hiromigoto.com

I don’t know how many people check out my blog anymore…. I’ve totally stopped writing, here. I’m mostly on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/hinganai

There’s current content there– basically I’m microblogging. I also post a lot of photos.

Thank you for stopping by!

Mata ne!

I had the honour of sharing writing talk at UBC in January. Those large lecture halls are such odd/unfamiliar spaces to make ideas, creativity, information coalesce… It was invigorating and the students were keen, bright, focussed.

Here’s a link to the write-up in the UBC Creative Writing website: https://creativewriting.ubc.ca/2018/01/hiromi-goto-visits-ubc-creative-writing-department/

Thank you, Emily Pohl-Weary, Ian Williams, and Tariq Hussain, for having me visit your classes! Thank you, Olga, for taking the photos.

Friday, May 5, 2017. 7-10pm/ Reading begins 8pm. I’ll be reading in the first set. Lost and Found Cafe, 33 West Hastings. Vancouver.

I hope I can be forgiven for this self-centred heading. XD Trying to be a bit more savvy re: search terms, thank you, Dana! XD

I’m super excited to have my new novelette for adults included in the Spring Issue of PRISM. “And The Moon Spun Round Like A Top” is a work of feminist body horror…. I like to think it’s of a thinky kind of horror, rather than gratuitous/slasher. But you decide for yourself, of course. ~__~

Hope to see you at the launch, details here!

Guests include:

Mica Lemiski (SAD Mag)
Celine Chuang (Ricepaper)
Hiromi Goto (PRISM)
Kyla Jamieson (Poetry is Dead)
Megan Jones (PRISM)
Mallory Tater (Room)

Many long days since I’ve last updated. Lots has happened, of course, in the way of life and busynesses. A new group of writers at The Writer’s Studio. Late 2016 I  joined the board of Plentitude Magazine, a work trip to University of Colorado, Boulder, hosted by the marvellous Marcia Douglas.

I had the chance to see the Stephen King redrum inspiration hotel, The Stanley!

And also to see the beautiful vistas of the Rocky Mountain National Parks, Arapaho lands.

I’ve also had the honour of being selected as one of the 2017 mentors for The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. We will be having shared learnings with the 2015 scholars and the broader communities of cohorts who are “committed to applying their knowledge and skills to pressing social issues”. I’m very much excited about how our widening circles of understanding and communications will affect change and actions. I’m deeply grateful to 2010 scholars, Libe Garcia Zarranz and Danielle Peers, who recommended me for this role.

Upcoming publications! It’s been a long while since having new adult fiction in periodicals. A novelette, “And the moon spun round like a top”, is forthcoming in PRISM International Issue 55:3, Spring 2017. A ficto-essay, “Notes from Liminal Spaces” is also coming up in Uncanny Magazine some time. Much excite!

I’ve been working on essays and short stories. More essays and stories in the works. Ideally I’d like to ready a short story manuscript by the end of summer. We’ll see, my little pretties.

July on Denman Island surrounded by lovers of books, stories, Salish Sea… I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the summer! Come and explore the island and delve into literature at the Denman Island Writers Festival. There will be writing workshops, too! Please visit their website for further details, scheduling.

I’ll be reading and participating on a panel.

*NEW CONTENT*

Here’s the link to the schedule! I’ll be doing a solo reading on Friday, July 14, at 1:45PM. And participating on a panel, “Imagining Other Worlds”, with Carleigh Baker and Deborah Campbell, moderated by Stewart Goodings, on Saturday, July 15, at 7:30PM. Main stage event.

Join Dean Sigurdson and Hiromi Goto BA’90 for an evening of conversation and performance. An alumni association Faculty of Arts event, meet other alumni, connect, reconnect, network and build community in the Metro Vancouver Area. Please register.

I’ve been invited by the University of Colorado, Boulder, Creative Writing Department to share my work at their Visiting Writer Series. Please contact the Creative Writing Department for more details.

