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Goodbye for Now
Last Emailed AACP Newsletter
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Yes it's true, the AACP Newsletter is coming to an end. After 96 months of newsletters, almost nine years, this 97th edition will be our last. I'm reminded of that George Harrison song All Things Must Pass.
All things must pass
None of life's strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day
Note that this is not the end of AACP. We are merely phasing out our email newsletter.
If you're wondering why, in truth, our newsletter was never really financially supportable. We all hoped that it would be some day, but after nine years, it's become less and less so. The recession certainly didn't help much, but I think the nature of Internet communication is changing too. Keeping and building an email reader base is tough when many of your readers are changing or losing jobs.
In addition, the research and work required to create good content for our newsletter is almost as difficult as creating a small newspaper or magazine. You may have noticed that our newsletter content of late was not as heavy into researched articles as before. The reason is that most of us at AACP have other duties and jobs, and couldn't really afford to spend much time with a newsletter that wasn't helping to support the organization.
I've been putting off this day and even the writing of this newsletter article because it's kind of tough to end something you love doing. In some ways, I'm looking forwards to having a little bit more time to devote to other projects and ventures, but on the other hand, I'll greatly miss being able to write to you all.
Sometimes I joked with friends and coworkers that it really didn't mattered what we said in the newsletter because no one was still reading it. Some months we didn't get any feedback and maybe even lost readers through cancellations and email bounce backs. So it was easy for us to imagine that it didn't matter any more.
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But I do know you're out there - I've even spoken to some of you that didn't write us. You may not have read all the articles, but you felt connected and interested enough in what AACP is all about and didn't cancel your subscription - I truly thank you all for sticking with us this long.
So what's next? We're not sure yet. We have a new website that we're working on and we hope to roll it out some time in the near future. There's some talk of us doing a blog for the site, but I'm not sure if we'll have the time for that either.
I think we'll probably come up to speed and join the Twenty-first Century's new found love with social media. For those Facebook users, we do have a presence there, but we haven't done anything to develop it yet. I ask you all to become fans of the site and maybe even lend a hand in developing it. For those of you that haven't joined the Facebook crowd, it's not too late. Facebook seems ideal for some of what AACP is doing.
I've always wanted to create a site where readers and authors of the materials that we advocate for could meet up. I think social media is ideal for this and many of you have long known its power.
So please stick with us a little longer. Don't send me emails saying that you wish to cancel your subscription after receiving this newsletter. For one, it's not necessary and for two, we'd still like to email you from time to time regarding possible new developments. In fact, please continue to let us know when you change your email address. We'll continue to maintain our list and we promise not to share it with anyone.
So this isn't goodbye - we'll be in touch. You keep in touch too.
Take care and have a wonderful 2011 year of the Rabbit/Cat!
Act One Ends
Had idea
Tried to make difference
Hope we did
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Up Coming Events
Here are some events that AACP will soon be attending.
| Events that AACP will be Attending or Hosting |
| Date | Event | Location |
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Jan 30
1-5pm
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Families with Children from China - N. CA
16th Between Two New Years Celebration! |
Marin Co. Day School
Corte Madera, CA
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| Feb. 1 |
Library Materials Fair Exhibit/Sales |
SC County
Office of Educ.
Santa Clara, CA |
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Feb. 6
11am-3pm |
Foster City Chinese New Year Celebration |
Foster City, CA |
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Feb. 20
5:30pm-7:30pm |
The 31th Annual San Jose
Day of Remembrance 2011
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Betsuin Bud. Church
San Jose, CA |
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Mar. 6
11am-5:30pm |
Chinese New Year's Celebration |
Stockton Civic Aud.
