Farewell to Manzanar City-Wide Reading Project

Curing February and early March of 2012 the South Pasadena Public Library will be engaging the community in reading and discussing the novel "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston as part of Cal Humanities California Reads project subtitled Searching for Democracy. The California Center for the Book has provided 50 copies available for checkout from the Library. 
A touching, funny, and tragic memoir of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, "Farewell to Manzanar" reminds us of a shameful chapter in the history of our state and our country. The book is a riveting first person telling of a cataclysmic time for Japanese Americans, who were imprisoned in their own land while being urged to send their sons to fight overseas. It honors the great dignity and tremendous resourcefulness of a people forced to live under the most oppressive of circumstances. The story is a poignant reminder that in moments of national crisis our civil rights can be at most risk. "Farewell to Manzanar" is a brisk read that lends itself well to lively discussions to examine the meaning of American democracy.

In-person book discussion led by Jeanne HoustonThursday, March 1 at 7 p.m.

Screening of the "Farewell to Manzanar" full-length film, with an introduction and a Q&A by Jeanne HoustonFriday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

Both programs are free.