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Silver Seasons of Heartache is a collection of poems contemplating relationships, particularly the experience(s) of loss.

What I liked:

• I purchased this book because I was curious about Fujimoto after seeing her mentioned in passing online. When the book arrived, I initially assumed it might provide a similar reading experience (for me) to Mariko Nagai’s Histories of Bodies because of its apparent focus on relationships, and I put it aside because I was not sure I was up to reading something with such a deep emotional impact. I finally picked up Silver Seasons on a whim during one of my days off and, to my own surprise, read it in one sitting. Fujimoto’s poems are incredibly readable and intensely thought-provoking.
• Fujimoto masks the location of many of the scenes and events in her poems. Although such ambiguity would probably frustrate me in a novel, in Fujimoto’s poetry the frequent absence of geographic anchors/landmarks created a fluid reading experience. One poem seemed to run into another and I found myself turning the pages eagerly, wondering what I would read next. From what I can tell, Fujimoto ranges wide, across countries and people and time, but it is a purposeful wandering, and her spare, graceful writing brings it all together.

What I learned:

• I think I have been subconsciously assuming a “good” book of poetry aims for unity through its contents, though each poet may arrive there in a different way. Although Fujimoto’s book certainly embodies a form of unity, in realizing this I also found myself wondering if unity is the only possible result. Perhaps unity is not the best word – but theme is not quite right, either. Do I place too much significance on titles? When I think back on the books of poetry I have read since starting this blog, I realize I have always considered each book title to be demonstrative of the poems to follow, and I would read with the goal of figuring out how the poet wanted me to understand their book title through their poems. Although I do not think this approach is incorrect, I now wonder what other approaches might be possible. Definitely something to think about the next time I read a book of poetry!
• After reading writers like Fujimoto and Mariko Nagai, I have been thinking more about the idea of nikkei poetry and what it might look like. Should any poetry written by a person who self-identifies as nikkei/diaspora Japanese form the core definition of nikkei poetry? Should the definition be more specific and narrow, perhaps limited to poetry by self-identified nikkei poets who explicitly address themes of “nikkei-ness” or “Japanese-ness” in their works? I don’t believe there is any one right answer, but as I read more nikkei poets (in my case, defined as any poet who self-identifies as nikkei/diaspora Japanese, regardless of their subject matter or interests), I begin to wonder what “nikkei poetry” means for me.

Questions I had:

• Why did Fujimoto choose to complete her university education in the United States?
• Does Fujimoto identify as nikkei/diaspora in any sense? Does Fujimoto situate her work within nikkei/diaspora literature in any sense?
• Who made the decision to italicize the Japanese words in this book? What does the editorial process look like in poetry? Do poets of color, specifically, encounter racial microaggressions during the editorial process more or less often than, for example, novelists of color?
• How did Fujimoto draft the poems in this book? Were all the poems written only in English, or did she write any drafts in Japanese? Did Fujimoto – or her editor(s) – ever consider including any poems in Japanese?

Follow-up:

• I look forward to reading Fujimoto’s other books!