Dwight Okita

Dwight Okita was born in Chicago. He continues to live there with an imaginary cat. He has written poems and plays, though nowadays he focuses on sci-fi and magic realist novels. He tends to write of the beauty and brutality of life, but always with a sense of humor and wonder.

His latest novel, THE HOPE STORE, is a magic-realist fable about two asian american men who open the first store in the world to sell hope over the counter. Controversy ensues. A grassroots organization springs up called Natural Hopers which vow to shut down the store.

THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL, the author's debut novel, is available in paperback and kindle thru Amazon. It was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards out of 5,000 entries.

Okita is currently completing his third novel EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE. This book deals with love and reincarnation and gun control.

His poetry book CROSSING WITH THE LIGHT was published by Tia Chucha Press. It is filled with poems that have been anthologized and reprinted in a range of text books. Topics range from the internment camps for Japanese Americans to modern love to the AIDS crisis.

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REVIEW OF "PROSPECT" FROM BLOGGER BECKY KYLE, Amazon Vine Reviewer:

http://bexboox13.blogspot.com/2011/09...

SECOND REVIEW FROM CHICAGO PAPER

which calls the book "elegant":

http://bit.ly/qKqfhl

AUTHOR INTERVIEW FROM ALISON DELUCA:

http://alisondeluca.blogspot.com/2011...

VIDEO REVIEWS: I've posted two video reviews of early drafts of PROSPECT when it was entered in the Amazon contest. Megan Bostic and Josie Henley-Einion did the honors.

Dwight Okita has written personal essays for WBEZ Radio, the Chicago affiliate of NPR, and read his poetry on Ira Glass' popular radio show “This American Life.” His work has been recognized by the Norton Introduction to Poetry, the HBO New Writers Project, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Follow his multi-purpose blog "Long Day's Journey Into Dwight" at http://dwightokita2011.blogspot.com