Ryka Aoki
Ryka Aoki | |
---|---|
Occupation | Writer, teacher and composer[1] |
Nationality | American |
Education | Cornell University (MFA) |
Website | |
rykaryka |
Ryka Aoki is an American[2] author of novels, poetry, and essays. She teaches English at Santa Monica College and gender studies at Antioch University.[3]
Aoki's work includes the poetry collections Seasonal Velocities and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul, along with the novels He Mele a Hilo and
Biography
Born to Japanese American parents, Aoki grew up in Southern California in the San Gabriel Valley.[11] Aoki studied chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, after her parents initially discouraged her from becoming a writer. She is a first-generation college graduate.[11] After graduating, Aoki spent a year working as an environmental lab technician.[11]
Aoki earned her
Aoki, who is a
In 2009, Aoki appeared in the documentary, Diagnosing Difference, directed by filmmaker Annalise Ophelian.[14] The following year, she appeared in Angelo Madsen Minax's Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance.[15] Aoki was credited as a writer in the 2019 sci-fi film, Transfinite.[16]
An interview with Aoki was featured in the 2014 book, Queer and Trans Artists of Color: Stories of Some of Our Lives, by
In 2021, Aoki released Light from Uncommon Stars. She has described the book as being in part influenced by the story of
In 2023, she was also awarded the 2023 Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize by Lambda Literary Foundation and was given a $5000 prize.[25]
Personal life
Aoki holds a
“I feel that everybody deserves as much safety as possible, but a lot of self-defense classes when I started out had been taught by cisgender people who didn’t understand the various issues that a trans woman will face, even the type of violence, which is completely different.”[11]
Selected works
Works by Aoki include the following:
- Seasonal Velocities, Ryka Aoki, 2012, ISBN 978-0-9851105-0-5
- He Mele a Hilo, Topside Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-62729-007-4
- Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul, biyuti publishing, 2015, ISBN 978-0-9919008-5-5
- ISBN 978-1-250-78906-8
References
- ^ "Bio". Ryka Aoki. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Lee, Elizabeth (April 23, 2012). "Front Row: Ryka Aoki". ALINE Magazine (2012–04–23).
- ^ Reyes, Gabrielle (November 11, 2014). "Ryka Aoki speaks as part of Trans Week". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ Jax, TT (January 6, 2013). "The Fruits of Winter: Ryka Aoki's Seasonal Velocities". Lambda Literary Foundation. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ a b c Aoki, Ryka (May 22, 2015). "Why I Write: Ryka Aoki". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Griffith, Nicola (March 6, 2013). "25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Shortlist". Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ "28th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists". Lambda Literary. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ "2022 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. April 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
- ^ PINEDA, DORANY (February 23, 2022). "Mariana Enriquez, Michael Connelly, S.A. Cosby among L.A. Times Book Prize finalists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Lothian, Alexis. "Ryka Aoki and Rivers Solomon win 2021 Otherwise Award! Honor List announced" Otherwise Award website
- ^ a b c d e f "Author on pain of trans Asian Americans, joyfully queer stories". NBC News. September 14, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Ryka Aoki". Topside Press. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ a b "Ryka Aoki". Trans-Genre. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ Diagnosing Difference (2009) - IMDb, retrieved May 4, 2023
- ^ Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance (2010) - IMDb, retrieved May 4, 2023
- ^ Transfinite (2019) - IMDb, retrieved May 4, 2023
- The Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ Feil, Megan. "Tranny Roadshow: laughs and learning about defying gender norms". The Guilfordian. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "The Tranny Roadshow". WUNC. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "The Fully Functional Cabaret". Barnard College. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- The Mary Sue. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "Light from Uncommon Stars". Kirkus Reviews. July 10, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- Tor.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Abbott, Alana Joli (September 28, 2021). "Donuts & Demons: Ryka Aoki's Light from Uncommon Stars". Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ locusmag (June 13, 2023). "35th Lambda Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
Further reading
- Enke, Anne (2012). Transfeminist Perspectives in and Beyond Transgender and Gender Studies. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-0748-1. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- Ryka Aoki on Twitter(in English)
- Ryka Aoki on Twitter(in Japanese)
- Ryka Aoki on Instagram