Hello!

My name is Yurina Yoshikawa (née Ko), and I’m a writer based in Nashville, Tennessee.

A little about me…

I grew up moving back and forth between Tokyo and California, and I’ve spent most of my life feeling like a Japanese person living abroad or a foreigner living in Japan. I have a B.A. in philosophy from Barnard College and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Columbia University, where I taught undergraduate writing. I also worked in the book publishing industry in both editorial and publicity departments. In the summer of 2017, I made the big move to Nashville, Tennessee with my husband, where I started working as a creative writing instructor at The Porch. My writing has appeared in The Atlantic, NPR, Lit Hub, The Japan Times, The New Inquiry, and elsewhere. I was a 2019-2020 OZ Art Wire Fellow, the winner of the 2020 Tennessee True Stories Contest, and a recipient of the Tennessee Arts Commission literary fellowship.

As an emerging novelist, I am represented by Martha Wydysh at Trident Media Group

If you’re interested in reading more Japanese literature, I host a virtual book club through the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, free and open to all. 

I am also a board member of the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra and API Middle Tennessee, two nonprofits that are dear to my heart. 

Sign up for my newsletter to stay updated on upcoming classes, clips, and more!

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Personal Projects

In Progress: 

The Yokos: A novel (represented by Martha Wydysh at Trident Media Group)

Published: 

Litro Magazine

Fox in the Snow, January 22, 2023
A short story, part of the Yoko in Nashville universe

The Atlantic

Seven Books About How Homes Shape Our LifeJanuary 13, 2023

Vol. 1 Brooklyn

StillNovember 27, 2022
A short story about a woman in New York trying to find stillness in a noisy world.

The Margins, a publication of Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW)

The Mold, September 23, 2022
Flash fiction piece, part of the Yoko in Nashville universe

Chapter 16, a publication of Humanities Tennessee

We, the Swimmers: Julie Otsuka’s perspective-bending novel should be our call to action, September 20, 2022
Book review of Julie Otsuka’s The Swimmers

Lit Hub

Streaming Autofiction: On Nathan Fielder’s Search for Authenticity in The Rehearsal – Yurina Yoshikawa Places the HBO Series in Context with Its Literary Predecessors, September 9, 2022

NPR

5 translated books from Japan to soothe battered souls this fall, August 30, 2022

Edible Nashville

Shop Like a Japanese Cook, Sept/Oct 2022

Chapter 16, a publication of Humanities Tennessee

Outwardly Fine, Inwardly Lost: Katie Kitamura’s International Novel Hits Close to Home, August 23, 2022
Book review of Intimacies: A novel
Syndicated in Chattanooga Times Free PressAugust 27, 2022

The Japan Times

‘How Do You Live?’: Timeless lessons for a new generation, May 7, 2022
Book review of Genzaburo Yoshino’s 1937 classic, translated into English for the first time by Bruno Navasky

Edible Nashville 

Sea to Table: Aloha Fish Co. delivers fresh seafood to landlocked Nashvillians, April 26, 2022
Interview feature with Jennifer & Jerry Cline of Aloha Fish Co.

Literary Hub

Yoko Tawada Captures the Unique Joys of Having an Uncategorizable Identity, April 25, 2022
An essay about Yoko Tawada’s novel Scattered All Over the Earth and what it meant to me as someone who doesn’t easily fit into a national or ethnic identity.

All Our Tomorrows

My Co-Parent Totoro, April 5, 2022
An essay about bicultural/bilingual parenting (and of course the iconic movie My Neighbor Totoro)

Chapter 16

Singin’ in the Rain, February 25, 2022
An essay about my love for karaoke

The Tennessean (Newspaper owned by Gannett/USA Today)

Travel restrictions continue as does COVID-19 and Omicron variant (originally titled “Travel Crib, Never Used”), December 29, 2021
Op-ed about the sacrifice my family made in light of Omicron, and the ways I have adapted to connecting with family members remotely over the last decade. 

Reckoning: Tennessee Writers on 2020, September 2021 (Buy at this link)

The Yokos
A short story about a woman coming to terms with her mother’s last days while living apart from her, in the context of everything happening around December 2020. 

Nashville Scene

Muscle Memory: On the pleasures of trusting my instincts in the kitchen, July 29, 2021
A personal essay for their “Vodka Yonic” series (featuring women and nonbinary writers) 

Waxing & Waning Presents: The Tennessee Tempest Edition, March 2021 (Buy the issue here)

The Magic We Create
An essay about living in Nashville through the pandemic of 2020, my long-distance relationship with my mother in Tokyo, and the parallels between the natural disasters of Tennessee and Japan. Runner-up in the Tennessee Tempest Contest.

The Pinch, Vol 40.2, Fall 2020 (Buy the issue here)

Invader
A short story about a Japanese woman who takes a business trip to Naoshima Island. Runner-up in The Pinch Literary Awards, judged by Bryan Washington, who commented: “Invader” excavated the middle ground between belonging and longing, branching the two states and weaving a narrative for a path forward.

