Camp Notes and Other Poems

by Mitsuye Yamada

poetry by the author of DESERT RUN

Genres: Poetry

62 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1992

About the author

Mitsuye Yamada is a Japanese American activist, feminist, essayist, poet, story writer, editor, and former professor of English.. Much of Yamada's work draws on the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Reviews

[Shelby Rolen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The white man really needs to get some help.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I had packed up
my wounds in a cast
iron box
sealed it
labeled it
do not open…
ever…”


dedicated to “all sansei and yonsei who keep us alive” 😭🌟

::

So beautiful and so urgent,, writings from a camp survivor, an Asian Americanist, a feminist, a poet

Sad that the edition I read didn’t have all the beautiful drawings in the original but lovely as always

[el · Rating 3 out of 5]

"To The Lady

The one in San Francisco who asked
Why did the Japanese Americans let
the government put them in
those camps without protest?
...
YOU let'm
I let'm
All are punished."

"Here

I was always
a starting person
like sprouts and shoots
or a part person
like slices and slivers
which is why
neighbor boys called out
MIT SUEY CHOP SUEY."

"MODELS

..
We arrived in hard skulls
and entered a skeletal sconce
which became our home.
Now we live here
willingly."

[Shirley Kamada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitsuye Yamada’s CAMP NOTES AND OTHER POEMS is unflinchingly genuine. The text, unvarnished, goes straight to her meaning. Ms. Yamada writes beautifully. Her skill in word choice excels; no detail is to be missed. First published in 1992, this book retains its full power today.

Published by Rutgers University Press, 1998

[Andria · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the Camp Notes section, high 4 for the rest. I’m so glad I stumbled on this book at my Airbnb!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems in this book are written from the perspective of a young girl who is uprooted; raised in Seattle, Washington until the outbreak of WW ll, then being sent to a camp in Idaho with her family. Mitsuye Yamada takes you into the camp and shows you what it is like to be 'othered' by a society you thought you were part of. Powerful and insightful - haunting and inspired.

[Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and chilling poetry.

Quick read that should be taken slow.