TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: PAAWWW - Pacific Asian American Women Writers West

Sunday, January 21, 2018

PAAWWW - Pacific Asian American Women Writers West - Reading and Panel Discussion

Seated l-r: Jude Narita, Joyce Nako, Amy Uyematsu; Standing l-r" Diane Ujiiye, Miya Iwataki, Cecilia Brainard

Timothy Toyama organized a reading and panel discussion of PAAWWW (Pacific Asian American Women Writers West), a group I belonged to back in the late 1980s.

It was a dynamic group of talented Asian American women who were poets, fiction writers, script writers, actresses, producers, and directors, including: Emma Gee, Momoko Iko, Jude Narita, Joyce Nako, Naomi Hirahara, Amy Uyematsu, Akemi Kikumura, Velina Hasu Houston, Miya Iwataki, Diane Ujiiye, June Chim, Chungmi Kim, and others. Many of these women went on to make significant contribution in their communities and the arts.

The group was formed around 1976. It was a support group that conducted writing workshops and had performances. I believe it was Emma Gee who brought me into the group. Emma and I were connected with the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA. PAAWWW at that time held fine literary readings. We were not only writers but performers as well.

Here are some pictures taken at the January 20 "Afternoon of PAAWWW" held at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Hall in Gardena.

"Afternoon of PAAWWW" l-r: Jude Narita, Amy Uyematsu, Diane Ujiiye, Joyce Nako, Miya Iwataki, Cecilia Brainard

More pictures are forthcoming so stay tuned.

Pacific Asian American Women Writers-West (PAAWW-West) - 1980s Photo taken after a reading that included Wanda Coleman

Front L-R: Amy Uyematsu, Akemi Kikumura, Joyce Nako, Naomi Hirahara, Emma Gee, Momoko Iko

Middle row L-R: Pam Tom, Velina Houston (behind Joyce), Cecilia Brainard, Ardis Nishikawa

Back Row L-R: Jude Narita, Fe Koons, Wanda Coleman, Chungmi Kim

Photo taken in front of an exhibit about PAAWWW

l-r: Alvin, Cecilia, Joyce, Ginny

Tags: #literature #AsianAmerican #women #Writers #poets #authors #goodreads #JapaneseAmerican

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Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.