Inada, the author of 5 books of poetry and
Oregon's fifth poet laureate, says that music inspired him to be a writer.

"You have music in you -- the words are the lyrics," he said. "I switched instruments and went with the poetry."

Inada has traveled the state since February 2006, visiting smaller places not on the I-5 corridor that he feels are underserved, and focusing on minority populations.

His Salem-area activities included a workshop in West Salem, with an evening presentation at Salem Public Library and readings at the State Legislature and the Silverton Poetry Festival.
Inada suggested that the State Library include an Oregon Poetry Collection, which will open in April and will include all books by poets who have a close connection to Oregon. Part of the collection will circulate, and part will remain in the library for preservation.

A special focus for Inada has been the gathering of poetry from Oregon's Swedish, Russian, and Vietnamese communities for this collection.
"Writing from heritage can be an opening; there are other dimensions to us. American poetry gets funneled through the publishing houses -- it doesn't always indicate what's really there."
He said that media could suffer from similar "funnels."

Among Inada's awards are fellowships from the National Endowment for Arts and from the Guggenheim Foundation, and a Pushcart Prize. He received a Creative Arts Grant from the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, and an Oregon Governor's Arts Award.

His books are available on Amazon.com. For information on the State Library poetry collection visit OSL.