A Fire Is Burning It Is in Me: The Life and Writings of Michiyo Fukaya

by Michiyo Fukaya, Gwendolyn L. Shervington (Editor)

Michiyo Fukaya, a Japanese-American lesbian poet and activist, was also a single mother of a mixed-race daughter, living on welfare, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual assault, and a woman of color in an all white environment. This collection portrays her life and that of a concerned lesbian community which was deeply affected by her presence. Edited by L. Shervington and Winner of Best of Small Press.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Japan, Lesbian, Disability, Memoir, Nonfiction

181 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[fausto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is by far one of the most moving and touching book I ever read.

Michiyo's life and work was shaped by all the abuses and anger that life gave her. A survivor of incest, rape, psychiatrical abuse, and a profound racism. Michiyo work really touches all the fibers of the body and drive you into tear when you are thinking on all those brilliant women that this unjust society had took.

[maya]

extremely difficult to rate. it was very refreshing to be able to find something to read about lesbian activists in cities more similar to mine - everything that has been published and re-printed and easily accessible feels like it's just NYC/LA area over and over. these are the types of people i'd like to read more about, women who were openly gay in places where it was never necessarily en vogue and where the activism was often small scale but impactful. i also feel like the first hand accounts of 70s/80s movements tend to be from white women and i really appreciated being able to add michiyo's perspective of these movements to my knowledge

however, i did find the editing of this poor. there was often little to no context to certain pieces, pieces in an order that i felt purposefully obstructed any semblance of a timeline or narrative, etc.

[Kenneth Armond]

This is a brilliant tour de force of internal exploration. Fukaya san looks at herself objectively. It is a vision which she is not comfortable with. One which society has not accepted. We feel her angst and ride along wishing that she finds solace.