The Los Angeles launch of “John Okada: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy” will be held on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo.
John Okada’s only published work, “No-No Boy,” is about a Japanese American who refuses to fight for the country that incarcerated him and his people during World War II. Released in 1957, the novel languished in obscurity until it was rediscovered and reissued in 1976 to become a celebrated classic of American literature.
Frank Abe, a journalist and producer of the PBS documentary “Conscience and the Constitution,” and Greg Robinson, professor of history at Université du Québec a Montréal, edited the book with Floyd Cheung and will be on hand to discuss the first full-length examination of Okada’s development as a writer.
Moderating the discussion will be Brian Niiya, content director of Densho.org, an organization whose mission s to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II.
Book-signing to follow. The book is available at the JANM Store.
This program is free, but RSVPs are recommended. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.