Patricia Aya Williams' debut full length poetry collection, Ichiban was selected by poet Donna Hilbert as the winner of the 2025 Concrete Wolf Louis Poetry Book Award. Hilbert wrote about the book: “Ichiban is an unsparing and unsentimental coming of age poetry–coming to terms with parents, coming to terms with cultural expectations, and with one's self. I am particularly taken by the variety of angles and poetic forms through which Williams views and recounts salient life-shaping episodes.”
Last year, I had the pleasure of reading an early draft of Ichiban. From page one, I was spellbound. Williams has a gift for capturing the voices of loved ones, and the spirit of each stage of life represented in her poems–whether it’s the San Jose school girl on the playground making space for herself, or the teenage daughter watching her mom grow and transform in the shadow of loss–Williams voices the spirit of each age with humor, grace, compassion, and exceptional skill.
We hope you’ll pick up a copy of Ichiban (while they last!) Read on to learn more about Williams’ taste in poetry and recommendations below.
Welcome to The Poetry Shop 5, Patricia Aya Williams! Tell us about your new book, Ichiban (Concrete Wolf Press)
Ichiban, my first full-length collection, has had many lives over the past four and a half years. It started as a chapbook with a different title, became several other versions of chapbooks with different titles, at some point became a longer collection. I was always drawn to write about my parents and experiences growing up as the only child of a Japanese-born mother and Midwestern father, but I discovered during the revision process that the focus of the book had changed. It started out mostly about my mother, but at some point, “Patsy/Patricia” started to emerge as the pivotal character. I think Ichiban really became what it is when I jumped off the cliff and decided to include experiences from my adolescence, which originally weren’t in the book. I didn’t want to go to some of the places those poems went. But I’m glad I did, because that darkness was necessary. It made the collection stronger.
Who was your "gateway poet," the poet whose first book or poem got you interested in poetry?
It would be hard to single out any one poet. For me it was more like “gateway poems” rather than poets. Four poems that have absolutely stayed with me since my first encounter with them during my middle/high school years are: “since feeling is first” (e.e. cummings), “We Real Cool” (Gwendolyn Brooks), “Provide, Provide” (Robert Frost), and “[you fit into me]” (Margaret Atwood). Each poem says so much within a compact form, and each is thrilling in its own way.
Which poetry book are you currently reading?
I Do Know Some Things, by Richard Siken. Do you know the British television series Doctor Who? In the show, the TARDIS is a time-traveling spaceship that’s astoundingly bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. There’s a similar TARDIS-like quality in these prose poems—they keep expanding into different dimensions.
I love to read and reread anything by Donna Hilbert. Her latest, Enormous Blue Umbrella, is one of my favorites. I just started reading Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times, by Tracy K. Smith.
Is there a book on the craft of writing that you recommend to poets?
The Writing Party, by Ken Waldman. I love how Ken weaves fun and inventive writing prompts into a memoir about his writing life. Told in his inimitable, convivial style, it’s a book that anyone at any stage of their writing practice can find useful and enjoyable.
Who is a new voice in poetry that we need to check out–someone with a debut book or recent release?
A new-to-me voice in poetry that I heard on a recent episode of Poem-a-Day podcast is Kathy Evans. Her poem “Bio” really made an impression on me. I love the light touch, the playfulness and whimsy. I’d love to read more of her work, including her full-length debut collection, Trespassers Welcome. Another poet I heard on the Poem-a-Day podcast is David Maduli reading his poem “alameda point”. I’m looking forward to reading his debut collection, Alemany Bay Window / Redwood Coast Record Crate.
Finally, what’s a poetry book that others may not know about but deserves a shout out?
Sky Country, by Christine Kitano—These family poems encompass immigrant experiences, Japanese American incarceration, and coming to terms with legacy and loss. And I love how Kitano’s Korean grandmother reminds me of my Japanese mother. Today in the Taxi, by Sean Singer—I always wanted to live in New York City, and this book makes me feel like I do, or did, or still might someday. Also, it’s decidedly literary while being highly entertaining and companionable—quite an accomplishment!
About Patricia Aya Williams
Patricia Aya Williams is a practitioner of poetry, a soul line dancer, an Obon dancer, and the collector of way too much stuff. Some of her favorite things are dogs, cake, lollipops, scarves, sparkly things, drinking tea, and hanging out with her husband and her friends. Oh, and cake. https://patriciaayawilliams.com
Books Referenced in this Article
Ichiban (Concrete Wolf Press) by Patricia Aya Williams
I Do Know Some Things (Copper Canyon Press) by Richard Siken
The Writing Party (Mezcalita Press, LLC) by Ken Waldman
Trespassers Welcome (Blue Light Press) by Kathy Evans
Alemany Bay Window / Redwood Coast Record Crate (Sampaguita Press LLC) by David Maduli
Sky Country (BOA Editions) by Christine Kitano
Today in the Taxi (Tupelo Press) by Sean Singer
The collected works of e.e. cummings, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Frost and Margaret Atwood
