Drawing the Line
Poems by Lawson Fusao Inada

In "Drawing the Line", critically acclaimed poet Lawson Fusao Inada revisits his history as a Japanese American.

As World War II began, not only were Japanese Americans forced to sell their possessions so that they could be herded into internment camps, the young men were then drafted. But at Heart Mountain, a group of resisters drew the line - they refused to go into service until their families were released - and wound up in federal prison. The poem "Drawing the Line" is just one of the many experiences Inada contemplates in this heartfelt collection.In a section about Japanese American life, Inada pays tribute to his elders, and delights in the detail of the day-to-day. His affectionate ode to chopsticks recalls the humor and cosmic reach of Gary Snyder’s Smokey the Bear Sutra. Drawing the Line, winner of a 1997 Oregon Book Award, is a rich, varied collection of poems brimming with anger and hope, nourished by the wisdom of the past, and alive with the electricity of the moment.

In 1971, Lawson Fusao Inada’s Before the War became the first volume of poetry by an Asian American to be released by a New York publishing house. He has since edited two major Asian American anthologies. His last book, Legends from Camp, won an American Book Award and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning.

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