Japanese poet Yone Noguchi left a trail of broken hearts in the wake of his many affairs with both men and women. In Queer Compulsions (University of Hawaii Press, 2012), author Amy Sueyoshi charts Yone’s failures in both personal and professional love. Better known as the father of Asian American artist Isamu Noguchi, Yone immigrated to the US in the 1890s.

Amy Sueyoshi is the associate dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. I had the opportunity to speak with her shortly after the book’s release.