Hiromi Goto
Encyclopedia
Hiromi Goto is a Japanese-Canadian editor, fiction writer, cultural critic, arts advocate, youth organizer, teacher of creative writing and a mother of two children.
with her family in 1969. They lived on the west coast of British Columbia
for eight years before moving to Nanton
, Alberta
, a small town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains
.
Goto is the current Writer-in-Residence of the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta
. She was also the Writer-in-Residence at Vancouver's Emily Carr School of Art and Design, Vancouver Public Library
, and Simon Fraser University
.
She earned her B.A. in English from the University of Calgary
in 1989
Her eighty-year old grandmother told her Japanese stories when she was growing up. Her work is also influenced by her father’s life stories in Japan. These stories often featured ghosts and folk creatures such as the kappa — a small creature with a frog’s body, a turtle’s shell and a bowl-shaped head that holds water.
Her first novel, Chorus of Mushrooms, was the 1995 recipient of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Best First Book Canada and Caribbean Region' and the co-winner of the Canada-Japan Book Award. It has been released in Israel
, Italy
, and the UK. In 2001, she was awarded the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award and was short-listed for the regional Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, Best Book Award, the Sunburst Award and the Spectrum Award.
Chorus of Mushrooms is about finding one’s identity in the midst of alienation and explicit differences. The novel depicted the characters’ different approaches to assimilating themselves within the host country’s culture as well as symbolic meanings of locations and settings crafted in a language that combines the two opposite poles of majority and minority i.e. English and Japanese. The novel narrated that there can never be an easy way to erase ethnic differences and become immersed into one culture, Or can denying the truth of one’s ethnic origins help in the process. The key is to be able to personally accept that being different is by no means a reason to be alienated and regarded as abnormal. It can be a powerful reason to become a distinct individual who cannot be lost within cultures.
Life
She immigrated to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with her family in 1969. They lived on the west coast of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
for eight years before moving to Nanton
Nanton
- Places :* Nanton, Alberta, a town in the province of Alberta, Canada* Nanton, Saône-et-Loire, a commune in the region of Bourgogne, France- People :* Javon Nanton, football player* Sampson Nanton, journalist* Tricky Sam Nanton, trombonist...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, a small town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Goto is the current Writer-in-Residence of the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. She was also the Writer-in-Residence at Vancouver's Emily Carr School of Art and Design, Vancouver Public Library
Vancouver Public Library
The Vancouver Public Library is the third largest public library system in Canada, with more than 2.5 million items in its collections, 22 branches, approximately 375,000 cardholders, and nearly nine million item borrowings annually...
, and Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
.
She earned her B.A. in English from the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
in 1989
Her eighty-year old grandmother told her Japanese stories when she was growing up. Her work is also influenced by her father’s life stories in Japan. These stories often featured ghosts and folk creatures such as the kappa — a small creature with a frog’s body, a turtle’s shell and a bowl-shaped head that holds water.
Her first novel, Chorus of Mushrooms, was the 1995 recipient of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...
Best First Book Canada and Caribbean Region' and the co-winner of the Canada-Japan Book Award. It has been released in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the UK. In 2001, she was awarded the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award and was short-listed for the regional Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, Best Book Award, the Sunburst Award and the Spectrum Award.
Chorus of Mushrooms is about finding one’s identity in the midst of alienation and explicit differences. The novel depicted the characters’ different approaches to assimilating themselves within the host country’s culture as well as symbolic meanings of locations and settings crafted in a language that combines the two opposite poles of majority and minority i.e. English and Japanese. The novel narrated that there can never be an easy way to erase ethnic differences and become immersed into one culture, Or can denying the truth of one’s ethnic origins help in the process. The key is to be able to personally accept that being different is by no means a reason to be alienated and regarded as abnormal. It can be a powerful reason to become a distinct individual who cannot be lost within cultures.