This interview was conducted via email between Travis Schuhardt, an editor of Literacy Review, Volume 19, and Lara Tatsue Kunitaki, author of “The Chair,” which appears in the Transformations section of LR19.

Travis Schuhardt: Where are you from?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: I’m from São Paulo, Brazil.

Travis Schuhardt: How long have you been in the U.S.? Why did you come here?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki:  I arrived in December 2019 after finishing college, with the intention of improving my English and figuring out what comes after college.

Travis Schuhardt: Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: I am a clumsy person, and it gives me funny stories. However, I am also a forgetful person, so recently I started recording a few stories as a clue, in order to remember them.

Travis Schuhardt: Where do you study? Who is your teacher?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: I’m studying ESOL Writing at Peninsula Library in Queens, with the teacher Ebru Yenal.

Travis Schuhardt: What do you like about the class your writing came from?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: The subjects of the weeks’ tasks. My teacher always comes up with current and deep subjects that stimulate us to read and learn new knowledge.

Travis Schuhardt: What do you like about your teacher, classmates, or both? 

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki:  My teacher is a very comprehensive person, understanding each of our needs, caring about us, and truly believing in us.

Travis Schuhardt: Do you remember a special moment in your class?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki:  The first day is always special, when your classmates are introducing themselves and talking about experience and expectations, you realize how different we are, but also that we are there, together.

Travis Schuhardt: Even before you took classes, did you always like to write?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: Yes, when I was a teen, I used to write some fanfics.

Travis Schuhardt: Which shows or books were you interested in writing about? Do you remember any details about stories that you wrote?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: I was a teen so most of my fanfics were based on Twilight, Harry Potter and Jane Austen.

Travis Schuhardt: How has your teacher helped you?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: My teacher saw something in me that I didn’t even know existed.

Travis Schuhardt: Could you say a little more about that? What did your teacher see in you?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: Basically, my teacher saw potential in me. I used to write my stories just because that was my homework, then my teacher started to compliment and interact with me and my texts. I am in one of those phases where I think, “What am I good for?” I know that I’m not the next Jane Austen, although now I know that I have a skill.

Travis Schuhardt: Why are you going back to school?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: Learning it is never too much, it is one of those things that make you active and you always need a dose of it.

Travis Schuhardt: How is online learning going for you?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: It’s hard, but learning is one of the things we can’t stop, so we have to keep going and adapt.

Travis Schuhardt: What inspired you to write “The Chair?”

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: My story is a real and personal one, so you can see how clumsy I am. However, I am not good at speaking, and when I am writing, my story flows much better.

Travis Schuhardt: What advice would you give to another writer?

Lara Tatsue Kunitaki: Everything that we share with someone else is difficult, because we never know what kind of feedback we will get. However, just try it and try it for yourself. Even if your story looks like a tweet, just write it.

Travis Schuhardt: Thank you, once again, to Lara Tatsue Kunitaki for taking the time to interview with us.