March 20, 2009 — The Brown College Visiting Environmental Writers and Scholars Series at the University of Virginia welcomes novelist and playwright Karen Tei Yamashita Wednesday and Thursday.

Yamashita will read from her novels, "Through the Arc of the Rainforest" and "Tropic of Orange," on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Rotunda Dome Room. With the assistance of several U.Va. students, she also will read from her new performance piece, "Anime Wong." A reception and book signing will follow.

On Thursday, she will read from her novel, "Brazil-Maru," her story and essay collection, "Circle K Cycles," and her forthcoming novel, "I, Hotel" at 7 p.m. at the Ivy Creek Natural Area Education Building. 

A native Californian, Yamashita teaches at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Known for melding magical realism with a journalistic attention to detail, she is a recipient of the American Book Award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Award. She has also conceived and written multimedia performances, such as "Hannah Kusoh: An American Butoh," "Highways in Santa Monica" and "Tokyo Carmen vs. L.A. Carmen." 
Co-sponsors are the Department of English and the Asian Pacific American Studies Program.