Belmont Story Review, Vol 5: Longing

Umbrellas on a Sunny Day, Summer 2020
An essay about being a child during the 1995 Tokyo Sarin Gas Attacks, motherhood, innocence, and Murakami’s Underground.

Chapter 16

Grasshopper, January 17, 2020
First-place winner of the Tennessee True Stories Essay Contest, judged by Mary Laura Philpott

Hyphen Magazine

The Story of a New Name, June 10, 2019
An essay about all the times I’ve changed my name, most recently from Ko to Yoshikawa.

The New Inquiry

Little Big Eater Girl, January 18, 2016
An essay about Japanese female competitive eaters and eating disorders.

Manufactured Response, April 22, 2014
An essay about responses to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Columbia Political Review

Memory and Pacifism, October 31, 2010
A survey on the various responses to the U.S. military base presence in Okinawa, Japan.

Change Japan Can Believe In, October 18, 2009
A survey on the various responses to PM Yukio Hatoyama’s victory in the 2009 election.

Columbia Daily Spectator, regular columnist for a series called “2+2=5”

An expert on nothing, April 27, 2010

Brave new reader, April 13, 2010

The carnivore manifesto, March 30, 2010

The elimination of Women’s History Month, March, 2110, March 9, 2010

The gold standard, February 23, 2010

A romance of many dimensions, February 9, 2010

Frontiers of philosophy, January 26, 2010

There will be time, December 13, 2009

Can’t read my poker face, November 29, 2009

A matter of taste, November 15, 2009

A cosmic consciousness, October 18, 2009

Can machines produce art?, October 4, 2009

Why not wonder?, September 20, 2009

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Writing Classes

I’m currently a writing instructor at The Porch, a non-profit writers’ collective based in Nashville, Tennessee. 

For students outside of Nashville (or anyone wanting to learn asynchronously), I also offer webinars through The Porch.

Here are some classes I’ve taught in the past, geared towards adults of all ages and backgrounds:

Foundations of Fiction

Whether you’re new to fiction writing or want to recharge your writing practice, this class will help you generate new work and take a close look at the building blocks of good prose fiction such as character, setting, detail, point of view, voice, dialogue, and narrative structure. We’ll read and discuss published stories with an eye toward these elements of craft, and weekly writing exercises will allow you to develop your own work and get feedback in a supportive environment.

Writing About Home

Whether you’re a local Nashvillian or a recent transplant, you’re probably thinking about your relationship to the place you call home. Maybe it’s the place you were born. Maybe it’s where you are now, or where you envision being in the future. Many writers have wrestled with the idea of home, and all the questions that come with it. Is home synonymous with family? What happens when you’ve been away from home for a long time, and come back to find it unrecognizable? How, and when, does a person decide whether or not to call a new place their home? Should a place automatically make a person feel “at home,” or should people strive to change a place to make them feel that way? We’ll look at examples from both fiction and nonfiction, and try various in-class writing exercises to wrestle with these questions ourselves. This workshop welcomes writers who already have completed drafts, as well as writers just getting started. 

Balancing Reality and Fiction

This workshop is designed for writers who are working on stories based on historical fact or personal/family history. We often get excited about turning a nugget from reality into a fictional project, but it can be daunting to balance research with the creative act of composing scenes and dialogue. What should that balance look like? How can a writer sound credible but creative? Which facts should stay, and which should go? We’ll look at examples from other writers, establish our own goals (as everyone’s will look different depending on the project), and workshop drafts with these personal goals in mind. 

Foundations of Creative Nonfiction

The difference between a mildly interesting story and one that goes deep into a reader’s heart and mind is largely a matter of craft. Even the most compelling real-life material won’t grab an audience if it isn’t shaped and presented with skill. In this class, we’ll survey the major forms of creative nonfiction, including memoir, narrative reportage, and the essay, and we’ll take a close look at story structure and voice. The primary emphasis of the class, however, will be on helping you generate and refine your own work through weekly prompts and group discussion. Whether you are just beginning to explore your material or already have a book manuscript in progress, this course will provide you with guidance, encouragement, and detailed feedback. This class is for you if you love writing from your own life, are working on or towards a memoir, want to explore the many joys and diverse structures available to you in the personal essay, or just know you have some great true material to put down in writing. 

The Personal Essay

There are infinite variations of the “personal essay,” which makes the format both exciting and daunting. The essay might be a mix of personal anecdotes with bigger sociopolitical commentary, and the essay’s structure might mimic, or enhance, the overall point the author is trying to make. The essay could be linear, non-linear, fragmented, or infused with dialogue and scene-setting that almost make them sound like short stories. We’ll look at examples by James Baldwin, Richard Rodriguez, Jonathan Lethem, Joan Didion, and others to help us craft our own personal essays. This workshop is designed for writers who already have completed drafts, as well as writers just getting started.

