Autorentext

Kevin Irie is a Japanese-Canadian poet whose works have been translated into Spanish, French, and Japanese. In 2024, he won Grain Magazine's poetry contest, took second prize in Prairie Fire's poetry contest, third prize in The New Quarterly's poetry contest, and had Honourable Mention in Grain's 2024 Hybrid Contest for Experimental Writing. His book, Viewing Tom Thomson: A Minority Report, was a finalist for the Acorn-Plantos People's Poetry Award and the Toronto Book Award. The Tantramar Re-Vision was picked by the CBC as one of their Spring Poetry Books in 2021. He is in The Gate of Memory: Poems by Descendants of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration (2025) and Best Canadian Poetry 2026 (2025). He lives in Toronto.

Klappentext

With Evacuations, Kevin Irie weaves a poetic documentary for readers, capturing the personal and political histories of the Japanese-Canadian internment in British Columbia during World War II. The collection offers a rich tapestry of historical voices, revealing the devastating effects of the internment and preserving the stories of a generation gradually slipping into silence. The poems oscillate between the lyric mode and techniques of erasure poetry to highlight the dehumanizing nature of public decrees and government notices. Irie presents a history of the Canadian state's racist policies, creating a record of painful memories replete with archival resonances. This collection will be of particular interest to readers in British Columbia and Alberta, to individuals with Japanese heritage, and all those interested in knowing more about the history of internment in North America.