Mata Ashita: The Nail That Sticks Out with Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann
Public Event
Sat, Sep 13 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM CDT
Zoom link will be emailed closer to event
About this event:
Mata Ashita is an intergenerational writing circle by and for Japanese Canadians that helps strengthen community connections and wellbeing.
Saturday, September 13, 2025
11-1pm PT / 2-4pm ET
Virtual event (Zoom)
Join us in conversation with editor, author, and long-time Mata Ashita participant Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann to discuss her recently published hybrid memoir, The Nail That Sticks Out (Dundurn Press, 2024). Her book blends research, memory, and first-person accounts to explore elements of family history, inheritance of cultural values, and the postwar Toronto landscape.
Hartmann will share a reading of her work and participate in a facilitated Q&A. A short break and participatory writing activity with an opportunity to share will follow the discussion.
No previous writing experience is necessary - just a commitment to holding space for yourself and others as we navigate what it means to be together in community.
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Guest Artist
Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann is an editor (Metroland Media) and author of The Nail That Sticks Out and My Father’s Nose. She began her career in television and moved to print, web and digital. Her writing reflects her roots as a fourth-generation Japanese Canadian with German ancestry and explores meaningful coincidences, cultural memories and identity.
In the Japanese Canadian community, she’s been the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre newsletter editor, Japanese Social Services administrator and Nikkei Voice managing editor. She’s also a former board member of the National Association of Japanese Canadians Toronto Chapter and Toronto Japanese Garden Club.
Suzanne holds a master of fine arts in creative nonfiction from University of King’s College, a certificate in magazine publishing and a bachelor’s degree in Radio & Television Arts from Toronto Metropolitan University.
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To improve accessibility, our events include an intermission, captioning, and a peer support facilitator. If there are additional ways we can support your attendance, please email mataashitawriting@gmail.com.
Follow along on our Instagram @mataashitawriting or sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on this next season of Mata Ashita.
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Community Projects stream of the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society Community Fund.
Free
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