SHOWCASE OF JAPANESE CANADIAN WRITERS - This will the first of 2 sessions highlighting Japanese Canadian writers and playwrights. Two writers, Mark Sakamoto (tentative), author of his novel Forgiveness and Sally Ito. author of The Emperor’s Orphans will introduce their family stories, give a reading and answer questions from the viewers.
Family Stories
Mark Sakamoto – author of Forgiveness
Winner of CBC Canada Reads and a #1 Best Seller
During the Second World War Ralph MacLean left Magdalen Island in Eastern Canada volunteered to join the army. In Vancouver Mitsue Sakamoto saw her family uprooted and sent to Medicine Hat, Alberta. Mark reveals how their stories intertwined as his grandparents faced the challenges of the time.A lawyer by training, Mark Sakamoto has enjoyed a rich and varied career. He began by promoting live music, touring with several international acts. Mark has since worked at a national broadcaster and served as a senior political advisor in Ottawa. He is now the executive vice president of Think Research. Sakamoto lives in Toronto with his wife and their two daughters.
Sally Ito - author of The Emperor’s Orphans
Sally Ito was born in Taber, Alberta in 1964 and raised in Edmonton and the Northwest Territories. She studied at the University of British Columbia and completed an M.A. at the University of Alberta. She translated Japanese poetry while on scholarship to Japan. Ito taught at The King’s University College in Edmonton, Alberta but now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her family memoir, The Emperor’s Orphans, was published by Turnstone Press.
During the Second World War, approximately 4,000 Japanese-Canadians were “repatriated” to Japan. Among those Canadians sent back to were members of author and poet, Sally Ito’s family. Later as a wife and mother of two, Sally returns to Japan and re-lives the displacement of her family through interviews, letters, and shared memories. Throughout her journey Ito weaves a compelling narrative of her family’s journey through the darkest days of the Pacific War, its devastating aftermath, and the repercussions on cultural identity for all the Emperor’s Orphans.
Moderator: Art Miki with Q & A to follow
Technical support: Kelly Kaita
Join Zoom at 7 pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85079748390?pwd=Sk9RbTJZQnJEYmNmaS83QmNUbmoxdz09
Meeting ID: 850 7974 8390
Passcode: 238401