what to do
make list
notice what is not noticed
especially the creamy horsey
brown sugary people the cheesy
floury trees the walnut sky
the beanstalk growing
fast as thought
through the fontanel of
the baby as she scans
her mother for her eyes
which are fixed on her phone
notice the voracious hunger
in the baby and her giving up
and becoming a zombie here’s
what to do talk
to the mom tell her
this whole generation is
growing up in the first world
starving for connection
tell her the baby is
dying
♦
Joy Kogawa was born in Vancouver in 1935 to Japanese-Canadian parents. During WWII, Kogawa and her family were forced to move to Slocan, British Columbia, an injustice she addresses in her 1981 novel, Obasan, one of the handful of Canadian novels that have become essential reading for a nation. Interned with her Japanese-Canadian family during WW2, Kogawa has worked tirelessly to educate and help redress a dark moment in our history. Her most recent book is the memoir, Gently to Nagasaki (Caitlin Press, 2016).
In 1986, Kogawa was made a Member of the Order of Canada; in 2006, she was made a Member of the Order of British Columbia. In 2010, the Japanese government honored Kogawa with the Order of the Rising Sun “for her contribution to the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history.
♦♦♦
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