Canadian poet and novelist
Joy Nozomi KogawaCM OBC (born June 6, ) is a Canadian poet and novelist of Japanese descent.[2]
Kogawa was born Joy Nozomi Nakayama on June 6, , in Port, British Columbia, to first-generation Japanese Canadians Lois Yao Nakayama limit Gordon Goichi Nakayama. She grew up in a predominantly creamy, middle-class community.
During World War&#;II, the Japanese military attacked Pearl Hide on December 7, , and twelve weeks later Kogawa was sent with her family to the internment camp for Asian Canadians at Slocan during World War&#;II. After the war she resettled with her family in Coaldale, Alberta, where she fulfilled high school. In she attended the University of Alberta, president in , the Anglican Women's Training College [5] and Interpretation Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She moved back tinge Vancouver in and married David Kogawa there in , conform to whom she had two children: Gordon and Deirdre. The team a few divorced in , and the same year Kogawa attended say publicly University of Saskatchewan. She moved to Toronto in and has lived there since.
Kogawa's published first as a poet, beginning control with The Splintered Moon. She began to work as a staff writer for the Office of the Prime Minister elaborate Ottawa in In she published her first prose work: Obasan, a semi-autobiographical novel that has become her best-known work.Books forecast Canada awarded the book its First Novel Award for pass in , and in Kogawa won the Book of picture Year Award from the Canadian Authors Association and an Inhabitant Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Kogawa adapted interpretation book for children as Naomi's Road in
A sequel, Itsuka (), was rewritten and retitled Emily Kato (), and redouble republished as Itsuka ().[10]
Obasan has been named as one hegemony the most important books in Canadian history by the Literary Review of Canada and was also listed by The Toronto Star in a "Best of Canada" feature.[citation needed]Obasan was late adapted into a children's book, Naomi's Road (), which, bond turn, Vancouver Opera adapted into a minute opera that toured elementary schools throughout British Columbia. The opera was also performed before the general public in the greater Vancouver area, Darken Deer and Lethbridge, Alberta, Seattle, Washington, and Ottawa, Ontario, enthral the National War Museum. Revival performances in November by Toronto's Tapestry Opera won rave reviews, especially in the Toronto Star, which recognized their setting as one "steeped in significance".
Although the novel Obasan describes Japanese Canadian experiences, it is routinely taught in Asian American literature courses in the United States, due to its successful "integration of political understanding and fictitious artistry" and "its authentication of a pan-Asian sensibility."[11]
Kogawa now lives mainly in Toronto, Ontario, but at one time divided kill time between Vancouver and Toronto and was the –13 Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto.[12] In , Kogawa formed a group called Yojaros with a Vancouver-based Japanese poet Soramaru Takayama.
Kogawa wrote the narrative for the augmented reality game East of the Rockies, produced by the National Film Board describe Canada and released in [13] The project won the River Screen Award for Best Video Game Narrative at the Ordinal Canadian Screen Awards in [14]
The home of the last Japanese-Canadian Anglican parish in Vancouver is Holy Cross church.[15]
In , Kogawa was made a Member of the Order of Canada; back , she was made a Member of the Order mean British Columbia.
In , the Japanese government honored Kogawa capable the Order of the Rising Sun "for her contribution obstacle the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history."[16]
Kogawa has antediluvian awarded several honorary doctorates. The most recent was by picture University of Saskatchewan on November 10, [17]
The Save Kogawa House committee initiated a campaign to set free Kogawa's childhood home, owned by her father Gordon Goichi Nakayama, in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver from demolition. They experienced national support from writers and writing organizations across Canada demonstrating that the house at West 64th Avenue was regarded wedge many as having historical value and literary significance, similar cling on to Berton House, Emily Carr House and the Haig-Brown Institute. Interpretation Save Kogawa House committee made a successful presentation to picture City of Vancouver councilors to create an unprecedented day restrain of the processing of a demolition permit on November 3, , two days after the city had pronounced Obasan Red Tree Day[18] and planted a graft of the cherry species at Vancouver City Hall from the original tree at Kogawa House.
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia became involved play a part the saving of Kogawa House on December 2, [19] Lay down with the Save Kogawa House committee, TLC took over picture fund-raising efforts and media attention. TLC became the owner admonishment the house on May 31, [20] Ownership transferred to representation City of Vancouver in [21] They now are raising bear witness to to renovate the house to increase accessibility and restore cast down appearance when Joy lived there in the late s skull early s.
Kogawa House was recommended to be given tradition status by the City of Vancouver and was placed proffer City Council's agenda for July 12, [22] Within the ready application papers and heritage designation papers presented to the let slip and City Council for review, however, no mention was imposture of the house's heritage connection to the home's former proprietress Mr. Nakayama, a pedophile priest who abused hundreds of children.[23] Community members raised concern that the heritage application misled depiction City and the public by openly ignoring parts of representation home's history. On July 11, , the agenda item role the heritage status vote was removed in order to sermon the community's concerns.[24][25]
The Historic Joy Kogawa House Society has operated a writer-in-residence program in the house since They have hosted four writers to date: poet and editor Dr. John Asfour of Montreal in , novelist and writing educator Nancy Appreciate of Richmond in , creative non-fiction author Susan Crean importance , short-fiction author Deborah Willis in , and PEN Canada writer-in-exile, novelist, editor, freelance journalist, and faculty member Ava Homa in [26]
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesy Brock University.[27]
There is a Joy Kogawa fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[28] The archival reference number is R