As part of the inaugural One Book\, One Co ast events happening in library communities up and down Washington State\, Oregon\, and California\, Brandon Shimoda will share and discuss his Colo rado Book Award winning title\, The Afterlife Is Letting Go.
\ nChosen as one of Booklist's "Top Ten History Books of the Year\," The Afterlife Is Letting Go has been called "a stirring\, trenchant\, and necessary work." \;In a series of reflective\, multi-layered\, so metimes multi-voiced essays\, poet Brandon Shimoda explores the &ldquo\;af terlife&rdquo\; of the U.S. government&rsquo\;s forced removal and mass in carceration of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans during WWII\, ex cavating the ways these events continue to resonate today. What emerges is a panoramic\, yet intimate portrait of intergenerational trauma and heali ng.
\nInformed by personal/familial history\, years of research and travel\, including visits to museums\, memorials and the ruins of incarcer ation sites\, these essays take us on both a physical and a metaphysical j ourney. What becomes increasingly clear are the infinite connections betwe en the treatment of Japanese Americans and other forms of oppression\, cri minalization\, dispossession\, and state violence enacted by the United St ates\, past\, present\, and ongoing.
\nThis event is presented in pa rtnership with Asians for Collective Lib eration Spokane\, who are "building \;a world of collective libera tion where 
Asians and Asian Americans can live in a community †¨of well-being\, safety\, and belonging."
\nAbout the presenter: Br andon Shimoda is a 2020 Whiting Fellow\, and the author of books of poetry and prose\, including \;The Afterlife is Letting Go \;(w ith City Lights\, 2024)\, Hydra Medusa (Nightboat Books\, 2023)\, The Grave on the Wall (City Lights\, 2019)\, which received the PEN Open Book Award\, and Evening Oracle (Letter Machine Editions \, 2015)\, which received the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetr y Society of America. He is also the co-editor of To look at the sea i s to become what one is: An Etel Adnan Reader (Nightboat Books\, 2014 ) and an anthology of poetry on WWII Nikkei incarceration. He currently li ves in Colorado Springs and teaches at Colorado College.
\nYou can l earn about the O ne Book\, One Coast program here. The inaugural selection is George Ta kei's graphic memoir\, They Called Us Enemy\, which is thematical ly linked to Brandon Shimoda's work.
\nBy attending library programs \, you are agreeing to potentially appear in photos/videos taken at our lo cations that may be used in promotional materials including social media.< /p>\n
We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistance\, ASL requests\, or other ADA inquiries)\, email sday@spokanelibrary.org.
\nFor all event inf ormation inquiries\, email telref@spokanelibrary.org or call 509-444-5300.
\nhttps://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/16149156 URL;VALUE=URI:https://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/16149156 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR