Yurina Yoshikawa: The Winner of the Southern Prize for Literature Finds Her Voice | Morse Code Podcast #203

Morse Code Podcast with Korby Lenker

Yurina Yoshikawa is a writer, educator and Director of Education at The Porch Literary Collective here in Nashville. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, NPR, Lit Hub, The Japan Times, The New Inquiry and this autumn she won the inaugural $25,000 Southern Prize for Literary Arts.

Yurina is also a gifted musician, playing viola for the Nashville Philharmonic and serving on the board.

You might think a cap with that many feathers would be a comfortable fit for the head it covers. Not always. Even with the prizes, Yurina battles that sense of not being in the club. I share that feeling, so we got into it — where it comes from, whether it’s true.

That sense of apartness is one of the themes of her short story Dogwood, which she sent me in advance of our conversation. We broke down that piece, the inspiration behind it, and then we talked about the challenge she feels — as a mother, as an educator — of finding time to write.

As someone who lives on the panic side of the writer’s need to create, I was surprised and impressed by Yurina’s light touch. She takes her time. At some point in the conversation I blurted “You strike me as a well-adjusted person!” I’m just not used to meeting creative people who are equal parts talented and sanguine.

This episode of the Morse Code Podcast is sponsored by Writerfest, a creative gathering for aspiring writers, published authors, screenwriters, poets, and songwriters in Nashville. Attendees enjoy keynote talks by the best book, song, and screenplay writers in the business as well as in-depth break-out sessions with professional editors, literary agents, filmmakers, and music industry insiders. Writerfest is happening Nov 22 and 23. Find out more information on writerfestnashville.com

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