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The Invention of Fireflies is a memoir about the magic and monsters the author has encountered throughout his life. It spans six decades of a uniquely Asian American, gay, Buddhist life grounded in Chicago. From appearing on the cover of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box dressed as a chef... to growing up one block from America’s first mass murder... to falling down a rabbit hole for three years... to finding Buddhism at a bus stop... to coming in third place in Amazon’s international novel contest. What fun is a life if it isn’t filled with its share of blessings and curses, twists and turns? This is the story of how one human learns through trial and error how to make friends with his most frightening monsters, and how to become his own best magician.
“A beautiful reading experience. Warm and unconventional. In the hands of a poet, the monsters and magic of everyday life are alive and layered with meaning.”
—Joni Rodgers, New York Times bestselling author
“Equal parts playful, joyful, political, giddy, dark, disillusioned, philosophical, and yet hopeful. Okita reminds his readers that the 21st century can be as unsettling as it is breathtaking.”
—David Barr III, (Co-Author with Mamie Till-Mobley) The Face of Emmett Till
“The Invention of Fireflies is a tender, charming, and often irreverent memoir that focuses on the author’s immediate experiences while bookmarking them with broader moments of cultural significance. Okita emerges as an endearing individual and a capable storyteller.”
—BookLife Reviews (Publishers Weekly)
“Dwight Okita’s words fly off the page with beauty and force. I have been a fan for ages.”
—Curtis Chin, author of Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
Born and raised in Chicago, Dwight Okita started writing poems in first grade because he couldn’t write compositions. Tia Chucha Press published in 1992 his first poetry book, “Crossing with the Light,” which featured his most reprinted poem, “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” about the Japanese American internment camps. Dwight’s sci-fi novel, The Prospect of My Arrival, was a top three finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Dwight is active in the SGI Buddhist community advocating for peace and culture. He is also a professional cuddler in a touch-starved world. He embraces his identities as a gay man, an Asian American, and as a neurodivergent human. A compulsive drinker of iced coffee and occasional slumber party host, he resides in Chicago. Visit him at www.dwightokita.com.