Patricia Wakida

"

For Kaya's End of Year campaign, I've joined Team Primary Sources, lifting up eminent professor of Ethnic Studies, Elaine H. Kim's upcoming memoir!

 I first became aware of Kaya when I laid my hands on poet Sesshu Foster's strange, harrowing, transformative CITY TERRACE FIELD MANUAL, and flipped to the back cover. There I discovered that his publisher, Kaya Press, focused on truly unique, quality writing...all by Asian writers around the world. 

As a Japanese American writer, I was searching for a press like this, one that was dedicated to uplifting stories of Asian Americans coping with high school, homelessness in Hong Kong, immigrants ekeing out a life in 1920s Los Angeles. Kaya believes that it’s impossible to generate power without first finding one’s center, and that our API diasporic focus is a starting point, not an ending point. They strive to bring to light works that have been unfairly overlooked or forgotten, whether because they were ahead of their times or because no one recognized their worth. 

I have served on the board of directors for the non-profit publishing house, Kaya Press for over a dozen years. Once again, I am shining light and love onto Kaya to raise end-of-year funds that will sustain us through 2026 and allow us to continue publishing incredible books. Will you help us continue our work by making a donation? 

Whether you donate $5 or $500, every dollar is used towards publishing the most challenging, thoughtful, and provocative literature being produced throughout the Asian and Pacific Island diasporas.

The pipeline is rich with writers and we want to ensure we can continue to publish their stories. 

In solace and solidarity,

Patricia"