up as the only Japanese-American in Pasadena, the clash between East side and Westside LA, her grandmother deported to Manzanar in 1942, the plant nursery of her father, her son and today's racism, family celebration at a J-town restaurant, being bullied, rice recipes, and her love for stones.

I want to check more of her books. Highly recommend.

[Stephen]

Brilliant Poetry about the split of two cultures that still goes on today.