Stockton, CA |
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Mar. 19
1pm & 7pm |
College of San Mateo (CSM) Asian Pacific American Film Festival |
CSM
San Mateo, CA |
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April 30-
May 1 |
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books |
USC
Los Angeles, CA |
| Other Event of Interest that AACP May Not Attend |
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Jan. 29-
Feb. 20 |
Chinese New Year
Celebration Events in San Francisco
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Chinatown
SF, CA |
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| Feb. 14-16 |
Asian and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education (APAHE) National Conference |
Hotel Kabuki
SF, CA |
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Feb. 19
5:15pm |
San Francisco
Chinese New Year Parade
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SF, CA |
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| Feb. 19-20 |
26th Annual Oregon Asian Celebration
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Lane County Convention Center
Eugene, OR |
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| Mar. 4-6 |
California Council for the Social Studies Conference |
Doubletree Hotel
Sacramento, CA |
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| Mar. 23-26 |
CA Association of Bilingual Education (CABE) Annual Conference |
Long Beach Convention Center
Long Beach, CA |
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| Apr. 7-9 |
Nat. Assoc. for Ethnic Studies Conference |
Claremont Graduate Univ
Claremont, CA |
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| May 18-21 |
Association for Asian American Studies National Conference |
Sheraton Hotel
New Orleans, LA |
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May 31-
June 4 |
24rd Annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) in American Higher Education |
San Francisco, CA |
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Give Us Your Feedback
Please feel free to send us your reviews, comments, and book suggestions. You can contact us by going to the following page and sending an email to us through the online form -
http://asianamericanbooks.com/contact.htm
Editor's Notes
Hello Everyone,
I've pretty much said all I wanted to say at the beginning of this newsletter. So I guess we'll just roll the credits at this point.
First of all thank you very much to our guest poets - Frances Kakugawa and Hiroshi Kashiwagi. I was just looking at some of our past January poetry issues of the newsletter and didn't realize how often I've leaned on you for contributions.
One of the things I'll miss most about working on the AACP Newsletter is the ready excuse it provided me for communicating with writers and noteworthy individuals. Seems like I've gone back to the same well for many of the authors that we've meet these past nine years. I thank all of them, especially the ones that we've had on multiple times. Please please feel free to continue our relationship - we'll have to think of new excuses for writing to each other :).
Thank you to all of the interns and volunteers that have helped with the newsletter. You're all such caring and bright individuals. I wish you all success with whatever you are doing and will be doing in the future.
Thanks to the AACP Board for the times that you've helped out with the newsletter. This pretty much covers all the individuals that I consider the staff of the newsletter. However, three require special recognition. They are Sophie Wong, Philip Chin, and Florence Hongo.
Thank you Sophie - your contributions to the newsletter and AACP in general are tremendous and greatly appreciated.
Thank you Philip - if it weren't for you, I don't think I would have ever had the courage and will to start the AACP Newsletter. Though we sometimes drove each other crazy, I can't thank you enough for helping me try this wonderful experiment.
Thanks so much to our fearless leader, Florence. Your support helped keep the newsletter going for all these years. I wish I could have done more for you and AACP to make the newsletter a hit.
Last but not least, thank you to you the readers. I've enjoyed the feedback I've received from you over the years. Keep in touch.
That's it everyone. See you in Act Two.
Peace and love always. Bye.
Leonard Chan
Executive Editor
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AACP's 2011 Featured Poetry
Happy New Year 2011
By Frances Hideko Kakugawa
a burst of black pine,
mochi, hot on my tongue
Akemashite omedeto-gozaimasu
spray of bamboo leaves
a shower of new wishes
Konen-mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
The Virtues of Corned Beef Hash
By Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Through the years
I've done a few films
the cameraman often said to me
camera loves you man
I wonder if I missed my calling
who knows?
no matter
you take what life deals you
do the best you can
I think life has been good to me
most of my contemporaries
even those younger
have already passed on
but I'm still here
should I thank my parents for giving me good genes
or my wife for feeding me so well?
when I ride the Mini as I often do
invariably some middle-aged Chinese woman
would tap me and offer me her seat
and I think
do I look that frail? am I that decrepit?
I accept her offer anyway and take her seat
I hit eight-eight this past Monday
no big deal
but according to some superstition
eighty-eight is an auspicious year
that is, if you believe in superstition
I don't
then out of the blue
I got this e-mail from Kerwin Berk
never met the man
didn't know him
except for his columns in the Nichi Bei Times
he was a filmmaker now
had a film he wanted to make
your reputation as an actor
has preceded you
he wrote
I was drawn in
take a look at the attached script
the part of Joe
and let me know
by the way
it's a low budget film
everyone is volunteering
that means
no pay
hmmm
so I read the script
I couldn't believe what was there
the part of Joe Yokai
a dream part
I had hoped would come my way
here it was
right in my lap
without even auditioning
I knew the character
I could fill his skin
of course I would do that part
filming was mostly at May's Coffee Shop
from early morning till lunch
you saw how Tim and I
poking at the corned beef hash
well, that was pretend
we weren't really eating
movies are all pretend
but after the shoot
when we dropped our characters
we ate the prop for lunch
I love corned beef hash
mother fixed it every which way
but sadly it was a bit salty for my age
movies cost a lot to make
even a short one
I wondered where all the money was coming from
Kerwin's nest egg?
