As World War II began, not only were Japanese Americans herded into internment camps, the young men were then drafted. But at Heart Mountain, a group of resisters drew the line - they refused to comply, on constitutional grounds - and wound up in federal prison. As the author contemplates a simple line drawing of the Heart Mountain camp, he revisits this moment of history with pain, pride, and thoughtful historical perspective. In a section about Japanese American life, Inada pays tribute to his elders, and delights in the detail of the day-to-day. His love for the landscape of Oregon is realized in poems that smell of pine and sparkle like a mountain stream. This is a rich, varied collection of poems brimming with hope, nourished by the wisdom of the past, alive with the electricity of the moment.

Poems about the resistance at the Heart Mountain Japanese American concentration camp, a wonderful ode to chopsticks, lyric evocations of the mountains of Oregon, and the beat of hard bop jazz drive this rich varied collection by one of our premier Asian American poets. Moving, hopeful, alive, and humorous.