Let's Put a Bow on 2021, Shall We?
Despite the challenges of 2021, the members of Seventeen Syllables wrote, read, Zoomed, taught, won awards and--most important--we survived.
Since our last update, Seventeen Syllables had its FIRST IN-PERSON HANGOUT IN TWO YEARS at our fabulous Lit Crawl reading in October (yes, that’s a photo of Jay from our 2019 reading in the Lit Crawl banner)! Up until the last minute on Saturday, Oct. 23, we weren’t sure the reading was going to happen, but miraculously we and our audience overcame fears about the Delta variant, a huge rainstorm, and general anxiety to come together for a truly outstanding evening. We had a standing-room-only crowd at The Chapel and the event exceeded our wildest dreams!
For this issue of Syllables, we’ve asked our members to reflect on 2021 and share their “year in review.” Despite everything, we have a lot to be thankful for.
Jay Dayrit
As I think back on this past year—no, wait… two years… Jesus!—I am baffled by the sameness of everything, how there seem to have been no notable demarcations to mark the passing of time, the monotony of generalized dread even with vaccines and boosters, and how now we say “the before times” unironically. Despite all that, or maybe because of that, I count my blessings, not the least of which is being a member of Seventeen Syllables, a stunningly talented and prolific group of writers who are, first and foremost, endlessly supportive.
Here are my highlights from 2021:
In November, my story “Neck Bone” appeared in the 25th Issue of the museum of americana, an au courant literary review whose social media game is en pointe. Is that too much French in one sentence? Never before have I been so thoughtfully edited. In an interview with me, their brilliant Prose Co-Editor Lauren Alwan posed some astute questions that helped me see my own work in a whole new light.
This year, “Saint of Lost Causes,” the short film that my nephew Alex Zauner produced and directed, played at three film festivals, including the Yale in Hollywood Fest: 2021 Edition. I merely wrote the script, which is like 10% of the effort. You may watch a brief Q&A with the filmmakers of the comedy shorts. As my nephew and I sat on the panel, I was struck by how much younger Alex is compared to the other filmmakers. A recent graduate in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz, he was able to make a film that held its own against a host of films made by Yalies. Being a Yalie myself, I know how pretentious we can be. I kid, sort of. Anyway, I am beyond proud of Alex.
Caroline Kim
I’m grateful for all the new experiences 2021 brought me.
In January, my story “The Omari and the Pango” was published in The Porter House Review as a finalist in their Editor’s Prize.
Also in January, I got to participate in a reading with two fantastic poets, fellow Syllable Brian Komei Dempster and Maw Shein Win through Eastwind Bookstore.
A short piece about what it’s like when you’re one of two Asians at an all-white Catholic school, “Adam & Eve” appeared in The Bare Life Review. TBLR is unique in that it’s the only literary journal whose sole mission is to publish immigrant and refugee writers. It’s superb and delightful. I’ve never read anything like it.
“After Leopold” came out in the Spring 2021 issue of Carve Magazine. They honored me even further by nominating it for a Pushcart!
At the beginning of summer, my flash piece about fighting on a whale watching boat appeared in my favorite flash venue, Jellyfish Review.
In May and June, I did a couple of events (virtually) at libraries to promote my book The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories, one local and the other all the way in Mt. Lebanon, Penn. I love library events.
In the fall, an immigrant ghost story, “Strangers Here,” appeared in The Santa Monica Review.
Also in the fall, two short pieces about womanhood, “Self-Defense” and “A Hair” appeared in Literary Matters.
In December, I visited my first book club! It was a little daunting but a lot of fun talking to readers face to face about my book. So many great questions!
Also in December, I got a chance to talk to Juhea Kim, debut author of Beasts of a Little Land through Powell’s bookstore. The book is terrific, a big, historical feast for the senses.
Most recently, a personal essay on Mariko Nagai’s story collection Georgic: Stories finding me at just the right time, appeared in the Marvelous Paragraph Project, run by the wonderful writer Sarah Stone.
Finally, I’m grateful to readers everywhere and especially the reviewers who reviewed my book this year in the following publications: Heavy Feather Review, International Examiner, The Hudson Review, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Waxwing, and Pulp.
Onward to 2022!!
Brian Komei Dempster
I reflect back on 2021 with gratitude for the love and care of family and friends; together, we navigated these difficult times. To all who supported me and my second poetry collection, Seize (Four Way Books, 2020), I send heartfelt thanks.
To kick off the year in January, I did a presentation with Caroline Kim and Maw Shein Win for Eastwind Books; a live interview with Jennifer Perrine; a writing class for Literary Arts; and a faculty reading with Barbara Jane Reyes and Bruce Snider for University of San Francisco’s MFA in Writing program. Thanks to Discover Nikkei for featuring two poems from Seize.
To commemorate Day of Remembrance in February, J-sei brought me together with friends Mia Ayumi Malhotra and Brynn Saito. I responded to Mia’s thoughtful questions in an interview for the Lantern Review.
March was jam-packed with an AWP virtual appearance in the Bootleg Reading Series along with readings with several talented poets for Poetry Flash, Wild & Precious Life Series, and the Hudson Valley Writers Center.
I reunited with Mia and Brynn in April for a panel on the legacy of Japanese American imprisonment. Pat Matsueda wrote a lovely review of Seize for Mānoa. In a poignant podcast interview by Shin Yu Pai for Town Hall Seattle’s Lyric World Series, we discussed connections between past and present racism and violence towards Asian Pacific Americans.
In May I was honored to be named a Silver Winner of a Human Relations Indie Book Award, a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award and National Indie Excellence Award in Poetry, and to read for the Four Way Books benefit. I feel blessed by the support of their incredible team: Martha, Ryan, Sally, Hannah, and Bridget.
