The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration

“An indispensable, important anthology, edited with heart and sharp insight. This should be on the bookshelf of every American who loves the Constitution, and who is willing to fight to defend it.” —Rachel Maddow

“An essential volume…Although there have been many books written on the history of incarceration, few have captured the kind of emotional detail that comes through in the largely first-person accounts collected by Abe and Cheung. Their selections paint a complicated picture, convening hopeful, patriotic idealists, righteous firebrands, and downtrodden cynics.” —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker

“The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration, will undoubtedly serve as a seminal text for generations of students learning about the United States government’s incarceration of 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.” —Paul Constant, The Seattle Times

“Here, we see why The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration is so essential, because it serves as a flashpoint of resistance, and of righteous rage. It does that by recentering the story of the camps through the lens of stories—testament and testimony, all these voices adding up to a narrative collage.” —David L. Ulin, Alta

“Meticulously compiled and edited in chronological order (…) The impressive breadth of this searing collection makes it suitable for high-school reading and research. —Terry Hong, Booklist

“This anthology is bound by the shared voice of the Japanese American community – however stratified – telling the story of historical oppression and both the collective and personal means of resistance.” —Ana Tanaka, International Examiner

“A look at a dark chapter in American history…this book is a Penguin Classic…these are meant to be read for generations.” —Scott Tong, NPR

Frank Abe is co-author of the graphic novel We Hereby Refuse and the American Book Award-winning John Okada- The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy, and creator of the award-winning PBS documentary, Conscience and the Constitution.

Floyd Cheung is a professor of English at Smith College. He has edited several books including the Penguin Classics edition of H.T. Tsiang’s The Hanging on Union Square, and is co-editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Asian American Literature and Culture, and John Okada- The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy.

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