Crossing with the Light

by Dwight Okita

The poems from this book have been reprinted in a multitude of textbooks and anthologies, including the Norton Introduction to Literature. This is the last printing for this paperback book published by Tia Chucha Press, Chicago's acclaimed multicultural poetry publisher. The book is not available as an ebook.  . "In Response to Executive Order 9066" has appeared in CELEBRATE AMERICA IN POETRY AND ART (Smithsonian) and many textbooks and anthologies. Okita's poetry is widely reprinted every year in textbooks and anthologies.  .
The book also looks at the poet's life as a gay man in poems like "When Frank Walks In" and "Where the Boys Were."  This last poem was inspired by the AIDS crisis.  There is often humor in the poems, sometimes a sense of wonder.  Other titles  "Mysteries of a Bowling Alley," "Letters I Never Wrote," and "Poem for the Unnamed."  .If you enjoy Okita's poetry, you may want to take a peek at his award-winning, debut novel THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL.  It was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards and is available on Amazon in both kindle and trade paperback.  Okita was named an "Author to Watch" by Best Indie Book Awards for his second novel, THE HOPE STORE.  It's about the first store in the world to sell hope over the counter, the customers who were transformed by it, and the controversies that ensued.Author  DwightOkita.com. 
  If this book is not readily available here, another way to purchase is to   tiachucha.org/bookstore

60 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

About the author

Dwight Okita was born in Chicago. He continues to live there with an imaginary cat. He has written poems and plays, though nowadays he focuses on sci-fi and magic realist novels. He tends to write of the beauty and brutality of life, but always with a sense of humor and wonder.

His latest novel, THE HOPE STORE, is a magic-realist fable about two asian american men who open the first store in the world to sell hope over the counter. Controversy ensues. A grassroots organization springs up called Natural Hopers which vow to shut down the store.

THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL, the author's debut novel, is available in paperback and kindle thru Amazon. It was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards out of 5,000 entries.

Okita is currently completing his third novel EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE. This book deals with love and reincarnation and gun control.

His poetry book CROSSING WITH THE LIGHT was published by Tia Chucha Press. It is filled with poems that have been anthologized and reprinted in a range of text books. Topics range from the internment camps for Japanese Americans to modern love to the AIDS crisis.

* * *

REVIEW OF "PROSPECT" FROM BLOGGER BECKY KYLE, Amazon Vine Reviewer:
http://bexboox13.blogspot.com/2011/09...

SECOND REVIEW FROM CHICAGO PAPER
which calls the book "elegant":
http://bit.ly/qKqfhl

AUTHOR INTERVIEW FROM ALISON DELUCA:
http://alisondeluca.blogspot.com/2011...

VIDEO REVIEWS: I've posted two video reviews of early drafts of PROSPECT when it was entered in the Amazon contest. Megan Bostic and Josie Henley-Einion did the honors.

Dwight Okita has written personal essays for WBEZ Radio, the Chicago affiliate of NPR, and read his poetry on Ira Glass' popular radio show “This American Life.” His work has been recognized by the Norton Introduction to Poetry, the HBO New Writers Project, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Follow his multi-purpose blog "Long Day's Journey Into Dwight" at http://dwightokita2011.blogspot.com

Reviews

[jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy shit

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for In Response to Executive
Order 9066 and The Nice
Thing About Counting Stars
By Dwight Okita