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Open Books Open Minds - When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

The RIC Open Books--Open Minds common book for 2011/2012.

When the Emperor Was Divine

Interviews with Julie Otsuka

Julie Otsuka Interviewed by Andrew Duncan on IndieBound

What made you choose Japanese-American internment camps as the subject matter for your first novel?
I feel like the subject matter chose me. I had never planned to write a novel about the camps -- too daunting, subject-matter-wise, and who was I to tell this particular story anyway? Would anyone even want to hear about the camps? But images of the war seemed to keep surfacing in my work, so clearly the camps were something I needed to write about.  read more


"Simmering Perfection" by William Nakayama on Goldsea.com

Every first novelist daydreams of having the editors at a prestigious literary house fall in love with the manuscript over a weekend and call Monday with a handsome offer. Julie Otsuka may be the exception.   read more


Densho archive interview (free guest registration required)
http://archive.densho.org/Core/SegmentsByInterview.aspx?id=234

Bibliography


This is a bibliography of library materials about the Japanese American Evacuation and Internment that were on exhibit in the Adams Library lobby, August-September 2011.