Dandelion Through the Crack
The Sato Family Quest for the American Dream
by Kiyo Sato
Kiyo Sato, a Japanese-American woman born in 1923 in Sacramento, has written the saga of the Sato family’s life in America: Dandelion Through the Crack. It is the compelling story of starting a family in California, coping during the Depression, being swept off to concentration camps, and ultimately surviving and succeeding despite terrible odds and oppressive prejudice.
Dandelion Through the Crack tells of a family formed both by ancestry and by the American way of life. Interwoven throughout are the haiku of the author’s father and his wise fables, drawn from his old and new homelands.
Dr. Kevin Starr, Professor of History, University of Southern California, said of the book: “It is a magnificent memoir, fully worthy of being favorably compared to Farewell to Manzanar. I cannot praise its pointillist realism, its Zen-like austerity highly enough.”
Kiyo is Guest Speaker at Fort Irwin Event
On May 20, Fort Irwin and the National Training Center held their Asian-Pacific Heritage Month celebration with Kiyo as their guest speaker. As the base's newsletter The High Desert Warrior noted, Kiyo "returned to somewhat familiar ground" as the harsh, hot, desert environment at the training ground is exactly like that at Poston, not too far to the southeast.
Kiyo was treated with great respect and had kind words for her escorts, Sergeants Addy and Kalawaia. She and the other guests for the celebration were treated to dinner and were joined by the commanding officer of the 916th Support Brigade, Colonel Gaffney.
Kiyo also was given a brief tour of the training area including a visit to a mock town, Medina Wasl. She said it was fascinating and wished she had more time and energy to explore its alleys.
In her 20 minute presentation, Kiyo painted a picture of the struggles and trials her family and all the other Japanese-Americans suffered during the internment. She related many anecdotes, including the preparations her wise father made for the journey to the camp. Her presentation was extremely well-recieved by all.
New Edition Released
A new edition of Dandelion Through the Crack is now available. Published by Soho Press, it has a new title, Kiyo's Story, a new interior design, and a new dust jacket. However, nothing else has changed in Kiyo's remarkable story. The text is the same.
Since first editions are getting harder to find and more expensive, this allows everyone to still acquire a copy and read Kiyo's award-winning memoir.
It's available in bookstores and from online sources everywhere.
Kiyo a Guest Speaker at Smithsonian Institute
On Thursday, February 19, 2009, Kiyo was one of three distinguished writers who spoke at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC about their recent titles highlighting the Japanese American experience. This was part of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program to mark the 67th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the subsequent imprisonment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
KIYO WINS SAROYAN COMPETITION!
On Friday, September 5, 2008, Kiyo received the William Saroyan Prize for International Writing (non-fiction). Stanford University Libraries, in partnership with the William Saroyan Foundation, announced the winners during a ceremony held at Stanford.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/september10/saroyan-091008.html