David Mura
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David Mura (born 1952) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, novelist, playwright, critic and performance artist whose writings explore the themes of race, identity and history. In 2018, Mura has published a book on creative writing, ''A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing,'' in which he argues for a more inclusive and expansive definition of craft. Mura has published two memoirs, ''Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei'', which won the Josephine Miles Book Award from the Oakland PEN and was listed in the New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and ''Where the Body Meets Memory: An Odyssey of Race, Sexuality and Identity'' (1995). His most recent book of poetry is ''The Last Incantation'' (2014); his other poetry books include ''After We Lost Our Way'', which won the National Poetry Contest, ''The Colors of Desire'' (winner of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award), and ''Angels for the Burning''. His novel is ''Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire'' (
Coffee House Press Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience ...
, 2008). Mura communicates frequently through his social media accounts: blog.davidmura.com; @MuraDavid


Early life and education

David Mura was born in 1952 and grew up in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, the oldest of four children. He is a third generation
Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...
son of parents
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, his father changed the family name "Uemura" to "Mura." His grandparents came to USA from Japan before the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
(1904). Mura earned his B.A. from
Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...
and his M.F.A. in creative writing from
Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...
. He has taught at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
,
St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...
,
The Loft Literary Center The Loft Literary Center is a non-profit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota incorporated in 1975. The Loft is a large and comprehensive independent literary center which offers a variety of writing classes, conferences, grant ...
, and the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
. He currently resides in
Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, Minnesota, with his wife Susan Sencer and their three children; Samantha, Nikko and Tomo.


Published works

Full-Length Poetry Collections * ''The Last Incantations'' (
Northwestern University Press Northwestern University Press is an American publishing house affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It publishes 70 new titles each year in the areas of continental philosophy, poetry, Slavic and German literary criticis ...
, 2014) * ''Angels for the Burning: Poems'' ( BOA Editions, Ltd., 2004) * ''The Colors of Desire: Poems'' (
Anchor Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...
, 1995) * ''After We Lost Our Way'' (Dutton, 1989; Carnegie-Mellon Press, 1997 - 2nd Edition) Novels * ''Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire'' (Coffee House Press, 2008) Memoirs/Nonfiction * ''Where the Body Meets Memory: An Odyssey of Race, Sexuality and Identity'' (Anchor Books, 1995) * ''Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei'' (
Atlantic Monthly Press Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself " ...
, 1991; Anchor Books, 1992;
Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United S ...
, 2005 - 3rd Edition) * ''A Male Grief: Notes on Pornography and Addiction: An Essay'' (
Milkweed Editions Milkweed Editions is an independent nonprofit literary publisher that originated from the ''Milkweed Chronicle'' literary and arts journal established in Minneapolis in 1979. The journal ceased and the business transitioned to publishing. It releas ...
, 1987; republished as an Amazon e-book 2010) Literary Craft/Criticism * ''Song for Uncle Tom, Tonto, and Mr. Moto: Poetry and Identity'' (
University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...
, 2002) * ''A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing'' (University of Georgia Press, 2018) * ''The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives'' (
University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...
, 2023) Films *''Slowly, This''—written & featuring David Mura & Alexs Pate; dir. by Arthur Jafa; produced by the PBS Series ALIVE TV, 1995 *''Relocations''—written and performed by David Mura; directed by Mark Tang (four selections from the performance piece, ''Relocations: Images from a Sansei''), 1998


Awards and honors

His honors include two NEA fellowships, the 1994 Lila Wallace-
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
Writers Award (which includes a cash prize of $105,000), and a US/Japan Creative Artist Fellowship, two
Bush Foundation The Bush Foundation is a charitable organization in the United States. It invests in programs in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share this geography. They work through open grantmaking programs to support e ...
Fellowships, four Loft-McKnight Awards, several Minnesota State Arts Board grants, and a Discovery/The Nation Award. He has had his work published in literary journals and magazines including ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', ''
The American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...
'', ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'', ''
The Missouri Review ''The Missouri Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1978 by the University of Missouri. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction quarterly. With its open submission policy, ''The Missouri Review'' receives 12,000 manuscrip ...
'', and '' Crazyhorse''. * 1994 Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers Award * 1993 National Endowment for the Arts - Literature Fellowships * 1988 National Poetry SeriesThe National Poetry Series > 1988 Winners
/ref> * 1987 Discovery/The Nation Award * 1985 National Endowment for the Arts - Literature Fellowships * 1984 U.S. - Japan Creative Artist Fellowship


References


External links



* ttp://www.davidmura.com/ Author Website
Library of Congress Online Catalog > David Mura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mura, David American writers of Japanese descent 1952 births Living people Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni Writers from Minneapolis Poets from Chicago 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American memoirists American poets of Asian descent American novelists of Asian descent St. Olaf College faculty University of Oregon faculty University of Minnesota faculty 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets American male poets American male essayists 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American essayists PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Minnesota Novelists from Oregon