Micro-Memoirs on Parenthood

If you’re a parent in 2020, kudos for surviving yet another day. When you’re on your feet and looking after the kids all day, it can seem impossible to make time to sit down and write — let alone sit down! And yet parents have a treasure trove of thoughts, stories, and memories that we might forget if we don’t store them in writing. In this four-week workshop, we’ll discuss the wonderful genre of “micro-memoirs” and why it’s a perfect format for busy parent-writers. We’ll look at examples by Beth Ann Fennelly, Rivka Galchen, and Anne Lamott, write our own micro-memoirs during and outside of class, and talk about habits for continuing these micro-memoirs beyond the class. This workshop welcomes new parents, veteran parents, parents-to-be, and anyone interested in the topic and genre.

Autofiction

The term “Autofiction” comes from the combination of Autobiography and Fiction. Unlike an autobiographical novel in which parts of the novel are based on real events, autofiction novels are written in the first-person, with the protagonist having the same name as the author. So how is an autofiction novel different from a nonfiction memoir? How would a writer go about writing an autofiction novel if they’ve never drawn from their lives this much before? In this 6-week workshop, we will study excerpts by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Rachel Cusk, Sheila Heti, and more, and workshop our own exercises inspired by our in-class discussions. (This class is designed for writers who consider themselves to be intermediate learners. It is recommended that students will have taken at least one fiction or non-fiction class at The Porch or elsewhere.)

One-Day: Honoring James Baldwin on His Birthday

“Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated and this was an immutable law.” So writes James Baldwin in his groundbreaking essay, “Notes of a Native Son,” which was published in 1955 yet remains as relevant as ever today. August 2nd marks what would have been James Baldwin’s 95th birthday, and what better way to honor his legacy than reading his essay together as a group? We will take a close look at a few sections, in a way suited for those who have already read the text, and those who haven’t. (Copies will be provided.)

One-Day: Conversations in Fiction

Real life conversations are rarely comprehensive, clean, or static, with beautiful sentences blurted out perfectly from start to finish. Yet fiction allows all sorts of possibilities with regards to the way people do, could, or even should talk. Whether you’re writing realistically or more fantastically, we’ll look at various examples and discuss how a conversation scene can serve your story.

Free Workshops for Children and Teens through The Porch Youth Division:

Alien Encounters (Grades 3-5)

Imagine you’re one of the first humans to encounter an alien from outer space. How would you feel? What would you say to the alien? What would be your hopes and fears? In this workshop, we’ll look at some fun examples and write our own alien encounter stories.

You’re the Expert of Yourself: Writing The Personal Essay (Grades 9-12)

Everyone has a story to tell, and the good news is, there are lots of possibilities for how you can tell your story through a personal essay. In this workshop we’ll talk about creative ways to structure an essay, the pros and cons of linear and fragmented styles, and useful habits for writing beyond the workshop.

Writing Big Ideas (Grades 9-12)

Have you ever wanted to write about a big, important topic, but didn’t know where to start? In this workshop, we’ll look at examples of “Exhibit Essays,” where an author uses a specific and approachable “exhibit” in order to talk about something bigger and deeper. Then we’ll try using “exhibits” to tackle big ideas in our own writing.

Writing Big Events (Grades 9-12)

Have you ever wanted to write about a big event that happened either locally or globally, but didn’t know where to start, or how to structure it? In this workshop, we’ll look at an excerpt from James Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native Son,” and try our own writing exercise that will help get you started.

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Events & Media

The Nashville AAPI Writers Showcase is happening on Sunday, 5/21 from 4-6 p.m. at The Forge! Come and hear eight Nashville AAPI creative writers read aloud from their work, ranging from poetry, fiction, and personal essays. MC’d by writing instructor Yurina Yoshikawa, hosted by The Forge and co-sponsored by API Middle Tennessee and The Porch Writers’ Collective. A perfect evening to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month and Nashville’s vibrant literary scene. Free and open to the public (please register here).

Nashville AAPI Writers Meet-Up at the Porch HQ. We eat Asian snacks, get to know each other, do a short creative writing exercise with the option to share, and talk openly about our dreams and concerns as AAPI writers in Nashville. These meetups (between October 2022 and April 2023) will culminate in a public reading event in May (see above).

On Thursday, September 22, 2022, 6:30 p.m., I moderated the book launch event for my dear friend Malaka Gharib, author of It Won’t Always Be Like This, at Parnassus Bookstore.

On August 22, 2022, I was a guest on Hana Lee’s podcast Project Between about Third Culture Kids. Available wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify (link here). I had a great time chatting with Hana about the TCK experience, Yoko Tawada, Doraemon, etc.

On February 10, 2022, 7 p.m. CT, I participated in Storytelling for The Bloom Stage (virtual appearance). The Bloom Stage is a quarterly event that brings a blend of storytelling, poetry, music and art to the Murfreesboro stage at Walnut House. The series is produced by Kara J Kemp with assistance from Kory Wells, and this show is co-produced with C. A. Williams. More info here

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