Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Infobox writer


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name = Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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birthdate = 1934
birthplace = Inglewood, California
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notableworks = "Farewell to Manzanar"
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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston is an American writer. Her writings are mostly focused on the ethnic diversity of the United States. She is best known for her autobiographical novel "Farewell to Manzanar" which details her own experiences as a Japanese American in the World War II internment camps.

Biography

She was born in Inglewood, California in 1934 and graduated from San Jose State University.cite web | title = Discover Nikkei: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston | url = http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/index.php/Jeanne_Wakatsuki_Houston | publisher = DiscoverNikkei.org | date = 2007-01-09 | accessdate = 2008-01-12]

"Farewell to Manzanar"

In her autobiographical novel "Farewell to Manzanar" (1973), Houston writes about her family's experiences at Manzanar, a internment camp in California's Owens Valley where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II.cite book | author = Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki | title = Farewell To Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment | publisher = Laurel Leaf | year = 1973, 1983 | id = ISBN 0-553272-58-6] The novel was adapted in to a television movie in 1976, starring Nobu McCarthy, who portrayed both Houston as well as her mother in the film.cite web | title = Farewell to Manzanar (1976) (TV) | publisher = National Broadcasting Corporation | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074518 | accessdate = 2008-01-12]

In an effort to educate Californians about the experiences of Japanese Americans who were imprisoned during World War II, the book and the movie were distributed in 2002 as a part of kit to approximately 8,500 public elementary and secondary schools and 1,500 public libraries in California. The kit also included study guides tailored to the book, and a video teaching guide.cite press release | title = Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante Announces Distribution of 10,000 "Farewell to Manzanar" Educational Kits to Public Schools and Libraries | url = http://digitalarchive.oclc.org/da/ViewObjectMain.jsp;jsessionid=84ae0c5f82402c3a522bf66b4c42a589ac58b4613d15?fileid=0000045760:000002182803&reqid=26305 | author = Pacyna, Deborah | publisher = Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Califonia | date = 2002-02-19 | accessdate = 2008-01-12]

Other publications include "Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder" (1984) with Paul G. Hensler as a co-author, and "Beyond Manzanar and Other Views of Asian-American Womanhood" (1985).

See also

*List of Asian American writers
* Japanese American internment

References

Critical studies

#"National and Ethnic Affiliation in Internment Autobiographies of Childhood by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and George Takei" By: Davis, Rocío G.; "Amerikastudien/American Studies", 2006; 51 (3): 355-68. (journal article)
#"'But Isn't This the Land of the Free?': Resistance and Discovery in Student Responses to "Farewell to Manzanar" By: Chappell, Virginia A.. pp. 172-88 IN: Severino, Carol (ed. and introd.); Guerra, Juan C. (ed. and introd.); Butler, Johnnella E. (ed. and introd.); "Writing in Multicultural Settings". New York, NY: Modern Language Association of America; 1997. xi, 370 pp. (book article)
#"The Politics of Possession: The Negotiation of Identity in American in "Disguise", "Homebase", and "Farewell to Manzanar" By: Sakurai, Patricia A.. pp. 157-70 IN: Okihiro, Gary Y. (ed. & introd.); Alquizola, Marilyn (ed.); Rony, Dorothy Fujita (ed.); Wong, K. Scott (ed.); "Privileging Positions: The Sites of Asian American Studies". Pullman: Washington State UP; 1995. xiii, 448 pp. (book article)
#"The Politics of Possession: Negotiating Identities in American in "Disguise", "Homebase", and "Farewell to Manzanar" By: Sakurai, Patricia A.; "Hitting Critical Mass: A Journal of Asian American Cultural Criticism", 1993 Fall; 1 (1): 39-56. (journal article)

External links

* [http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/389/cassarino.html College of Staten Island Library]