World Literatures in English; Course 2000
    Joy Kogawa
    Obasan
    Pin-chia Feng and Kate Liu

    Image Source: Joy Kogawa page
     

      Related Links 

    		   Kogawa: Bio and Work 

      Interview with Kogawa 

      Obasan: Chronology and Time Line 

    Obasan:  Characters 

    Obasan: Central Issues 

    • Examples of Racism
    • Imagery: Stone (and Silence), etc. 
    • Gender and Japanese Immigrant Identities 
    • Silence  
    • Memory and Different Attitudes towards the past 
    • The Children's Fragmentary Identities: Stephen, Naomi and the other boys 
    • Survival 
    • Articulating the Silence and Survival

      Obasan:  Characters: 
           Larger Image


       Joy Kogawa--Biographical Sketch and Work

        -- born in Vancouver, B.C. in 1935
        -- relocated to Slocan and Coaldale, Alberta during and after WWII

        Selected Publications:
        Obasan. 1983.
        Woman in the Woods. 1985.
        Naomi's Road. 1986.
        Itsuka. 1993.
        The Rain Ascends. 1995.
         


      Related Links:
        General
      • Joy Kogawa --photo and list of work
      • Biography of Joy Kogawa
      • Joy Kogawa: Bibliography
      • Joy Kogawa: a photo of Kogawa, a brief biography, a list of texts written by Kogawa and a list of writings about Kogawa

        • Interview: Author on journey of self-discovery

        Obasan

      • Joy Kogawa, Obasan (1981)


      Bibliography:

        Harris, Mason. "Broken Generations in 'Obasan': Inner Conflict and the Destruction of Community." Canadian Literature 27(1990): 41-57.
        Fujita, Gayle K. "'To Attend the Sound of Stone': The Sensibility of Silence in Obasan." MELUS 12(1985): 33-
        Cheung, King-Kok. Articulate Silences: Hisaye Yamamoto, Maxine Hong Kingston, Joy Kogawa. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1993.
        Chen, Davina Te-Min. "Naomi's Liberation." Critical Mass 2.1(1994): 99-128.