The following month I was stunned to receive the Julie Suk Award along with Nandi Comer! I did a fun, lively book launch and open mic with Redheaded Stepchild and enjoyed participating in the Poetry Night Reading Series. The title poem from Seize was featured in Poetry Daily. A dynamic two-way interview with my friend, poet Dean Rader, was published by one of my favorite journals, Waxwing.
In September, wonderful news arrived about an NCPA Gold Award in Poetry. I did a group reading for Four Way Books with Greenlight Bookstore, a reading with Molly Spencer for the Marin Poetry Center, and solo presentations for the San Francisco Public Library and University of Southern California. I was moved by this beautiful digital collage review of Seize by Aaron-Caycedo Kimura in RHINO.
This perceptive full-length review by D.M. O’Connor was published in October.
I participated in a powerful November reading for Writers of Discontent on the theme of “Stop AAPI Hate.”
In December, and throughout the year, I was delighted to have poems from Seize featured on Vandal Poem of the Day.
Grace Loh Prasad
What a year it’s been!
I kicked off 2021 at Tin House where I studied with Marcelo Hernandez Castillo. The program was 100% virtual and I loved every minute of it and made some new friends.
I published my fourth and final piece for KHÔRA, Unfinished Translation, which I just found out has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize!
In May my friend Grace Hwang Lynch invited me to be one of the featured writers at Kòo-sū, a Taiwanese storytelling experience co-presented with the Taiwanese American Cultural Festival.
That same month I had an essay in Artsy about how the art of Xu Bing made me think about my relationship to language and belonging.
Over the summer a New York Times editor saw one of my tweets and invited me to contribute an essay about marking time during the pandemic by folding origami cranes. This led to my son Devin and I being interviewed on Asian American Life on CUNY-TV.
I wrote my first art review about the Judy Chicago Retrospective at the De Young Museum for Hyperallergic. Judy even shared it!
In September I had the pleasure of interviewing Anne Liu Kellor about her memoir Heart Radical for The Rumpus.
I taught two classes for the Writers Grotto: Twitter Without Jitters (with Susan Ito) and Polish & Publish Your Personal Essay. Can’t wait to see my Grotto colleagues (when it’s safe!) at the new office space at 1663 Mission St., SF.
Our Seventeen Syllables Lit Crawl reading was on the topic of Not Your Model Minority. Just for fun, I uploaded the artwork to Redbubble and now you can buy NYMM stickers, magnets and more plus Seventeen Syllables logo merch. Enjoy!!
Reflecting on the year, what I’m most proud of (besides the NYT essay) is that I’ve always wanted to write more about art and artists, and I got a chance to do that.
Lillian Howan
As 2021 draws to a close, I’m thankful that my recent surgery was successful, removing a melanoma and some lymph nodes. After two excruciatingly long weeks of waiting, the pathology report showed that the melanoma had not spread to my lymph nodes. I’m so relieved and thankful for this good news.
I’ll write a more thorough update reflecting on 2021 in January, but want to mention that I’m grateful for this interview with the museum of americana, where my story “The American House” was published. Issue 25 also features interviews with and writings of my fellow Syllables Jay Dayrit and Marianne Villanueva, so please check out this incredible milestone issue.
Please save the date for two upcoming events in January: I’m looking forward to my New Year’s reading on January 9, 2022 at 4 pm PST with wonderful poets Maw Shein Win and Dawn Angelicca Barcelona at the Alta Mesa Center for the Arts. This AAPI Writer Showcase is virtual and free. Details and registration here.
Inviting the Muses is a generative writing workshop I’m hosting with Maw and Dawn on January 22, 2022 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm PST. This is an online event with scholarships available. Details and registration here.
Thankful to be part of the Seventeen Syllables and for our standing-room-only Not Your Model Minority reading at Lit Crawl 2021 in October. Thank you for subscribing to our (free!) Syllables Substack & we wish all of you a safe and hopeful new year!
Marianne Villanueva
I was honored to have my piece “The Walker” in Issue 25 of the museum of americana. It was a wonderful process to engage in back and forth with Lauren Alwan about the components of this story, which was born the night the death of Osama bin Laden was announced on national TV by President Obama. Bin Laden had a code name: "The Walker" which led to my writing a story about a walker right here in suburban California, the two threads somehow conflating in my mind to a story of grief on two continents.
This past Christmas, I visited Mendocino. I had not been back since February 2019 when I taught a writing workshop for the Mendocino Art Center. Among my students for that class were a pair of high school teachers who had driven all the way from Omaha, Nebraska to Mendocino, their travel and workshop fees paid for by their high school. I remember thinking to myself: Maybe I should add the Midwest to my bucket list!
As happens every time I am in Mendocino, I had a rush of energy and decided to look over my old stories. I found one called “Down” that I remembered had been read by a fellow artist at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig, October 2019. The occasion was a reading by all the artists in residence at that time, in the drawing room after dinner. I chickened out because… have you heard the Irish read? Fergus Sweeney, an Irish photojournalist and filmmaker from County Mayo, Ireland, offered to read my story about the last two humans left on the “surface” after the apocalypse. And he did such a fantastic job that the next morning I asked him if he could read the story again, into my laptop. He kindly agreed, and I've had the MP3 file just sitting in my computer for two years…
…until Christmas Eve 2021, when I sent Fergus an email asking him if I could post the file on my FB page. He said, sure! I tried and tried but I couldn't do it, so I went back to Fergus (and at this time he was just about to have Christmas dinner with his family, LOL) and he said, "I think you need a visual. I can help with that." So I waited a few hours, and then a message from Fergus popped up: "Here it is!" He made a film!!! It’s three minutes of the most awesome Irish accent reading my story. I'm looking for more of my sea stories and am going to make a collection, and I'll send it to Fergus. BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!