by Diana Renn | Feb 28, 2012 | Japan, Japanese Teens, Tomo, Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, YARN
Have you heard about Tomo? It’s one of my most anticipated Spring reads. Tomo is an anthology of Young Adult short fiction, verse, and graphic art, all set in or related to Japan. It releases 3/11/12, the anniversary of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami...
by Diana Renn | May 26, 2011 | hobbies and the writing life, Japan, Odaiko New England, taiko
For many years, I had no hobbies. Not a one. I pursued work, grad school, and, above all, writing, with gritty determination, leaving little time for anything else. I lived on little sleep, piled on the freelance work, and was generally unpleasant to be around. Around...
by Diana Renn | Mar 15, 2011 | creative fundraising, Japan, tsunami
A week ago I was hanging out in NYC, visiting my favorite Japanese haunts, nibbling Japanese pastries with my editors at Viking. Inspired by my trip and my editorial meeting, eager to travel to Japan through my novel, I plunged into my revisions. And then Japan...
by Diana Renn | Mar 9, 2011 | artists, Japan, Japanese art, New York City, travel
NYC always dazzles me. I’ve been there numerous times — Boston isn’t so far away, and I used to travel there regularly for business. But I always feel a bit like Country Mouse, showing up with a battered suitcase and stars in my eyes, gaping at the...
by Diana Renn | Feb 4, 2011 | artists, creative process, inspiration, Japan, Viz Media
I love art. But I can barely etch a stick figure. I have to translate what I see into words. Sometimes the tension between my deep appreciation for visual art and my inability to produce it feels like a strange illness. So I compensate in other ways. I write about...
by Diana Renn | Jan 28, 2011 | hobbies and the writing life, Japan, Odaiko New England, taiko
In a quiet, working-class town outside of Boston, behind a bowling alley and an electricians’ school, next to a Brazilian church, inside a nondescript building housing a Chinese cultural center, I’ve discovered a wonderful little slice of Japan. It’s...