7:30pm

Location: tba

Trying to eat a more healthy diet and reduce meat, I’ve been working on tasty vegetarian dishes that satisfies my desire for complex savouriness. This really hits the spot!

Ingredients

454g Medium firm tofu

one large bunch rapini

1 Tablespoon wheat flour (rounded)

1 Tablespoon corn starch (rounded)

half teaspoon of salt

2-go brown rice, cook as per directions (Jpnse measure, rice cooker cup 1-go = 180cc)

one avocado

Shichimi

For the Miso Sauce

one knob of ginger

2 cloves garlic

two tablespoons pure sesame oil

1 teaspoon white vinegar (or rice vinegar as desired)

2 Tablespoons mirin

2 Tablespoon miso (generous)

add sugar if desired, to taste

4 Tablespoons water (add more for milder, looser sauce)

canola oil for frying tofu, large cast iron frying pan

Directions

• Steam rice as per usual directions. When there are 40 minutes rice-cooking time remaining start the next step.
• Cut block of tofu lengthwise in half (so that you have two long rectangles). Cut each block into ½ inch slices. You should end up with about 14 pieces altogether. Take baking dish and place cookie rack on top. Place slices of tofu atop the rack. Place a cutting board on top of the tofu slices. The light weight will help press out the water from the tofu. Set aside.

• Peel and mince garlic.
• Grate ginger.
• Set large pot of water to boil.
• Wash rapini. Drain in sieve. Cut into 1.5 inch pieces, stem & leaves altogether. Set aside.
• On a plate place flour, corn starch and salt. Mix together. (You will dredge tofu in this flour.)

Make the Miso Sauce

• In medium-sized cast iron frying on medium heat, add two tablespoons of sesame oil.
• Add garlic to oil, turn heat to medium low, stirring until fragrant (do not burn). Add ginger. Add mirin, letting everything simmer. Add vinegar. Then miso. Add water to blend in well, to desired consistency. Add sugar at the end if desired. Set aside. Turn off heat, reheat before pouring over rice bowl.

Cook the Tofu While Boiling Rapini

• Dredge tofu pieces in flour mixture.
• Pour canola oil into large frying pan so there’s 1 mm lining the bottom.
• Heat to medium-high until chopsticks tips placed in oil sizzles. Adjust heat as needed.
• Cook in two batches, frying tofu on both sides until golden. Drain on cookie rack.

• Meanwhile, while frying tofu, boil rapini until a little before-desired tenderness is reached, then drain in sieve, tossing once or twice. Don’t run cold water through greens so they can stay warm.

Prepare the Rest

• Cut avocado into cubes/chunks.
• Stir cooked rice. Spoon into large bowls.
• Add rapini, cover half of rice. Arrange 3-4 pieces of tofu beside rapini.
• Nestle avocado beside tofu.
• Drizzle sauce over everything.
• Dash of shichimi.

Serves 3-4 people

Bon Appetit!

Note: This recipe is very flexible and you can substitute almost anything (except the sauce). For people in a hurry you can skip home-frying tofu and get the pre-fried kind from the store. Just heat them in frying pan. Not as tasty and more greasy… but will still be okay. Non-vegetarians can add chicken, or shrimp, or pork (miso goes very well with pork). My mum can’t eat rapini/dark greens. For her I’d julienne Japanese cucumbers, and flash-boil a batch of bean sprouts. The miso sauce would also make an excellent salad dressing or dipping sauce. Experiment! ^__^)/

#ThunderPride

June 13, 6 – 9pm – Invisible Ink, Writing Workshop

June 14, 7pm – Prideful Night at Thunder Bay Art Gallery

Please come join us for an evening of music, performance, words!

Killjoy Speaker Series #2

https://www.facebook.com/events/1778132965740899/

KILLJOY is a collective that organizes events for the QTBIPOC community on unceded Coast Salish territories. The april speaker series is coinciding with an online campaign to fundraise for a QTBIPOC-centred arts festival in august. Campaign here: generosity.com/community-fundraising/killjoy-fest-2016–2