Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Caregiving, Dignity in Aging, Elder Care, Events, poetry and caregiving, tagged Caregivers' conference in Gardena on April 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
To residents in the Gardena, CA area, I’ll be giving the main address at:
Genki Conference: Caregivers’ Edition on June 8th, Saturday in Gardena. This will be followed by a writing workshop. Please check the site below for registration and details. IF you’re unable to get to the site, please get in touch with me. Attendance is free with Bento lunch included.
Genki Conference Flyer GVBC 6.13. revised. pdf.pdf
Posted in Events, My Books, Poetry and Writing, tagged Barnes & Noble, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on February 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Book Signing for Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
1 P.M.
Barnes & Noble
6111 Sunrise Blvd
Citrus Heights, CA
Ph: 916-853-1389
It would be sooo embarrassing if no one came…..
Posted in Caregiving, Dignity in Aging, Elder Care, Events, tagged Alzheimer's support, ASEB on February 8, 2013 | 1 Comment »
I’ll be posting my 2013 events calendar as they are finalized.
Oakland, CA
May 4, 2013
ASEB’s annual art auction will be held on May 4, 2013, from 6-9pm. This year’s fundraiser will be a celebration of 25 years of service to the East Bay community.
This year, our event will be moving to a new location, the Claremont Country Club in Oakland (not to be confused with the Claremont Hotel).
The evening will feature live and silent auction, live jazz, wonderful food and drink, and, of course, a celebration of the continuing spirit of individuals affected by memory loss.
Keynote speaker is poet and author Frances H. Kakugawa.
ASEB 25th Anniversary Celebration
May 4, 2013
6pm-9pm
Claremont Country Club
5295 Broadway Terrace
Oakland, California 94618
For more information, call (510) 644-8292
Posted in Events, Poetry, Thoughts, Musings, Things to Share, tagged Poetry Out Loud, Sacramento Poetry Center on January 29, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Poetry Out Loud
On February 7th, there is a free event that promises to leave you in a state of wonderment, joy and indescribable poetic pleasures, all brought to you by our young students, ages 13-18.
For the 2nd year, I’ll be on the panel of judges at the Sacramento County Poetry Out Loud competition.
The Sacramento County Poetry Out Loud Recitation Competition is sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), the Poetry Foundation and the Sacramento County Office of Education.
The program follows a pyramid structure: After a classroom contest, champions advance to a school-wide level, then to a county and a state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington D.C.
Students select poems from an anthology of 650 classic and contemporary poems. Poems are memorized and performed before a panel of judges.
I have read selections chosen by students and am left with so much respect and admiration for the young students who must have seen something of themselves or their world to have selected the poems they did. We don’t see this part of our young people in malls or in the media. Many of the poems will take you back to the poetry you’ve grown up with all these years.
Come support these students, their teachers and schools and join me at the Sacramento County Poetry Out Loud Competition on:
February 7, 2013
12:30 – 3:30
Rosemont High School
9594 Kiefer Blvd
Sacramento, CA
Past competitions can be seen at the Poetry Out Loud website.
All 50 states are involved so do support your local schools through this event.
Ah Poetry!
Posted in Events, Going Green, Hawaii, My Books, Poetry, tagged Hawaiian Legacy Hardwood, Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, Koa trees, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on October 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »
From : Wordsworth the Poet 
Hello Everyone,
Have you visited my Facebook site? I know you go to Frances’ site but please visit me at
http://www.facebook.com/WordsworthThePoet
My new book Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! is still in China and should be arriving soon.
The good news is, my loyal fans are already planting trees. Readers are invited to plant a Wordsworth tree in this book so Tammy planted a Wordsworth tree almost a year ago when she heard about my new book. Look at her Ohi’a tree with all the Lehua blossoms. I have an album with all the Wordsworth trees. My dream is to have a Wordsworth tree in all 50 states and even in other countries. So please spread the word.
Tammy Aoki Antonio
The exciting news today is this: Frances and I are going to plant a very special Koa tree on the Big Island. It will be in a very special place, once owned by King Kamehameha I. So we will have a tree planting ceremony on Oct 23rd. There will even be a photographer present so I’ll post some photos later. I got some information for you below about that special place.
This once pristine tropical forest was the personal property of King Kamehameha I – the first King of Hawaii. Sadly, the land was cleared nearly a century ago to make room for farming and ranching. Fortunately, some of the old growth koa treess till reside on the property. HLH is utilizing these trees as the seed source for all Legacy Trees in an effort to return this tropical forest to its former glory.
