Dwight Holden Okita (born August 26, 1958) is a

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

novelist, poet, and playwright. His work reflects his experiences as a third-generation Japanese-American (

sansei is a Japanese and North American English term used in parts of the world such as South America and North America to specify the children of children born to ethnic Japanese in a new country of residence. The '' nisei'' are considered the second ...

), a gay man, and a Nichiren Buddhist. He studied English literature at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His first book of poems, ''Crossing with the Light'', was published in 1992, and nominated for Best Asian Literature Book of 1993. His plays include ''Salad Bowl Dance'', commissioned in 1993 by the

Chicago Historical Society Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the int ...

; ''Richard Speck'', commissioned in 1991 by the American Blues Theater; and ''The Rainy Season'', produced in 1993. His novels include ''The Hope Store'' (2017) and THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL (2011) which was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. He won a

Joseph Jefferson Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater sta ...

in 1996 for the collaborative play ''The Radiance of a Thousand Suns,'' which he wrote with Anne McGravie, Nicholas Patricca, and David Zak.

References

External links

The Dwight Okita website
American male poets American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights of Japanese descent American novelists of Asian descent American poets of Asian descent American gay writers American LGBT poets American LGBT novelists American LGBT dramatists and playwrights American writers of Japanese descent Living people American LGBT people of Asian descent 1958 births 21st-century American LGBT people Gay poets {{US-writer-stub