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A14 PEOPLE / ARTS
Wednesday 22 november 2023

Public Enemy, R.E.M., Blondie, Heart and Tracy Chapman get nods

for Songwriters Hall of Fame

By MARK KENNEDY final cut. Last year’s induct-
AP Entertainment Writer ees included Snoop Dogg,
NEW YORK (AP) — Every- Gloria Estefan, Sade, Jeff
thing from rap to yacht Lynne, Glen Ballard and
rock, country and alt-rock Teddy Riley.
are represented among The performing songwriters
the nominees for the 2024 nominees this time include
Songwriters Hall of Fame, Canadian rock musicians
with nods for Public Ene- Randy Bachman and Bur-
my, Steely Dan, Bryan Ad- ton Cummings behind
ams, George Clinton, Tracy “American Woman” and
Chapman, R.E.M., Blond- “These Eyes” and The Doo-
ie, Heart and The Doobie bie Brothers Tom John-
Brothers. ston, Patrick Simmons and
The ballot also includes Michael McDonald with
“Footloose” singer-song- such classics as “Listen to
writer Kenny Loggins, Nash- the Music” and “Long Train
ville hitmaker Hillary Lind- Runnin.’” David Gates, who
sey, who helped write “Girl sang with the band Bread,
Crush” for Little Big Town, is up for a career that in-
and producer-writer Tim- cludes such songs as “Ev-
baland, the mastermind erything I Own” and “Make
behind Justin Timberlake’s Clem Burke, from left, Debbie Harry and Rob Roth attend a screening of “Blondie: Vivir En La It With You,” while Public
“SexyBack” and Missy El- Habana” during the 20th Tribeca Festival in New York on June 16, 2021. Enemy’s Chuck D and Fla-
liot’s “Get Yer Freak On.” Associated Press vor Flav got nods for iconic
Included on the list are the of ‘69” and “Have You Ever songwriter category and whose “Fast Car,” originally tunes like “Fight the Power”
“Losing My Religion” R.E.M. Really Loved a Woman?,” three from the performing- released in 1988, won her and “Bring the Noise.”
quartet led by Michael and Clinton, whose Parlia- songwriter category. The two Grammys in 1989 and Somewhat surprisingly,
Stipe, as well as sisters Ann ment-Funkadelic collective Associated Press got an a Country Music Associa- Steely Dan co-founded
and Nancy Wilson of Heart, was hugely influential with early copy of the list. tion award this year after by Donald Fagan and the
who showed women could hits like “Atomic Dog” and Debbie Harry, Chris Stein being covered by Luke late Walter Becker are not
rock hard with songs like “Give Up the Funk.” and Clem Burke are nomi- Combs. in the hall despite being a
“Barracuda” and “Crazy Eligible voting members nated as Blondie, who Adams, R.E.M., Blondie, The staple of classic rock with
On You.” have until Dec. 27 to turn gave the world the New Doobie Brothers and Heart songs like “Reelin’ in the
Joining them is Adams, with in ballots with their choices Wave hits “Call Me” and were also nominated last Years,” “Do It Again” and
radio staples like “Summer of three nominees from the “Rapture,” and Chapman, year but didn’t make the “Hey Nineteen.q

‘I Would Meet You Anywhere’ is a breathtaking account of an

adoptee’s search for family

By DONNA EDWARDS Yumi when and where the a house, a hotel, a hospi- did Yumi have? Her family as prose, an astounding
Associated Press latter deems convenient tal. And Ito would meet her had started over with noth- compilation of similes and

Susan Kiyo Ito always knew New Jersey, California, a anywhere. In the process ing after the United States squishy adjectives that
she was adopted, but un- small Midwestern town; in of finding her birth parents forced them into intern- perfectly capture a feel-
covering her birth family and piecing together her ment camps, along with ing that rests right on the
became a decadeslong origins, Ito explores the an estimated 120,000 other periphery of language. It’s
process marked by mo- theme of family and what Japanese Americans and an absolutely surreal mo-
ments of warm connection it means to occupy the Japanese nationals. ment of her life described
and icy divides raw stories various roles within it pon- There aren’t many things the only way one can truly
compiled into a memoir dering the symmetry in the Yumi refuses to talk about, capture such a confluence
that’s alternately touching first 17 years she spent living but these topics are frus- of happenstance: with un-
and heartbreaking. with her mom, Kikuko, tak- tratingly the most important canny poetic prose that
Opening on the fateful mo- ing care of her to the last ones, big question marks verges on nonsense, if it
ment when Ito is about to 27 years of her mom’s life that threaten to burn an- weren’t so utterly fitting.
meet her birth mother for when their roles reversed. swerless into oblivion. “I Would Meet You Any-
the first time, “I Would Meet Meanwhile, Yumi flits in and Unlike Yumi, the author where” is breathtaking. Like
You Anywhere” transcends out of the story, leaving the is totally open about her a master quilter, Ito is able
a title and becomes a re- impression of her taking up thoughts, feelings and ex- to find the patterns and fit
frain throughout the book. more space than her physi- periences. Ito’s prose fol- them together in a beau-
Ito’s relationship with Yumi is cal presence. lows her mood; the default tiful, cohesive story that’s
fraught from the beginning, Ito is left wondering about of easy conversational writ- balanced and satisfying,
but her birth mother holds This cover image released by the reproductive choices ing becomes stilted when working in tandem to cre-
the key to the information Mad Creek Books shows “I that have shaped her life, she’s upset, flowing when ate a blanket of meaning
she needs to find the other Would Meet You Anywhere” starting with her concep- she’s hopeful. Part 2 ends in enshrouding an entire life,
half of her DNA. Ito meets by Susan Kiyo Ito. tion. After all, what choice a burst of poetry disguised plus some.q
Associated Press