Koa wood is very pricey and I know Frances jokes that the only koa thing she owns is a koa bookmark. So how could I afford this tree? Our publisher bought the tree to honor my book. Wow, I bet even Mickey Mouse doesn’t have a tree with his name on it. Hey, Mickey Mouse, do you have your own facebook, too? Oops. Frances just nudged me to remind me to be humble.
I’ll be in touch from Hawaii…Aloha,
wordsworth the poet
Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Caregiving, Dignity in Aging, Elder Care, Events, Hawaii, Memoirs, My Books, Poetry, tagged Alzheimer's support, Being Japanese, Breaking the Silence:A Caregiver's Voice, JApanese cultural center of Hawaii, Mosaic Moon: Caregiving Through Poetry, Pearl Harbor, Watermark Publishing, Wordsworth Dances the Waltz, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on October 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
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The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i and Watermark Publishing present a series of author readings and discussions with former educator and caregiving advocate Frances Kakugawa at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, 2454 S. Beretania St., on Sat., Nov. 10, 9:30am – 12:30pm.
9:30 – 10:00am – Kapoho presentation (Historical Gallery); Frances will read from her newest book, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii and speak on the experience of growing up Japanese-American after the bombing of Pearl Harbor 10:00 – 10:30am – Book signing at Author’s Table outside Gift Shop
10:30 – 11:00am – Aging With Dignity (Historical Gallery); Frances will read from her works on caregiving and address the topics of: easing the burdens of caregiving through creative writing, how to bring dignity back to the caregiving experience, and coping with Alzheimer’s for families and children
11:00 – 11:30am – Children’s book reading (Historical Gallery); Frances will read from her children’s books, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth Dances the Waltz and her brand-new release, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer! 11:30am – 12:30pm – Book signing at Author’s Table outside Gift Shop |
Posted in Events, Hawaii, My Books, Politics, tagged Chinese Gov't Confiscates Wordswoth the Poet, Frances' Fall Schedule, Wordsworth the Poet, Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer on October 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
News Flash The Chinese Gov’t confiscated all copies of Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer from the printer in China.
Details not in.
Books were expected to arrive before my book launch in Hilo, Hawaii, on October 20th. Wordsworth has been sent to another printer, hopefully, books will arrive by air by the 24th.
So my book signing at the Book Gallery in Hilo has been postponed to another date.
As soon as I hear from Wordsworth, I’ll post it on my blog and FB. I have been informed Wordsworth is fine.
Hilary Clinton, please get Wordsworth back. The irony of this is, the theme of the book is saving trees and if they destroy these books, they’ll be
killing the very trees Wordsworth is trying to save.
The rest of my schedule:
Frances’ Fall Schedule of Events:
October 11, 2012
Sacramento Buddhist Church
2401 Riverside Boulevard Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 446-0121
Dignity in Aging and Caregiving
7 p.m.
October 20, 2012 ( Postponed due to the Chinese Gov’t confiscating all copies of Wordsworth from the printer in China. Please watch media and blog for new date. Wordsworth is believed to be fine.)
Book Gallery
259 Keawe St
Hilo, HI
Book Signing for Wordsworth! Stop the Bulldozer!
10 a.m
October 26, 2012
Hawaii County on Aging:
Kona Regency at Hualalai
75-181 Hualalai Road
Kailua-Kona
Ph: 329-7878
Dignity in Caregiving
10 a.m.
October 27, 2012
Hawaii County on Aging
Hilo Adult Care
34 Rainbow Drive Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-3747
Embracing Aging and Caregiving / writing workshop
9:30 a.m.
November 1, 2012
Lions Club: Hawaii-Kai
Dignity in Aging and Caregiving
7 – 9 p.m.
November 10, 2012
Japanese Cultural Center
2454 Beretania St
Honolulu HI
Ph:945-7632
9:30-10: Discussion on Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii
10-10:30: book signing with frances’ 7 books, which includes the new Wordsworth!
Stop the Bulldozer!
10:30-11:00: Dignity in Caregiving
November 14, 2012
AARP Conference
Ala Moana Hotel
Hibiscus Ballroom
410 Atkinson Dr
Honolulu, HI
Ph: 1-877-926-8300
Keynote address on caregiving/writing workshop
8:30 – Noon
Posted in Events, Hawaii, My Books, tagged Being Japanese, Hawaii Volcano National Park, Japanese American National Museum, Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Kilauea Volcano, MANAA on October 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles
I looked at the empty chairs in the theater, thinking, ” Kapoho girl does good if these seats are all filled today.” The seats weren’t all filled but there would have been SRO if the emotional impact of the afternoon had filled the spaces.
