DWIGHT OKITA
Words can fly.
Kudos, Reviews, Related Links.
 
Stage Play Reviews

"a burning portrait of a young Asian American woman...still haunted by the memory of growing up one block from where Richard Speck killed eight nurses."

From Lawrence Bommer's WCT review of Okita's short play 
Richard Speck which was part of the American Blues Theatre 
production MONSTERS.


"Two of the best pieces come drenched in black.  Lee Chen is exquisite in Dwight Okita's partly comic, partly scary reminiscience of growing up Asian American near where the Richard Speck murders took place."

From Sid Smith's Chicago Tribune review of Richard Speck


"The Rainy Season presents what few new plays even approximate: an accurate, honest, compelling picture of life in our times. At the same time, Okita's poetic sensibility imbues this realistic drama with a nearly mythic quality...Okita's protagonist is a remarkable construction: an everyman figure who is both Japanese American and gay...The Rainy Season is an eloquent examination of the nature of love, from its most sublime to its most excruciating." 

From Justin Hayford's Reader review
of The Rainy Season
http://bit.ly/t6tC2m 


"Dwight Okita pulled off a stunning romantic melodrama a few years ago in his heartbreaking, near-mythic story of impossible love, The Rainy Season."

Justin Hayford referencing my play
in a review of another play



Novel Reviews

"The write stuff: Gay writer Dwight Okita was originally one of 5,000 entrants in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, Amazon.com's first writing competition in search of the next great American novel—and just missed taking the grand prize for his work, The Prospect of My Arrival."

Windy City Times looks back at 2008:
The year in review by Andrew Davis




Poetry Reviews


"...Dwight Okita's haunting, surreal poem about the AIDS crisis, 'Where the Boys Were'."

Jack Helbig's Reader review of "Queer Stories"
produced by Zebra Crossing Theatre


"With his vivid and beautifully haunting images, Dwight Okita shows the reader a new way of seeing the world. 'Facing the Mannequin' takes the reader into the world of a department store mannequin. I will never forget the image of the mannequin watching the narrator's shirt move as he breathes."

A devoted reader from Greeley, CO
Amazon.com customer review


RELATED LINKS for Prospect of My Arrival.  This includes guest blogs, newspaper reviews and various goodies.

​1.  FRESH POT OF TEA  









This is a review from author Alison DeLuca's blog.  The lovely review is of both my novel Prospect and Haruki Murakami's novel 1Q84.  The post also appears in Dark Side Book Reviews.


2.  MY MEMORIES OF A FUTURE LIFE









This is my guest post on author Roz Morris' blog.  In it, I was invited to talk about how I use music to inspire me during my novel writing.  Lots of cool links to tunes.


3.  BEX BOOX







This is a review from Rebecca Kyle's blog.  Becky is also an Amazon Vine Reviewer. During the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards contest, she was an early champion of Prospect based on the opening excerpt and hers was the first public review of the book.


4.  LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY AUTHORS  

I am a proud member of LeagueXA which is an international coalition of critically acclaimed and bestselling authors blurring the boundaries between old school and new world publishing. Our brand: Traditional craft excellence. Indie spirit. Reader-friendly prices.


5.  INDIES UNLIMITED  

My book trailer for Prospect was featured on this popular indie blog site.  This site is a good resource of indie authors.


6.  WINDY CITY TIMES 

Prospect was reviewed well in Chicago's main LGBT newspaper. The reviewer Sally Parsons also attended my book reading/signing at Women & Children First in Chicago. This was the first traditional newspaper review the book received.