Tag: Clarisse Nakahama

Clarisse Nakahama and #ProjectBookshelf

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My bookshelf is tucked away in the far corner of my closet, I have to climb through clothes and bang my head on a few hangers to get to the books furthest from me. In fact, to take the picture of it, I emptied about half of my closet onto my bed and contorted my body in ways I haven’t since I did yoga six months ago. It is as tall as I am—the U.S. average five feet four inches—with shelves two and a half feet long. Three of its four shelves are double packed; in all they hold roughly 200 books. A few of the books are scattered to the wind: Shame by Salman Rushdie is in my purse, The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi has been lent to my father, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen was lost years ago, The Republic of Poetry by Martin Espada is buried somewhere in a box, and many of the older, less sentimental books have been donated to prisons and public libraries. Other than a small section on the third shelf—termed the “To Read” section—every book has been read and, in most cases, approved by yours truly.

The top shelf is the only shelf not double packed. The original hardcovers of the seven Harry Potter books are proudly displayed next to the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini and the complete box set of the manga Death Note. Sentimental picture books finish up this shelf with their bright colors and positive messages. The second shelf is a smorgasbord of science fiction/fantasy/young adult series. Cassandra Clare exists beside J.R.R. Tolkien, Lemony Snicket and Rick Riordan share shelving space with Douglas Adams and Garth Nix, and the count of T.A. Barron novels is second only to Tamora Pierce.

The third shelf is more eclectic than the second shelf. As a proud Sociology major, I have a section for some big sociologists: Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Michel Foucault. This shelf is also home to some of my favorite Young Adult authors: Sarah Dessen, Ned Vizzini, and, of course, John Green.  My section for short story collections is no less eclectic than other sections: Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Carver exist alongside Lorrie Moore’s Self-Help, and Donald Barthelme’s Forty Stories. My section for poetry books starts with William Blake and John Donne and ends with Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely. Rather appropriately, this leads into my section for awe-inspiring female writers including but not limited to Margaret Atwood, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and Toni Morrison. The bottom shelf has two main sections, the back row is for books I have read but would really rather forget which means that it consists of textbooks and Twilight. The front half is for my admittedly small collection of “modern” plays, Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman and Rock ’N’ Roll by Tom Stoppard are just a few. Greatly outnumbering these is my collection of Shakespeare: Measure for Measure, Henry V, The Winter’s Tale, and Much Ado About Nothing are a few.

Currently, my “To Read” section is overflowing but that never seems to stop me from adding to it. Here you’ll find A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James, Welcome To Night Vale by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink (my copy is signed), and The Song of Achillesby Madeline Miller to name a few.

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Clarisse Nakahama is a recent graduate from University of Puget Sound where she double majored in English: Creative Writing and Sociology and Anthropology. Some of her short fiction and poetry have been published in her college’s literary arts magazine, CrossCurrents. When she wasn’t busy researching Marvel comics and punk music for her senior thesis, Clarisse was acting as co-president to Nerdfighters Club and president to Writers’ Guild. Her yarn collection is slowly but surely morphing into a scarf collection, even though she has very little use for crocheted scarves now that she has returned to her native Southern California. She is the intern at the SAFTAcast.

 

 

Meet Clarisse Nakahama, Our Newest SAFTAcast Intern

Clarisse Nakahama

 

Hey there! I’m Clarisse and I am the new intern for the SAFTAcast. I recently received my Bachelors of Arts in English: Creative Writing and Sociology and Anthropology from University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. I flip-flop between writing poetry, short fiction, long fiction, and staring at my computer/notebook with sheer terror.

In the interest of complete honesty, this feels a little like an icebreaker in high school or a 101 class. Y’know, the kind where your teacher has everyone go around the room and say their name and one interesting thing about themselves. Of course, you never remember anyone’s name because you are far too busy thinking of an interesting fact but have forgotten everything about yourself. So by the time it gets to you, not only do you not know anyone’s name but your interesting fact is “I like Legolas” and instantly you feel like an idiot because of course you like Legolas. Who doesn’t like Legolas? And to make it worse, the girl who went before you built homes for people in Argentina before being the first college student on Mars and the guy after you has seventeen black belts and right between these stellar examples of humanity is you, Legolas Girl.

So in the spirit of awkward icebreakers, here is a quick list of ten interesting/fun facts about me:

  1. I am Legolas Girl.
  2. As an April Fool’s prank the club that I was co-president of once spammed one of our academic buildings with tiny pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch after he photobombed U2 at the Academy Awards. We taped them so he looked like he was jumping out from behind posters.
  3. I can flip a butterfly knife (also known as a balisong or fan knife).
  4. As a graduation gift, my friends and I photoshopped our favorite professor’s face onto William Shakespeare and presented it to him in a pink frame. He loved it and has it on his desk.
  5. I had a brief stint of notoriety in college when my friends and I purchased a David Tennant cardboard cutout and put him in our hall window. He scared many a passerby at night and during the day. Today, he remains at the school, surveying the University of Puget Sound campus.
  6. I can solve a Rubik’s Cube.
  7. My thesis in Sociology was about the lines drawn by gatekeepers, specifically the gender lines drawn by male gatekeepers, in the Marvel and 70s punk subcultures.
  8. Over the past four years I have crocheted eighteen scarves, thirteen hats, three stuffed animals, two pairs of gloves, two tops, and two blankets.
  9. One week before my high school graduation, I sprained my ankle at Disneyland.
  10. My best friend and I have an ongoing debate about Boromir from Lord of the Rings. In fact, he is not allowed to be mentioned in our presence. Ever.

But truly, I am excited to be a part of the SAFTAcast and learn more about podcast creation and promotion. I think podcasts are such an interesting medium for storytellers and writers. To have the opportunity to work on this one is amazing.

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Clarisse Nakahama is a recent graduate from University of Puget Sound where she double majored in English: Creative Writing and Sociology and Anthropology. Some of her short fiction and poetry have been published in her college’s literary arts magazine, CrossCurrents. When she wasn’t busy researching Marvel comics and punk music for her senior thesis, Clarisse was acting as co-president to Nerdfighters Club and president to Writers’ Guild. Her yarn collection is slowly but surely morphing into a scarf collection, even though she has very little use for crocheted scarves now that she has returned to her native Southern California.