No-No Boy, John Okada's only published novel, centers on a Japanese American who refuses to fight for the country that incarcerated him and his people in World War II and, upon release from federal prison after the war, is cast out by his divided community. In 1957, the novel faced a similar rejection until it was rediscovered and reissued in 1976 to become a celebrated classic of American literature. As a result of Okada's untimely death at age forty-seven, the author's life and other works have remained obscure.
This compelling collection offers the first full-length examination of Okada's development as an artist, placing recently discovered writing by Okada alongside essays that reassess his lasting legacy. Meticulously researched biographical details, insight from friends and relatives, and a trove of intimate photographs illuminate Okada's early life in Seattle, military service, and careers as a public librarian and a technical writer in the aerospace industry. This volume is an essential companion to No-No Boy.

Frank Abe wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning PBS documentary Conscience and the Constitution, on the largest organized resistance to the incarceration of Japanese Americans. He is currently collaborating with the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle on a graphic novel dramatizing the resistance to wartime incarceration, and blogging at Resisters.com. He has been published in Frontiers of Asian American Studies, Amerasia Journal, The Bloomsbury Review, International Examiner, Nichi Bei Weekly, Rafu Shimpo, and Pacific Citizen.

Frank Abe's profile page

Greg Robinson is a professor of history at the Université du Québec À Montréal and the author of several books, including The Unsung Great: Stories of Extraordinary Japanese Americans (University of Washington Press, 2020), After Camp: Portraits in Midcentury Japanese American Life and Politics (University of California Press, 2012), and The Unknown Great: Japanese American Sketches (University Press of Colorado, 2016). He also co-edited (with Frank Abe and Floyd Cheung) John Okada: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy (University of Washington Press, 2018), which won the 2019 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.

Greg Robinson's profile page

Floyd Cheung is a professor of English language & literature and American studies at Smith College. He has edited and co-edited several books, including Holy Prayers in a Horse's Ear (Rutgers University Press, 2008) and Recovered Legacies: Authority and Identity in Early Asian American Literature (Temple University Press, 2005), and his essays have been published in The Cambridge History of Asian American Literature, Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies 2, and the Journal of American Culture.

Floyd Cheung's profile page

"Thanks to the recent publication of a collection of previously unknown writings by Okada (John Okada: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy), readers are in a better position to understand how these themes were embedded in the author's life. Revisiting No-No Boy alongside the recent collection offers a valuable opportunity to connect the legacies of wartime incarceration with current struggles against a state that seems intent on repeating the injustices of the past."

Los Angeles Review of Books

"Combining an extensive biographical treatment of Okada (1923–71), recovered works by Okada, and critical essays, John Okada offers an innovative introduction to the Japanese American author. . . . Recommended."

Choice

"This is a strong compilation, mixing Okada's writing with copious analysis of it, and telling a story of his life that both echoes and informs his best-known work."

Foreword Reviews