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Title details for The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration by Frank Abe - Available

The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration

by Frank Abe
Floyd Cheung
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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“An essential volume” —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker
The collective voice of Japanese Americans defined by a specific moment in time: the four years of World War II during which the US government expelled resident aliens and its own citizens from their homes and imprisoned 125,000 of them in American concentration camps, based solely upon the race they shared with a wartime enemy.
A Penguin Classic
This anthology presents a new vision that recovers and reframes the literature produced by the people targeted by the actions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress to deny Americans of Japanese ancestry any individual hearings or other due process after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. From nearly seventy selections of fiction, poetry, essays, memoirs, and letters emerges a shared story of the struggle to retain personal integrity in the face of increasing dehumanization – all anchored by the key government documents that incite the action.
The selections favor the pointed over the poignant, and the unknown over the familiar, with several new translations among previously unseen works that have been long overlooked on the shelf, buried in the archives, or languished unread in the Japanese language. The writings are presented chronologically so that readers can trace the continuum of events as the incarcerees experienced it.
The contributors span incarcerees, their children born in or soon after the camps, and their descendants who reflect on the long-term consequences of mass incarceration for themselves and the nation. Many of the voices are those of protest. Some are those of accommodation. All are authentic. Together they form an epic narrative with a singular vision of America’s past, one with disturbing resonances with the American present.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 14, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593829240
      • File size: 260807 KB
      • Duration: 09:03:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      September 13, 2024

      An ensemble of five Japanese American narrators perform 68 poignant selections of poetry, essays, fiction, and more, documenting four years of WWII history when 125,000 Japanese American individuals were imprisoned in American concentration camps. Their personal reports, collected by editors Abe (creator of the PBS documentary Conscience and the Constitution) and Cheung (English, Smith Coll.; editor, The Hanging on Union Square) bring their recollections, stories, and writing to light. The collection is divided into three sections, focusing on the time periods before, during, and after the camps. Each selection, whether in verse or prose, makes evident the harsh, dehumanizing conditions that these individuals endured in the isolated camps. The narrators take turns narrating each piece, allowing each writer's individuality, personality, and talent to shine. The resilience of those once imprisoned is now on record, and one can only hope that this part of U.S. history will never be repeated. VERDICT A must-listen, providing insight into the imprisonment of Japanese American people and suggesting connections to current sociopolitical battle lines. Those interested in furthering their knowledge will want to check out Only What We Could Carry, edited by Lawson Fusao Inada, or Abe's We Hereby Refuse, coauthored with Tamiko Nimura.--Sharon Sherman

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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