Joy Kogawa

Canadian author

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June 30, 2026

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Joy Kogawa is a Canadian author known for her novel Obasan (1981). This work is described as a skillful "docufiction" that recounts the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Kogawa's writing contributes to the diverse voices within Canadian literature, exploring themes of history and identity.1

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Canadian literature
Fiction
Joy Kogawa’s Obasan (1981) is a skillful “docufiction” describing the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II; in Chorus of Mushrooms (1994), Hiromi Goto examines the relations between three generations of women in rural Alberta. Chinese Canadian perspectives are presented in Choy’s The Jade…
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Joy Kogawa’s Obasan (1981) is a skillful “docufiction” describing the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II; in Chorus of Mushrooms (1994), Hiromi Goto examines the relations between three generations of women in rural Alberta. Chinese Canadian perspectives are presented in Choy’s The Jade…
Read More