MASTER STORYTELLER,
GAIL
TSUKIYAMA
What makes one a master storyteller? Perhaps one part of it is the voices Gail Tsukiyama heard at home with her Hong Kong-born Chinese mother and her Hawaiian-born Japanese father. Another part might be learning the discipline of poetry, her focus at San Francisco State University, where she earned her B.A., M.A. and the Academy of American Poets award. But the largest part must be the talent and dedication, coupled with a desire to share her heritage with others.
Her first work, Women of the Silk, ('91),
was praised
for the exquisite writing. The Samurai's Garden, ('95), tells
the
tale of Stephen and his recovery from tuberculosis, set against the
backdrop
of the Japanese invasion of China in the late '30's. Night of Many
Dreams,
('98), is noted for "evoking how scent and aroma can jog the memory and
clutch at the heart." The Language of Threads,('99), her latest
work, tells the story of Pei, a former silk worker, and her struggle
for
survival during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. Her women
characters
struggle against adversity and yet, find the resources to prevail.
Tsukiyama
is also a part-time lecturer in Creative Writing at her alma mater and
a freelance book reviewer for the San
Francisco Chronicle as well as book review editor for
Pacific
Rim Voices, a project of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Foundation. She
lives
in El Cerrito, California.
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Links to Gail Tsukiyama related material:
Her web
site has a short bio, reviews of her books and other essentials.
Interview
by Elisabeth Sherwin, Davis (CA) journalist.
The Language of Threads
Night of Many Dreams
The Samurai's Garden
Women of the Silk
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