Flat, kokeshi renditions of Alden M. Hayashi and Mia Barnett.

Discover Nikkei

Nima Voices: Episode 13—Alden Hayashi

Flat, kokeshi renditions of Alden M. Hayashi and Mia Barnett.

Discover Nikkei

Nima Voices: Episode 13—Alden Hayashi

FREE

Discover Nikkei is JANM’s community-based web project sharing stories and the experiences of Nikkei around the world. “Nima” are members of the Discover Nikkei online community. Hailing from all around the world, they each bring unique experiences and perspectives to the site’s rich archive of stories.

Nima Voices is an interview series where we uplift our Nima through brief, but enlightening, interviews. In the thirteenth episode, Alden M. Hayashi, a Sansei writer originally from Hawai‘i now living in Boston, will be interviewed by guest host Mia Barnett, co-chair of Okaeri, a Nikkei LGBTQ+ community group. Discover Nikkei has been sharing articles by Alden since 2021. Join us as they chat about his family history; why he decided to shift from writing about science, technology, and business to writing fiction to preserve stories of the Nikkei experience; his first novel, and his sense of identity as a gay Nikkei man.

Read Alden’s articles on Discover Nikkei before tuning in for this live interview and Q&A on Tuesday, June 20 at 5 p.m. (PDT) / 8 p.m. (EDT) on the Discover Nikkei YouTube channel or on Facebook. Log into your YouTube or Facebook account to post questions for the Q&A!

FREE

Tuesday, Jun 20, 2023

5:00 PM - 5:30 PM PDT

We encourage you to subscribe to the Discover Nikkei YouTube channel, or follow on Facebook so you will be notified when the video is streaming live.

FREE

Discover Nikkei is JANM’s community-based web project sharing stories and the experiences of Nikkei around the world. “Nima” are members of the Discover Nikkei online community. Hailing from all around the world, they each bring unique experiences and perspectives to the site’s rich archive of stories.

Nima Voices is an interview series where we uplift our Nima through brief, but enlightening, interviews. In the thirteenth episode, Alden M. Hayashi, a Sansei writer originally from Hawai‘i now living in Boston, will be interviewed by guest host Mia Barnett, co-chair of Okaeri, a Nikkei LGBTQ+ community group. Discover Nikkei has been sharing articles by Alden since 2021. Join us as they chat about his family history; why he decided to shift from writing about science, technology, and business to writing fiction to preserve stories of the Nikkei experience; his first novel, and his sense of identity as a gay Nikkei man.

Read Alden’s articles on Discover Nikkei before tuning in for this live interview and Q&A on Tuesday, June 20 at 5 p.m. (PDT) / 8 p.m. (EDT) on the Discover Nikkei YouTube channel or on Facebook. Log into your YouTube or Facebook account to post questions for the Q&A!

We encourage you to subscribe to the Discover Nikkei YouTube channel, or follow on Facebook so you will be notified when the video is streaming live.

Headshot of author Alden M. Hayashi.

Alden Hayashi

Alden M. Hayashi is a Sansei who was born and raised in Honolulu but now lives in Boston. After writing about science, technology, and business for more than thirty years, he has recently begun writing fiction to preserve stories of the Nikkei experience. His first novel, Two Nails, One Love, was published by Black Rose Writing in 2021. Visit his website at aldenmhayashi.com.

Headshot of Okaeri co-chair, Mia Barnett.

Mia Barnett

Mia Barnett (she/her) is a freelance video editor and organizer based in Los Angeles with a passion for building and strengthening community. Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, she graduated from Kenyon College with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Political Science. Music is one of her lifelong passions, and she plays clarinet with the Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles and the Symphony of the Verdugos at Glendale Community College. Mia organizes with Nikkei Progressives, a grassroots activism organization based in Little Tokyo, and is a Co-Chair for Okaeri, a Nikkei LGBTQ+ community. In her free time, Mia enjoys reading, taking pottery classes, and going to karaoke.

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