bet your credit card took a beating
you say you owe us a bunch
not true
you fed us extremely well
lunches and dinner
hey, we're okay
it was a labor of love
so the rest is
as they say
not that old cliché
but
the Virtues of Corned Beef Hash
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Poems by Us at AACP
Our Annual Attempt at Writing Haiku and Tanka
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Poem by Sophie Wong
Sorrow & Joy
Eve of Christmas,
Layoff letter in pocket,
Party mustn't spared.
Between holidays,
It rained, it poured, it flooded;
Sunshine was prayed.
Start where left off;
With greater sorrow and joy,
Ring in Year of Hare.
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Poems by Philip Chin
One More Dance
Life and soul, eyes alight
Our grace, beauty, and love blesses us
For once we were young
Grow old together my dearest
We shall dance once more together
Life
Autumn rain, red leaves
Eternal winds of life swirls
To what ends we go?
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Poems by Leonard D. Chan
Christmas Colors on New Years
Mottled merged droplets
On a red deck banister
Green sprouts everywhere
New Year's Dance
Two circling gulls
Oblivious of New Years
Lovers waltz in flight
Walking the Mountain
Tiny white flowers
Snow like sprinkles on green fields
Ten years and still missed
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| Poetry Links |
Haiku Links
• Haiku for People
• Jane Reichhold
• Keiko Imaoka
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Tanka Links
• Jane Reichhold on Tanka
• American Tanka, Inc.
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General Link
• Scholastic Inc. Poetry Writing for Kids (grades 1-8)
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ADDITIONS TO OUR WEBSITE
Most of the following books are discounted for subscribers to our newsletter. The discounts on these books end February 11, 2011.
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Man on Extremely Small Island
By Jason Koo
2009, 88 pages, Paperback.
Winner of the 2010 Asian American Writers' Workshop (AAWW) Members' Choice Award
Two to four weeks for delivery.
View Additional Information
ORDER -- Item #3630, Price $14.95
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Poetry Basics
Haiku
By Valerie Bodden
2011, 32 pages, Hardback.
Two to four weeks for delivery.
Poetry Basics: Haiku is a great introduction of haiku poetry to children - presenting the history, style, and technique of this minimalist form of poetry.
View Additional Information
ORDER -- Item #3634, Price $19.95 ... for newsletter subscribers $15.96
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Grass Sandals
The Travels of Basho
By Dawnine Spivak
Illustrated by Demi
2009 (Paperback Edition), 28 pages, Paperback.
Two to four weeks for delivery.
Grass Sandals follows the journey of famed Seventeenth Century Japanese haiku poet Basho. Renowned children's books illustrator Demi's drawings beautifully bring to life the included Basho haikus that describe what he sees and experiences on his adventure through Japan.
View Additional Information
ORDER -- Item #3631, Price $13.99 ... for newsletter subscribers $11.19
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Long-Long's New Year
A Story about the Chinese Spring Festival
By Catherine Gower
Illustrated by He Zhihong
2005, 28 pages, Hardback.
Follow Long-Longs exploits as he and his grandfather go to town to sell vegetables to make money for supplies to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival (New Years). The book includes a folktale and a glossary of some Chinese words and symbols that are used in the book.
View Additional Information
ORDER -- Item #3632, Price $16.95 ... for newsletter subscribers $13.56
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A Gift
By Yong Chen
2009, 27 pages, Hardback.
Amy receives a Chinese New Year letter and package from her uncles and aunt living far away in China. A Gift is a simple story of how an item from afar can symbolize the connection of family near and far at New Years.
View Additional Information
ORDER -- Item #3633, Price $16.95 ... for newsletter subscribers $13.56
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Visit our website at AsianAmericanBooks.com
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