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Lectures & Discussions
Manzanar Rites
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Lectures & Discussions
Manzanar Rites
Author William Hohri will read from his third book and his first novel, Manzanar Rites. He tells the story of different rites of passage for the inmates of the euphemized "Manzanar War Relocation Center." Nisei adolescents discover what sexual attraction is. They stumble from wishing to be white to defining what they can reasonably achieve. An older Nisei turns informant and is later beaten up. Issei organize to contact the Spanish embassy to negotiate their right to decent food. On the eve of the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the actions merge to a confrontation with the camp's administration that results in death and detention within detention.