Drawing the Line

Inada hip hops from Buddhism to Soul, the mountains to jazz, concentration camps to Charlie Parker.

As World War Two began, not only were Japanese American herded into internment camps, the young men were then drafted. But at Heart Mountain, a group of resisters drew the line—they refused to comply, on constitutional grounds—and wound up in federal prison. As the author contemplates a simple line drawing of the Heart Mountain camp, he revisits this moment of history with pain, pride, and thoughtful historical perspective.

In a section about Japanese American life, Inada pays tribute to his elders, and delights in the detail of the day-to-day. His love for the landscape of Oregon is realized in poems that smell of pine and sparkle like a mountain stream. This is a rich, varied collection of poems brimming with hope, nourished by the wisdom of the past, alive with the electricity of the moment.

Lawson Fusao Inada is an emeritus professor of writing at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. Inada is the author of five books: Legends from Camp, Drawing the Line, In This Great Land of Freedom, Just Into/Nations and Before the War. He is the editor of three important volumes, including the acclaimed Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese-American Internment Experience. On two previous occasions, in 1972 and 1985, Professor Inada won Poetry Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and his work has appeared in The Best American Poetry.

In addition to these individual publications, Inada has written critical introductions to a number of works, such as John Okada’s No-No Boy.