Mark S. Osaki undertakes to illuminate the difficulty of establishing one's home in a nation not one's own. These often soulful poems speak to us as members of families, as lovers, as travelers, journeys a reader is rewarded for taking.-Carole L. Glickfeld, author, Swimming toward the Ocean
Mark Osaki brings a rich poetic voice to his collection of poems in his recent book, Best Evidence. He captures past and present moments, expressing hope through pain and personal loss. His work is subtle in nuances yet possesses a keen clarity of vision and ultimately celebrates life itself.-Elizabeth Hack, artist and editor, San Francisco Peace and Hope
Poet Mark S. Osaki covers a number of poignant topics in Best Evidence. Each poem in the four sections gives you a glimpse of a formative moment in Osaki's life or expands your viewpoint on conflicts in the world. Some poems, like the powerful "Chinese Camp, California," speak of a larger cultural experience and the nuances of navigating identity as an Asian American. Others still, like "Gun Song," show the psychological and cultural impact of war. In each new work, Osaki captures powerful moments of longing and loss.
About the Author: Poet Mark S. Osaki's work has appeared in numerous poetry journals and anthologies. His poems have been featured in the Georgia Review, the South Carolina Review, the Onset Review, and other journals. His work can also be found in Carrying the Darkness: The Poetry of the Vietnam War, Men of Our Time: An Anthology of Male Poetry in Contemporary America, and Breaking Silence: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian-American Poets.
Osaki has won awards from the Academy of American Poets, the University of California at Berkeley, the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Seattle Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
