Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Mary Tablante
Nationally Recognized Slam Poet George Yamazawa Jr. talks about his journey to doing poetry full-time
Spoken word artist George “G” Yamazawa, Jr., never had an Asian American role model growing up, so he decided to become one himself.
Yamazawa is the youngest poet to become a National Poetry Slam Finalist, won the 2012 Kollaboration DC talent competition and has been featured in film and music festivals.
At age 23, the Durham, N.C, native who has called D.C. home for the past three years also works with high school youth in a poetry after-school program.
Just fresh off from competing in the Southern Fried Poetry Slam competition in South Carolina, Yamazawa is also working on a hip hop mix tape due out this summer and continues to perform in the D.C. area and around the country.
His passion for words started a young age.
“I’ve been rapping since I was in sixth grade, so I always loved writing and performing, loved hip hop and always wanted to perform and do hip hop and so when I found poetry, it was another outlet for me,” Yamazawa said.
After attending an international youth poetry festival when he was 17, Yamazawa became hooked and decided to commit to poetry.
“I was at a community college at my hometown in Durham … for two years, doing an English major, but didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he said. “I really loved poetry, and started to do well in in national competitions.” That’s when Yamazawa decided to pursue poetry full time.
Soon after, Yamazawa was touring around the country and even went to Europe, touring in five countries with friend Kane Smego, another spoken word poet from Durham.
Another breakthrough moment came in 2010 while performing at Rock the Era, a large Buddhist festival. Yamazawa, who chants before every performance, said that was when he felt his faith in Buddhism and his passion for poetry fused together.
“I shared an experience in faith and performed a poem about my grandma. My face was on a huge screen, and it was a very intense, very huge moment in my life,” he recounted.
His older sister, Emily Yamazawa Mowrer, is someone who has seen G from the beginning of his journey as a poet.
“When I knew he was pursuing slam poetry full on, I was very happy for him and knew he had found his calling,” she said. “I never saw him as a 9-5 guy and would be very surprised if he ever did land that kind of gig.”
Mowrer has seen her brother perform in front of audiences of empty lounges to packed stadiums. She drove him to his first tryout with a team and even remembers what he was wearing.
“It is riveting to see him on stage and often brings me to tears; each time I see him, it’s a new experience for me,” she said. “You learn something new; it’s like reading a good book again and discovering something different all over again.”
She added that above all, she admires her brother’s tenacity.
“He has a sense of grit to him that is admirable, shaped by his unique experiences in his life,” Mowrer said. “For such a young man, he has depth to him and can touch the core of people’s lives through his actions. I’m sure many would agree.”
With poetry about Jeremy Lin and his experiences as a Japanese American growing up in the south, it would seem that many of Yamazawa’s poems are relatable to Asian Americans. But at first, Yamazawa didn’t know how much his words could inspire others.
“I’ve been telling my story the way I know it and not realizing so many people can relate to it,” he said. “I don’t really feel there’s a type of audience I perform for. Each poem should be carved from the human condition (and) relatable to any person.”
Yamazawa has been making waves within the AAPI entertainment scene, from winning Kollaboration DC to being invited to perform this year for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders’ opening ceremony for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
“When I started writing, I never thought of myself as an Asian or Asian American poet. I wanted to write my story,” he said. “Within the immediate community … I’d never seen an Asian American rapper or singer, songwriter, actor or athlete until Jeremy Lin, never had any mainstream Asian American role model, so I wanted to be an Asian American role model.”
He continued, “I’ve been in the light a bit more and realizing people are looking to me for these complexities of being Asian in America. I’m realizing the responsibilities coming along with that.”
While Yamazawa said that he’s proud of taking his poetry overseas and being invited to perform at the Pentagon and the White House Initiative on AAPIs, it’s the people and friends he has met along the way that he is most grateful for.
“I think more so than any accomplishment, the amount of friends and genuine connections are far greater than anything I could ever put on paper. The amount of people I’ve been able to influence, I’ve been honored to influence and be a part of their lives,” he said. “It’s an unexplainable kind of feeling that somebody’s been moved by something I’ve said.”
With so many experiences behind him, Yamazawa said he is still learning how to become an adult and how to focus on his craft.
“My goal is to get somewhere I can’t even imagine at this point because I could never imagine myself here. I know I want to keep making moves globally, traveling, meeting people from all across the world … I want to live more, experience more.”
For upcoming performances and more updates from George, you can find him on Facebook, Twitter and his website, gyamazawa.com.
