(left: David R. Godine, 1982 U.S. ed.; right: sealed cassettes; illustration: Rita Grasso, design: Joy Chu; 2000 Goose Lane/CBC)
Born in Vancouver, Joy (Nozomi) Kogawa (1936-) was interned and persecuted like many other Japanese-Canadians in WWII. She has been a poet, school teacher, and writer for the PM’s office (1974). She now divides her time between Vancouver and Toronto. Kogawa was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2006 and was given the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government in 2010. Her childhood home is in the process of being saved by the Land Conservancy of BC. Kogawa’s best book remains Obasan (1981).