Category Archives: Literature of Incarceration

“Criminals,” a novel in the spirit of John Okada

Before a packed house on February 2 at mam’s bookstore in Seattle Chinatown, I was honored to help launch Criminals, the debut novel by Ben Masaoka of Seattle of a postwar Japanese American family that was published after his recent death.

five people standing
Reading and speaking at the CRIMINALS book launch, from left: Carla Crujido, Dan De Weese, Frank Abe, Bruce Rutledge, and Lucy Tan.

Ben modeled his voice on that of another notable JA novelist, John Okada, and we could hear it in the readings I shared with Carla Crujido, Lucy Tan, and Bruce Rutledge. All the unexpressed anger and suppressed rage of Okada is there in Masaoka’s novel.

Dan DeWeese of Propeller Books in Portland read from the emails that he exchanged with Ben in preparing the volume for publication. In one, Masaoka shared how he saw his novel and the connection he felt with John Okada:

Novelist Ben Masaoka.

“‘For outsiders, Okada’s book blew the doors open to an unknown world; for those already in the house it was instantly recognizable,” wrote Masaoka. “Criminals does not blow any doors open. It opens doors in a gentle way to reveal, depending on who the reader is, the same unknown and instantly recognizable. But, as No-No Boy did, my novel places the ‘Model Minority’ into the category of American myths. I see the two books as linked. Well, everyone wants their book to be a cult success, so add my name to the list.”

Masaoka died of cancer in early September 2024. Criminals was published by Propeller Books on October 8. So in an eerie way the presence of an absent author pervades this novel just as it was for the republication of No-No Boy. It was an honor today to meet Ben’s widow, Adah, and twin daughters Grace and Zahra.

From the Propeller Booksd description: “Criminals follows the lives of a sister and brother, Ruth and Hank Tanazaki, as they struggle to free themselves from the weight of their parents’ generation in a small Japanese American community in Los Angeles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This poignant story of the double-edged nature of community—a force that supports the group, at cost to the individual—explores the possibilities and limits of seeking personal freedom through creativity. Masaoka’s dazzling, deeply-moving debut is also an eloquent addition to the canon of Asian American literature.”

The novel owes nothing to Ben’s uncle, who was indeed Mike Masaoka, the wartime leader of the Japanese American Citizens League and arguably the leading proponent of the model minority myth that Ben takes down. Now there is a study of family dynamics for some aspiring grad student to take on. Ben is the son of Akira Ike Masaoka, one of Mike’s three younger brothers.

Order the book here from Propeller Books.

book graphic

Teachers Guide for “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration”

Just in time for the annual conference this week of the National Council of Teachers of English in Boston, Penguin Random House Education has issued a new Teacher’s Guide to accompany our new Penguin Classics anthology of The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration. You can download it for free as a ten-page PDF.
Continue reading Teachers Guide for “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration”

Audiobook readers bring “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration” to life

painting of fire inside canvas enclosure with fists raised
The audiobook cover comes in q square format that reveals more detail to the right in the original painting by Disney artist Gene Sokioka, entitled “Political Fires of Disconten

Listen to the audiobook for The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration and I guarantee you will come away with an entirely fresh experience of the writings we’ve presented in our new Penguin Classics anthology. Order it here or ask your local public library to order it for you.
Continue reading Audiobook readers bring “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration” to life

Excavating Stories and Unearthing History in Fall 2024

The weather is turning, and it appears to be time to hit the road again starting this weekend, mostly to promote the new Penguin anthology but also to meet continuing interest in the graphic novel and camp resistance in general. Here’s the list as it stands today of in-person and virtual speaking events for this fall, including serving as headliner for the Densho annual fundraiser. Check the Events page for further updates.
Continue reading Excavating Stories and Unearthing History in Fall 2024

“The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration” published today as a Penguin Classic

cover of Penguin anthologyThe Literature of Japanese American Incarceration hits bookstore shelves today. You will finally be able to walk into a shop and buy a copy to take home. With their iconic black-and-white-and-orange covers, everyone has read or seen a Penguin Classic at some point in their lifetime. Whenever a character carries one in a movie, it’s a visual shorthand to signal the character is a scholar or book nerd. Continue reading “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration” published today as a Penguin Classic

Now online: the Fair Play Committee files from the National Archives

This year we observe the 80th anniversary of the trial of 63 members of the Fair Play Committee at Heart Mountain for draft resistance, and the subsequent trial of the FPC steering committee for conspiracy to counsel draft evasion. Now, thanks to six years of work by staff of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, we are able to view online the personal WRA files kept on those members of the largest organized resistance to incarceration, the story documented in our PBS film, Conscience and the Constitution. You can see the files by opening the box below:

Heart Mountain Draft Resisters


Continue reading Now online: the Fair Play Committee files from the National Archives

Audiobook and table of contents for Penguin anthology

fire circle with men silhouetted inside a canvas tent
The square artwork for the audiobook version of “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration.”

I could not believe there would be interest in an audiobook of our anthology of camp literature coming May 14, but as a Facebook friend pointed out, having a set of audio readings is not just entertainment for long road trips or jogging with earbuds, but an essential access for the visually impaired. Continue reading Audiobook and table of contents for Penguin anthology

Coming May 2024: The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration

Floyd Cheung and I are pleased to announce that our new anthology, The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration, will be published as a Penguin Classic on May 14, 2024. You can now pre-order the book from your neighborhood independent bookstore, or from one of these online sellers.
Continue reading Coming May 2024: The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration

Searching for families of these Issei writers

This is an appeal for anyone with leads on the families of Joji Nozawa, Kazuo Kawai, Hyakuissei Okamoto, Yoshio Abe, Iwao Kawakami, and other Issei writers whose work we plan to feature in a forthcoming anthology of camp literature [UPDATE: We’ve now heard from relatives of Nozawa and Kawakami].

blue cover of Tessaku magazine
A cover for Tessaku Magazine, in the collection of the Japanese American National Museum. Photo by Frank Abe.

Prof. Floyd Cheung and I have nearly completed the manuscript for The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration to be published by Penguin Classics in spring or fall 2024. The collection includes around 60 selections from Before Camp, The Camps, and After Camp. Continue reading Searching for families of these Issei writers