The Looseleaf Reading Series is run out of Seattle, WA. It's co-curated by Spark A'wesome, Shelley Casey, Casandra Lopez, (Dawn Quinn emeritus), Samantha Updegrave, and Suzanne Warren to create a space for woman-identified and non-binary emerging and established writers to step out of their binders and share the stage. Combining storytelling and music, the series is held at The Den in Chop Suey.
The next reading is coming up on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 and features C. Rosalind Bell with Renee Simms, Tamiko Nimura, and Natalie Martínez, and music by Kristin Allen-Zito.
Note the time change -- READING STARTS AT 7 pm, and it's gonna rule. The line up is stellar! In this round of "Meet Readers" we have Renee Simms and Tamiko Nimura.
Fine print: The Den is a bar, so event is 21+. No cover.
Based on feedback from all you fine, lovely attendees, the readings now begin at 7 pm!
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 | Originally from Detroit, Renee Simms is an assistant professor of African American Studies and contributing English faculty at University of Puget Sound. Her published work appears or is forthcoming in Callaloo, North American Review, Southwest Review, The Rumpus, Salon, and elsewhere. She’s currently at work on a novel and a short story collection. |
MEET RENEE....
What are you reading at Looseleaf?
I think I'm going to read an oldie but goodie: A short story, "High Country," that I wrote after someone in a fiction workshop said that they hated metafiction in response to my reference to this form of writing. Apparently humor is how I respond when I'm provoked.
Who’s a writer you’re stoked on right now? What’s exiting about their work?
Stephanie Han. She has a debut story collection, Swimming in Hong Kong, which is smart and funny and really captures what it means to be a wanderer especially if you're a person of color.
Is there a quote / soundtrack for how your week is going?
"Private Joy" by Prince. I won't explain.
Anything coming up for you in the near future?
I'd like an extended vacation.
Where can we find you online?
I have writing available at a few places online. Google Renee Simms, but put writer after my name. There's another Renee Simms (actually there are thousands of Renee Simms in the world) who comes up if you don't add "writer". This other Renee Simms is young, white, an actress--everything I'm not. There's a story there. I just haven't written it yet.
What are you reading at Looseleaf?
I think I'm going to read an oldie but goodie: A short story, "High Country," that I wrote after someone in a fiction workshop said that they hated metafiction in response to my reference to this form of writing. Apparently humor is how I respond when I'm provoked.
Who’s a writer you’re stoked on right now? What’s exiting about their work?
Stephanie Han. She has a debut story collection, Swimming in Hong Kong, which is smart and funny and really captures what it means to be a wanderer especially if you're a person of color.
Is there a quote / soundtrack for how your week is going?
"Private Joy" by Prince. I won't explain.
Anything coming up for you in the near future?
I'd like an extended vacation.
Where can we find you online?
I have writing available at a few places online. Google Renee Simms, but put writer after my name. There's another Renee Simms (actually there are thousands of Renee Simms in the world) who comes up if you don't add "writer". This other Renee Simms is young, white, an actress--everything I'm not. There's a story there. I just haven't written it yet.
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MEET TAMIKO NIMURA
MEET TAMIKO NIMURA
 | Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American (Sansei/Pinay) writer who grew up in Northern California and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. She is a 2016 recipient of a Grant LAB award from ArtistTrust and 4Culture in Washington state. Her recent publications include pieces in The Rumpus, Heron Tree, HYPHEN, and Full Grown People. She is writing a 3-year commissioned series on being Japanese American for Discover Nikkei (web project of the Japanese American National Museum). She holds degrees in English from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington. She contributes regularly to the International Examiner. She lives with her family in Tacoma, Washington, and is currently working on a memoir and a novel. |
What are you reading at Loose Leaf on 2/1?
It’s February, which is an important month for my community: the anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which ultimately authorized the mass wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. This year marks the 75th anniversary of that signing. I’ll be reading a short lyric essay called “How It Feels To Inherit Camp."
Who’s a writer you’re stoked on right now? What’s exciting about their work?
My dear friend and co-reader Renee Simms—I can’t wait for her short story collection! Renee’s work is fierce, beautiful, and wise. My dear friend and featured reader Rosalind Bell—her work on adult adoption, land ownership, and the long aftermath of slavery is much needed and powerful.
And I’m looking forward to reading Christine Lee’s forthcoming memoir, Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember, and Laurie Frankel’s novel This Is How It Always Is—both friends of mine, both writers that I admire for their ability to “dive into the wreck” and find treasure for the rest of us.
Is there a quote / soundtrack for how your week is going?
Quote: “Are you sure you want to be well, sweetheart?” from Toni Cade Bambara’s novel The Salt Eaters.
Soundtrack: The beautiful anthem by this Asian American artist MILCK, called “Quiet” (commonly known as “I can’t keep quiet”). Performed at the Women’s March by MILCK and a flash mob. That, plus Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need of Love Today” and the whole album, Songs in the Key of Life.
Anything coming up for you in the near future?
The awesome writer Deesha Philyaw is publishing an interview with me at The Rumpus this month (February), in her column VISIBLE. This summer I’ll be working on my book, thanks to a grant from Artist Trust/Artists UP/4Culture. It’s an intergenerational memoir that responds to my dad’s unpublished manuscript about his wartime incarceration in Tule Lake, California.
Where can we find you online?
I update my writing portfolio on my blog, Kikugirl.net. I’m on Twitter at @TamikoN. And a lot of my writing’s available through Discover Nikkei, Seattle’s International Examiner, and the Seattle Star.
It’s February, which is an important month for my community: the anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which ultimately authorized the mass wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. This year marks the 75th anniversary of that signing. I’ll be reading a short lyric essay called “How It Feels To Inherit Camp."
Who’s a writer you’re stoked on right now? What’s exciting about their work?
My dear friend and co-reader Renee Simms—I can’t wait for her short story collection! Renee’s work is fierce, beautiful, and wise. My dear friend and featured reader Rosalind Bell—her work on adult adoption, land ownership, and the long aftermath of slavery is much needed and powerful.
And I’m looking forward to reading Christine Lee’s forthcoming memoir, Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember, and Laurie Frankel’s novel This Is How It Always Is—both friends of mine, both writers that I admire for their ability to “dive into the wreck” and find treasure for the rest of us.
Is there a quote / soundtrack for how your week is going?
Quote: “Are you sure you want to be well, sweetheart?” from Toni Cade Bambara’s novel The Salt Eaters.
Soundtrack: The beautiful anthem by this Asian American artist MILCK, called “Quiet” (commonly known as “I can’t keep quiet”). Performed at the Women’s March by MILCK and a flash mob. That, plus Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need of Love Today” and the whole album, Songs in the Key of Life.
Anything coming up for you in the near future?
The awesome writer Deesha Philyaw is publishing an interview with me at The Rumpus this month (February), in her column VISIBLE. This summer I’ll be working on my book, thanks to a grant from Artist Trust/Artists UP/4Culture. It’s an intergenerational memoir that responds to my dad’s unpublished manuscript about his wartime incarceration in Tule Lake, California.
Where can we find you online?
I update my writing portfolio on my blog, Kikugirl.net. I’m on Twitter at @TamikoN. And a lot of my writing’s available through Discover Nikkei, Seattle’s International Examiner, and the Seattle Star.
