Sumie Kawakami's quickie North American book tour (two stops: Get Lost Travel in San Francisco and Elliott Bay Books in Seattle) went extremely well. These were her first readings in North America, and of course, they were done in English, her second language. Sumie actually didn't read from the book; she gave a spirited talk about how the project came together and then fielded a slew of questions (in both cities) from people in the audience. In Seattle, Yuko Enomoto, who translated most of Butterfly, opened the evening with a dramatic reading of the climactic scene in "Red Circles."

The tour marked a first for Sumie, and also a first for Chin Music, because it was our premiere event at Elliott Bay Books, one of America's great indie bookstores. What follows are a few snaps of Sumie and Yuko in action (From the top: Yuko & Sumie in front of Elliott Bay Books; Sumie talks at Elliott Bay; Yuko reads from "Red Circles"; Sumie talks at Get Lost Travel).