Lawrence Matsuda
Lawrence Matsuda released a new book of poetry, “Shape Shifter: A Minidoka Concentration Camp Legacy.” Autographed copies can exclusively be found at Kobo Seattle in the International District or on their website.
“Shape Shifter” expresses the reverberating trauma of the Matsuda family’s imprisonment in the Minidoka Concentration Camp during WWII.
The family was among 120,000 Japanese Americans who, without due process and not committing a single crime, were forced by our government into U.S. concentration camps at the hands of U.S. soldiers armed with bayonets.
Matsuda was born in Minidoka and has written three books of poetry, a fourth in collaboration with Tess Gallagher, and a graphic novel about the WWII Japanese American 442 Regimental Combat Team. Animated sections of the novel won regional Emmys in 2015 and 2016.