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 a Finalist in Saroyan Competition!
Kiyo Sato is a finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.
http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan/
The Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation jointly award the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, a competition for newly-published books. The prize is intended to encourage new or emerging writers, rather than to recognize established literary figures. The prize commemorates the life, legacy and intentions of William Saroyan - author, artist, dramatist, and composer.
There are three finalists for fiction, and one prize, and three finalists for non-fiction, and one prize.
The winner will be announced on September 5, 2008 at a ceremony at Stanford.
More Well-deserved Recognition!
Dandelion Through the Crack and Kiyo Sato received the highest awards from Northern California Publishers & Authors this past weekend.
The NCPA 2008 Awards (for books published in 2007) were presented on Friday, April 25th, in Sacramento, California.
Dandelion Through the Crack received the Gold Award (best overall book).
Kiyo's hard work and excellent writing were further recognized when she was honored with the Best First Book award.
Award of Excellence!
On March 25, Kiyo received the Award of Excellence in Publications from the Sacramento County Historical Society for her inspirational memoir, Dandelion Through the Crack.
Kiyo in the News!
Kiyo and Dandelion Through the Crack have received some terrific exposure recently.
When Kiyo traveled to Poston earlier this year for the premiere showing of Passing Poston (see announcement below), she was accompanied by Sacramento News10's Sharon Ito.
Read Sharon's report and see the video.
Newsweek also covered the story in a series of videos.
Experience Poston!
Hear first hand accounts from Kiyo and other Poston survivors as they speak openly about their lives at the internment camp and what it felt like to be stripped of American citizenship and treated like an enemy by their own country.
In Dandelion Through the Crack, you will read Kiyo's enthralling and moving memoir of her life before, during, and after Poston. Through this film, Passing Poston, you will hear the experiences of three more internees: Ruth Okimoto, Mary Higashi, and Leon Uyeda.
For an educational experience that will further bring to life both the hardships and the joys related in Dandelion Through the Crack, be sure to see this excellent documentary.
To learn more and to view the trailer, visit www.passingposton.com..