Leeward Book Club: *When the Emperor Was Divine* by Julie Otsuka by Kelly Kennedy https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23 Click the plus + button under a column to post your questions, comments, reflections, or resources related to When the Emperor Was Divine. en-us 2022-01-16 01:52:45 UTC 2023-03-09 21:27:46 UTC hello@padlet.com In the news mcclanah https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2446111649 Award-winning author Julie Otsuka responds to the Muskego, Wisconsin, school board's decision to ban When the Emperor Was Divine from their high school English curriculum: “I’m deeply disappointed by the school board’s decision, but also heartened by all the parents and students in Muskego who came out in opposition to the ban. To see a community rally around a book because they believe the truth must be told — that gives me hope. Especially now, when, with each passing day, more and more survivors of the camps are leaving us behind. Given the level of hatred that Asian Americans are experiencing in this current moment, it is more important than ever that students learn about our country’s racist past, and that the legacy of the Japanese American incarceration not be forgotten.”
Read more at https://densho.org/catalyst/hey-muskego-norway-school-board-your-white-fragility-is-showing/
]]> 2023-01-16 22:46:38 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2446111649 1943 U.S. Gov. Film on Forced Relocation https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2454140151 In 1943 the U.S. Government produced this documentary to explain/justify its forced relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII.  Note the use of euphemisms to describe the incarceration, similar to those communicated in Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine.]]> 2023-01-24 03:24:58 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2454140151 Lack of Names https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2454143319 Why are none of the major characters in When the Emperor Was Divine identified by name? What might be some reasons for this? What are some of the effects?]]> 2023-01-24 03:29:50 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2454143319 jasonty https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2455518929 Recent young adult fiction graphic novel (2020).

Leeward Library has George Takei's graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy (2019). Print and digital copies available.]]> 2023-01-25 01:07:53 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2455518929 jasonty https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2455520358 Recent picture book (2022).

From the Author's (Tokuda-Hall) Note:
"As much as I would hope this would be a story of a distant past, it is not....Hate is not a virus; it is an American tradition."]]> 2023-01-25 01:10:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2455520358 "Here's Where It Gets Interesting" Podcast with Sharon McMahon: "Resilience" Series lilianbr2 https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2462126299 "America's Government Teacher," Sharon McMahon (IG: @sharonsaysso) hosted a 15-episode podcast series called "Resilience" that you all might enjoy listening to and learning from. This link to her website offers streaming options as well as brief descriptions for each episode in the series: https://www.sharonmcmahon.com/blog/asian-immigration-and-the-american-west-coast]]> 2023-01-30 21:37:07 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2462126299 Julie Otsuka on Fresh Air kelsieag https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2468104963 Sharing that NPR's Fresh Air just re-aired an interview with Julie Otsuka.]]> 2023-02-03 20:58:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2468104963 Animals As Symbols https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2468134989 Animals appear prominently in Julie Otsuka's novel, When the Emperor Was Divine--animals as various as White Dog, the bird that the anonymous woman frees from its birdcage, and the tortoise that the son keeps in a box in the Topaz concentration camp. But what might these animals symbolize, and what do you think Otsuka is trying to communicate through their use?]]> 2023-02-03 21:52:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2468134989 Symbols of Freedom https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2484789010 Freedom is an important theme in Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine.  What symbols does Otsuka use to communicate freedom in her novel? What what point or commentary about freedom do you think Otsuka is attempting to make through her choice of symbols?]]> 2023-02-16 10:32:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2484789010 Nikkei Incarcerees Remembered in Sacred Book of Names https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2487901352 2023-02-20 02:00:07 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2487901352 Statement from President Biden on Day of Remembrance https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2488063671 2023-02-20 05:41:28 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2488063671 Names of Incarcerees Memorialized in Ireichō https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2489020544 After a long and laborious process, the names of all 125,321 Nikkei incarcerees have finally been documented and captured in a sacred book of names known as the Ireichō.  An online link is embedded in this page to allow individuals to search for the names of former incarcerees.]]> 2023-02-21 01:05:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2489020544 Poets behind Barbed Wire. A Tanka from Sojin Takei eileens https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2494396375 “Fifty and more 
Of us prisoners gather here
To burn incense
On an empty sardine can
For the repose of a departed soul.
Sojin Takei


]]> 2023-02-24 21:52:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2494396375 Campu: Podcast https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2497115919 2023-02-27 22:39:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2497115919 Captive on the U.S. Mainland: Oral Histories of Hawai‘i-born Nisei https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2497117221 2023-02-27 22:41:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mcclanah/bookclubspring23/wish/2497117221