Once again, there were Kapoho faces from long ago. Tommy Wataru Shimizu who attended the session at Torrance Library two weeks ago was there, saying he wanted to hear me speak of Kapoho again. His family was the first to get a bicycle and his younger brother Iwao had spent most of his summers at our house. When he joined the Marines, his photo was displayed in our living room until he returned. He visited my mother with flowers when she was in the nursing facility. She no longer knew him then. He called me Pride by request, remembering how I had renamed myself, but that story is for another day.
Diane was a toddler when I knew her in Kapoho. She and mother Eva visited us often. I had a story to tell Diane. She loved grapes and called them dwapes. She told me a little secret of how she always told her mother, “I’m going to be a teacher like Frances.” She’s an actress today. So she fulfilled one of my dreams instead.
Patty Nishi bought three copies of Kapoho for the children of Ruth Uyeno who was born and raised in Kapoho. The image of Mrs. Uyeno comes to mind clearly as if it were only yesterday.
Leanne, daughter of Ella whom I had met in college, touched me deeply to know the new generation was there to nurture her mother’s friendship with me.
What a surprise to meet Facebook friend and daughter of Andy Hayashi of Pahoa, Darlyne Fujimoto in line for book purchases.
Now, if you were in L.A. to attend a wedding all the way from Hawaii, would you give up a Saturday afternoon for a lecture? My cousin’s wife, Carolyn Takahashi, did and she brought other members of her family.
Guy Aoki and loyal members of MANAA ( Media Action Network for Asian Americans) were in attendance once again as in Torrance.
I can’t thank all who came. My gratitude to the generous woman who bought a dozen copies of Kapoho for members of her book club. They meet over dessert so I hope Kapoho receives more attention than their dessert next month.
To everyone who dared to drive on the day a major freeway was closed in L.A and to the people from Hawaii who shared their stories of living in internment camps after Pearl Harbor, you have your own stories to preserve.
Ms. Alexandra Giffin, Dr. Koji Sakai and all the volunteers at the Museum made this happen.
Leslie Yamaguchi wrote the following most generous interview that appeared in the JANM newsletter.
http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2012/9/3/kapoho/
“You made Kapoho come alive for us again.” “You gave Kapoho back to us.” I heard this over and over. I regret not having had the time to ask each former resident, how they made their home in CA after the eruption.
Yes, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii has taken a life of its own, rejuvenating memories for residents who thought them buried under magma for good. Yes, Standing Room Only.
Posted in Events, My Books, Thoughts, Musings, Things to Share, tagged television, Torrance CitiCable, Torrance Library on September 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The THIS WEEK IN TORRANCE program came to my reading at the Torrance Public Library and put me on television! This aired on Torrance CitiCable (I hear it will run on repeats until next week’s episode starts on the 28th), and you can see it on YouTube:
My publisher’s marketing director says she thinks I look very chic. What do you think?
( okay, have you guessed by now that last line was inserted either by Wordsworth or by Watermark Publishing? )
Posted in Events, Hawaii, Memoirs, Uncategorized, tagged CA, Guy Aoki, JAHSSC, Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, MANA, Torrance, Torrance Library on September 20, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Frances in Torrance:
Hi Everyone, I’m Wordsworth the Poet and this is my final summer appearance because I gotta get my tail to Hawaii to prepare for my 3rd Wordsworth book that’s due in October.
The people in Torrance gave Frances a heart-warming welcome. I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves. Her visit was sponsored by MANAA (Media Action Network for Asian Americans),
The Japanese American Historical Society of So. CA ( JAHSSC) and Torrance Public Library. Guy Aoki of MANAA, Dana Vinke of Torrrance Library and Iku Kiriyama made it all happen.
I had mouse tears flowing down my whiskers when I heard how MANAA members, Johnny Lam, Miriam Nakamura-Quan and Aki Aleong donated $120 to run an ad for Frances that ran in the Rafu Shimpu, her photo and all.
If that wasn’t so heart – wrenching, I lost it all when people from Kapoho began to appear and they held Frances’ hands with tears in their eyes. They are so proud of Frances and thanked her for returning Kapoho back to them. Wow. The books were all sold out but that was nothing compared to the former residents of Hawaii who also joined the Kapoho people. Wow. Now I know why Frances writes.
Before I leave here, Frances will return to L.A. on Saturday, September 29th. She will speak at the Japanese American National Museum from 2 4 p.m.. Aloha, and see you in Hawaii in October-November.
from Kapoho: Wataru Shimizu, frances, Shizue Akahori, the Okuda Store sisters
MANAA: top: Johnny Lam, Ray Quan, Miriam Nakamura-Quan, Guy Aoki, Toshi Yang, Aki Aleong, frances
