Carmen Sterba
Contributing Writer
Spring 2011 - Photo by Carmen
One of my passions is writing about historical people who populate Japanese history. My themes of choice are usually the underdog, which includes women from medieval through early modern history, hidden Christians, and struggling poets. I spent most of my adult life in Japan, starting out as a college student majoring in Far East Asian Studies. My love of writing began after first becoming a poet and networking around the world with those who write in Asian verse genres such as haiku, tanka and sijo in English. I'm also interested in Asian American Fiction, which reveals the joys and sorrows of growing up as a cross-cultural and bilingual person.
Latest Articles
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The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in 30 Languages
Jamie Ford's novel of the young love of Henry Lee and Keiko Okabe in Seattle's International District was partially inspired by his grandfather's story.
Apr 15, 2012
- Carmen Sterba
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The Marvelously Unconventional Characters of Novelist Gish Jen
Hattie Kong in World and Town and Mama Wong in The Love Wife are two of Jen's most outstanding characters. Her humor ranges from subtle to outrageous.
Mar 18, 2012
- Carmen Sterba
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Outstanding Christian Educator, Rev. Joseph Hardy Niijima
Niijima Jo gave up his position as a samurai, when he escaped on a ship to America, sold his swords, bought a Bible and worked his way as a cook on a ship.
Feb 26, 2012
- Carmen Sterba
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Ba Jin's Modern Classic Chinese Novel, "Family"
Novelist Ba Jin wrote "Family" before China was at a crossroads between tradition and revolution. This novel encouraged individual choice for youth.
Feb 12, 2012
- Carmen Sterba
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Latest Biography of Bonhoeffer by the Biographer of Wilberforce
Eric Metaxas reveals Bonhoeffer, in Hitler's Third Reich, as a complex man, theologian and a willing martyr in Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.
Jan 21, 2012
- Carmen Sterba
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Who are "The Surrendered" in Chang-rae Lee's Novel?
Chang-rae Lee's fourth novel is his most expansive. The explosive plot weaves together the lives of three characters as they go backwards in time and place.
Jan 1, 2012
- Carmen Sterba
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The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Julie Otsuka's sparse and blunt writing style represents the voices of harrowing disappointments and enduring perseverance of the Japanese "Picture Brides".
Dec 23, 2011
- Carmen Sterba
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Beautiful and Flawed Heroines in "Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See
Lisa See's novel includes a kaleidoscope of Shanghai and L.A. Chinatown in the eyes of sisters who escaped from China after the Japanese Invasion.
Dec 20, 2011
- Carmen Sterba
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Tsuda Umeko's Letters to her American Host Mother 1882-1911
Ume's letters are proof that East and West met through the lives of Japanese students in America or Europe who returned to modernize Japan in the 1800s.
Nov 26, 2011
- Carmen Sterba
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American Novelist Chang-rae Lee's First Novel, Native Speaker
Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker is populated by first generation Korean and European Americans in New York suburbia. The anti-hero is a corporate spy.
Nov 9, 2011
- Carmen Sterba
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