GARDENA — On Saturday, April 1, the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute will host the Writers’ Salon, an informal event that is an opportunity for writers to read selections from published books or works in progress, followed by a discussion about the writing process, of present and future projects, of the trials and tribulations of writing.
After the discussion, the audience will be able to talk with the writers, and to purchase books if available.
The Writers’ Salon will feature Joyce Nako, Genie Nakano, and Alvin Takamori.
Nako is a writer living in Oceanside. She is a founder of Pacific Asian American Women Writers-West (PAAWWW), a nonprofit organization now defunct. She is writing her first novel after having published poetry, short stories, and articles for various publications in the Southland. She has taught creative writing, and is currently facilitating a writers’ workshop in Monterey Park. She has also been the host of a cable show about the arts. In the coming year, Nako will produce a reading in Los Angeles, including an excerpt from her novel. She has been writing for over 40 years.
Nakano was born in Boyle Heights in 1948. She is a poet columnist for The Rafu Shimpo and teaches gentle yoga and tanka at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute. Tanka, which means “short song,” is her favorite form of writing. She has written three books of tanka including the newly released “Colorful Lives,” a coloring-tanka poetry book. All of her books are available on Amazon.com. Nakano dances, sings and lives in Hawthorne with her husband, Hideki, and two playful dogs.
Takamori grew up in Gardena and studied industrial design at CSU Long Beach. In 1987, he began working at Stacy Dukes Design, where he built and installed custom signage and displays. In 1996, he started working as a graphic designer at Concepts in Redondo Beach, where he designed logos, stationery, brochures, packaging, ads, signage, and apparel. After the owner of Concepts retired, Takamori returned to Stacy Dukes Design to assist in designing and constructing a series of public benches for the city of Manhattan Beach. Currently, he works as a freelance graphic designer.
The program will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at GVJCI’s Nisei Veterans Memorial Hall, located at 1964 W. 162nd St. in Gardena. Admission is “pay what you wish.” For more information, contact Tim Toyama at timothytoyama@aol.com or (310) 848-9890, or Nicole Sato at Nsato@jci-gardena.org or (310) 324-6611.