Full Description
With Evacuations, Kevin Irie weaves a poetic documentary for readers, capturing the personal and political histories of the Japanese-Canadian internment in British Columbia during World War II. The resulting poems oscillate between the lyric mode and techniques of erasure poetry to highlight the dehumanizing nature of public decrees and government notices. Irie deconstructs the Canadian state's racist policies, creating a record of painful memories replete with archival resonances. The collection offers a rich tapestry of historical voices, revealing the devastating effects of the internment and preserving the stories of a generation gradually slipping into silence.
Contents
On Reading Joy Kogawa
I. Of the White Man's Well Being
What I Remember (Hearing) of the Evacuation
Mottainai
Of the White Man's Well Being
Of the Workers at The Great Northern Cannery, West Vancouver
Flounders
Low Tide Under The Great Northern Cannery
The Higher the Boat... (An Alzheimer Elegy)
Family Stories: A Powell Street Kitchen
Sandy Cove Haiku, West Vancouver, 1938
Victory Bonds for Interned Japanese-Canadians
TO MALE ENEMY ALIENS
NOTICE TO ALL PERSONS OF JAPANESE RACIAL ORIGIN
Pre-War Photos
Seizure Cento / Voice and Echo
Chattels for Interned Japanese-Canadians
Baggage for Interned Japanese-Canadians
FINAL EVACUATION REGISTRATION
Of All Persons of Japanese Origin
Tashme
Butterbur for Interned Japanese-Canadians
Coltsfoot for Interned Japanese-Canadians (Yellow Peril)
Common Burdock for Interned Japanese-Canadians
Fiddleheads for Interned Japanese-Canadians
Internment Camp, The Communal Bath House
The Autograph Book, New Denver, Summer 1943
Duckface (From an Internment School Photo)
Of the Japanese-Canadians Who Built the Trans Canada Highway
A Carving from Solsqua Road Camp, 1942
On Asking Why Japanese-Canadian Internees Never Tried to Escape
To All Persons of Japanese Racial Origin Now Resident in British Columbia
In Late 1946 Popoff Was Dismantled (13 Ways of Looking at an Internment)
East of the Rockies
Owned
II. After
R.C.M.P. File #10349 (Sonnet for A Grandmother)
Of the Internees Who Stayed In New Denver, BC
Post-War Photo: A Funeral in The Rockies
The Internet Is Our Photo Album
Donald Trump Has Asian Eyes
Departing for Pearson Airport
Post Script: A Japanese-Canadian History Map
Notes
Acknowledgments
