Terry Watada, born in 1951,
is a
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
writer with many productions and publications to his credit. His publications include Light at a Window (manga, HpF Press and the Greater Toronto National Association of Japanese Canadians 2015), The Game of 100 Ghosts (poetry, Mawenzi Books 2014
), The Sword, the Medal and the Rosary (manga, HpF Press and the Greater Toronto NAJC 2013), The TBC: the Toronto Buddhist Church 1995-2010 (history, HpF Press and the TBC 2010), Kuroshio: The Blood of Foxes (novel, Arsenal Pulp Press 2007), Obon: the Festival of the Dead (poetry, Thistledown Press 2006), Ten Thousand Views of Rain (poetry, Thistledown Press 2001), Seeing the Invisible (a children’s biography, Umbrella Press 1998), Daruma Days (short fiction, Ronsdale Press 1997), Bukkyo Tozen: a History of Buddhism in Canada (history, HpF Press 1996) and A Thousand Homes (poetry, Mercury Press 1995).
Though 2020 was a horrendous year, Terry was at his most prolific. His new poetry collection, The Four Sufferings (Mawenzi House Publishers, Toronto), and new novel, Mysterious Dreams of the Dead (Anvil Press, Vancouver),were released at about the same time. Another new poetry collection, Crows at Sunset, was a finalist in the international competition, Eyelands Book Awards, held in Athens, Greece. He was awarded a $10,000 writer's grant from the Toronto Arts Council to write a new novel. He is currently represented by Acacia House Literary Agency.
As a playwright, he has seen five of his plays receive a mainstage production, starting with Dear Wes/Love Muriel during the Earth Spirit Festival at
Harbourfront Harbourfront may refer to:
* Harbourfront (Toronto), a neighbourhood in Toronto
** 509 Harbourfront, Toronto streetcar route
**Harbourfront Centre, cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto
* HarbourFront (Singapore), waterfront site in Si ...
in 1991. Perhaps his best known is Vincent, a play about a Toronto family dealing with a son with
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
. It has been remounted several times since its première in 1993. Most notably, it was produced at the
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and the first Madness and Arts World Festival in Toronto (2003). The second Madness and the Arts World Festival invited Vincent to be included in its program in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, during May 2006. His other plays include Mukashi Banashi I and II (children’s plays) and Tale of a Mask. In 2017, the Workman Project will remount of his play Vincent to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
His new play, Sakura: the Last Cherry Blossom Festival, will debut during the Lighthouse Theatre's summer festival in Port Dover ON in 2023. The play is about a beloved resident of Port Dover, Kobi Kobayashi. Because of Kobayashi's community work, the Japanese government donated cherry trees to the town.
His second novel, ''The Three Pleasures'', was released in the fall of 2017 (Anvil Press, Vancouver BC). The book received glowing reviews from the Georgia Straight, the Vancouver Bulletin, the Globe and Mail and the Winnipeg Free Press. "The Three Pleasures" was a finalist for the Foreword Magazine's 2017 Indie Award, honouring the Independent Publishers' best book in various categories. "The Three Pleasures" was a finalist for historical fiction. The novel is in its second printing. He also released his children's book "The Nishga Girl", the story of Judo Jack Tasaka and Eli Gosnell, the chief of the Nisg'a people. It was launched in the fall of 2017 at the Museum of History, Ottawa, Ontario.
He contributed a monthly column for 25 years in the Nikkei Voice, a national journal. In 2012, he began a regular column for the Vancouver Bulletin after it expanded to a national publication. He was recently contracted to write 12 columns for Discover Nikkei, a publication of the Japanese American National Museum, located in Los Angeles CA>
His other essays have been published in such varied magazines, journals and books as
Ricepaper
''Ricepaper'' is a Canadian literary magazine with a focus on Asian-Canadian arts and culture. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, it is published quarterly and features articles, literature, poetry, artwork and photography written by or writ ...
, Canadian Literature (UBC),
Ritsumeikan Hogaku “Kotoba to sonohirogari” (Ritsumeikan University Press, Kyoto Jpn), Crossing the Ocean: Japanese American Culture from Past to Present, Jimbun-shoin Press (Kyoto Jpn), the
National Library of Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...
’s website, and Anti-Asian Violence in North America (
AltaMira Press
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...
, California). Perhaps his most notable article appeared in
Maclean's Magazine
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
in March 2011. "Aftershock" described his feelings after the
Fukushima tsunami.
He composed the Japanese-Canadian children’s history section and the Japanese, Chinese, and South-Asian Canadian history sections for the
ational Library and Archives of Canadawebsites.
His short memoir about Etsuji Morii and Rikimatsu Kintaro appeared in the anthology "Vancouver Confidential" (Anvil Press, 2014). The book shot to number one on the BC books bestseller lists and stayed there for two consecutive weeks. In its third week, the book went into its second printing and has since sold consistently well.
In 2014, he was honoured to have delivered the inaugural Midge Ayukawa Lecture at the University of Victoria. In 2019, he delivered the keynote address at the opening of "Being Japanese Canadian", an exhibit at the
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
.
Essays about his work have appeared in the International Journal of Canadian Studies, Modern Drama (UTP), and in Transcultural Reinventions: Asian American and Asian Canadian Short-Story Cycles (
TSAR Publications
TSAR Publications is a Toronto-based nonprofit book publisher focusing on multicultural literature, particularly Canadian authors and subject matter.
TSAR Publications began as the literary journal ''The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abro ...
).
In addition to his literary work, Terry Watada is also a singer/songwriter/producer with a number of records to his credit, including: Night's Disgrace, Runaway Horses, Yellow Fever, Living in Paradise and The Art of Protest, among others. His songs dealing with the Japanese/Canadian/American experience have been used as references in
Asian-American history
Asian American history is the history of ethnic and racial groups in the United States who are of Asian descent. The term " Asian American" was an idea invented in the 1960s to bring together Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino Americans for strategi ...
course studies at various universities. He has performed at festivals including the 1995
Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival The Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, hosted by the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans in New York City, is one of the largest outdoors celebrations of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the United States. Each year, in May, the fest ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
2015 saw the re-release of his seminal album Runaway Horses as a CD. The project was sponsored by the NAJC (National) and the Hastings Park Foundation.
His papers, personal, academic, literary and musical, have recently been installed in the East Asian Library Collection,
Robarts Library
The John P. Robarts Research Library, commonly referred to as Robarts Library, is the main humanities and social sciences library of the University of Toronto Libraries and the largest individual library in the university. Opened in 1973 and named ...
, the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. It has been designated as follows: Terry Watada Special Collections. His manuscripts and books are part of the permanent collection of the
Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition ...
, Robarts Library. His books have been accepted as part of the permanent collection of the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, Washington DC, the Japanese American National Library and Museum (Los Angeles CA) and the Stanford University Library in California.
His recent community affiliations include member of the Community Consultation Committee for the Landscapes of Injustice Project based in the University of Victoria, community advisor to the National Association of Japanese Canadians, member of the NAJC Art, Culture and Education Committee and advisor for the Japanese Canadian Artists Directory.
For his writing, music and community volunteerism, he was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
and the NAJC's National Merit Award in 2013. He received in 2014 the Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Award, an honour given every two years by the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watada, Terry
Living people
20th-century Canadian poets
Canadian male poets
Canadian writers of Asian descent
Canadian people of Japanese descent
20th-century Canadian male writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Canadian poets
21st-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights
21st-century Canadian novelists
Canadian male dramatists and playwrights
Canadian male novelists
21st-century Canadian memoirists
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian essayists