Two imaginative works relating to Japanese Americans in WW2
September sees the emergence of two works of popular fiction, by two masters of their respective genres, that each touch on the Japanese and Japanese American experience in World War II. Both will bear...
View ArticleStage adaptation of “NO-NO BOY” violates John Okada’s novel
A headline first written by Frank Chin in 2010, “Don’t F**k With No-No Boy,” captures the insistence with which audiences should reject the recent stage adaptation of John Okada’s landmark novel No-No...
View ArticleREVIEW: Frank Chin’s Great Chinese American Novel
This 1970s-era novel by Frank Chin, published for the first time today by the University of Hawaii Press, predates his work with the Heart Mountain resisters who are the subject of this blog. But as a...
View ArticleHow happy ending in staged “NO-NO BOY” bowdlerizes Okada’s novel
Successfully adapting any work to the stage presents a challenge. The fact that it isn’t easy doesn’t justify violating the author’s intent. In response to our commentary about the slapping of a happy...
View ArticleREVIEW: A jarring addition to new edition of “No-No Boy”
When the University of Washington Press republished one of its most enduring titles with a new cover and introduction, editor Alan Lau of the International Examiner’s Pacific Reader section asked me to...
View ArticleALLEGIANCE uplifts by doctoring Japanese American history
Thanks for finding this post via links from Wikipedia, the New York Times and other reviews. See the real story of the Heart Mountain resisters as told in our PBS film, Conscience and the Constitution....
View ArticleUpcoming program on no-no boys and “NO-NO BOY,” the novel
Preparing my remarks now for a discussion in Seattle on March 12 with noted historians Roger Daniels and Barbara Takei on a topic that still opens wounds today. Register for free here. As we’ve...
View ArticleWhen was the term “No-No Boy” first used?
Thanks to the 60 who joined us on March 12 at the Suyama Project panel to hear about the life of John Okada and how he wove his experiences into his landmark novel NO-NO BOY. At the panel, historian...
View ArticleWhen was the term “No-No Boy” first used?
Thanks to the 60 who joined us on March 12 at the Suyama Project panel to hear about the life of John Okada and how he wove his experiences into his landmark novel NO-NO BOY. At the panel, historian...
View ArticleNew translation of “NO-NO BOY” for the 21st century
Journalist Ryusuke Kawai says he decided to re-translate John Okada’s No-No Boy because readers found the previous rendering in Japanese to be filled with archaic words and incorrect grammar that made...
View ArticleJohn Okada: His life and unknown work revealed in forthcoming book
We’re pleased to announce the publication in July 2018 of a new book from the University of Washington Press that reveals new information about the life of John Okada and brings to light his unknown...
View ArticleMaking February 19 a Day of Resistance
I realize there’s too much to focus on right now, between keeping kids safe from guns, the Russian indictments, and more, but February 19 is coming up. Please join Dale Minami and others in making this...
View ArticlePre-publication book events for “JOHN OKADA”
The pages have been proofed, the index has been complied, and our book presenting new information on the life and unknown works of novelist John Okada is set to go to press in a few short weeks. But...
View Article“JOHN OKADA” book launch at Asian American Studies conference
Many thanks to all the students and scholars who came to our book launch for JOHN OKADA at the Association for Asian American Studies conference at San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel — whether to our...
View ArticleRead an outtake chapter from the forthcoming “John Okada”
Advance copies of JOHN OKADA: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy arrived in the mail this week, and the books are a joy to hold. The covers feel good in the hand, with the same...
View ArticleFamily separations nothing new for Japanese Americans
As documented in our new book, JOHN OKADA: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy, the Japanese American experience was in some ways the reverse of this week’s child separations on...
View Article“JOHN OKADA” and graphic novel presentations at Tule Lake and Minidoka
Tule Lake and Minidoka were two very different experiences for inmates, as I discovered after spending a week on the road at each of their camp pilgrimages. But one thing stayed the same, and that was...
View ArticleIn Memoriam: Yosh Kuromiya, the man who drew the line
The last major Nisei figure interviewed in our film is gone. We are mourning the loss of Heart Mountain resister Yosh Kuromiya at the age of 95. Yosh was among the handful of Nisei draft resisters who...
View ArticleThe first reviews are in for “JOHN OKADA”
Two early reviews, a podcast, and a Facebook Live video. First, thanks go to Edgar-Award winning novelist Naomi Hirahara for taking the time to comment on our book. “Nikkei literary pioneer...
View Article“Resistance, Resettlement, and Redress”
I’m no lawyer, but I could not say no when the Case Western Reserve Law Review asked for a piece based on our EO9066 panel last November. The symposium offered me the opportunity to revisit the...
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