Title: Imperfect Circles
Author: Sarah A. Suzuki
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1492289852
Pages: 460, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Author Interview with Sarah A. Suzuki
Author Interview with Sarah A. Suzuki
Title: Imperfect Circles
Author: Sarah A. Suzuki
Interviewed by: Kimberlee Hicks, Pacific Book Review
Today we’re talking with Sarah A. Suzuki, author of Imperfect Circles.
1. PBR: Some of the narratives, such as Laura’s, did not appear to have been presented by the person they involved, and the author was not a witness to the actions (or they were presented from the point of view of someone other than the author). Were these scenes the work of artistic license, or were they also related by a family member?
Yes and yes. The narratives are an amalgamation of oral history, documents, interviews, and creative non-fiction. Memory and perspective is often fraught with the re-configuration of seemingly objective events. Laura’s narrative is an interpretation of actual events with the broad strokes of guessing at another’s internal thought process. It would be impossible for the narrative to have existed without the artistic license to take a close guess at another person’s internal experience. In this very way, writing creative non-fiction parallels the process of providing psychotherapy to clients, where the therapist attempts to get as close as possible to the client’s internal experience of the world. Sometimes our best guess is inaccurate or even skewed by our own projections – a humbling reminder that even the most skilled therapist is human, and therefore, flawed.
2. PBR: The search for information about your family and your heritage became so much more as it expanded into the reclamation of a sense of pride and identity that was stolen from the Japanese American people. At what point did you realize how big an endeavor this was, and was there a conscious decision to embrace that?
My research was something of an avalanche, where information become available almost all at once – in chaos. For the first few years my search felt desperate, until I came across an overwhelming number of books, interviews, and images about my family and the Japanese American internment. Even so, the wealth of information available seemed to lack the coherence of the American Dream. It was only in college that I began to appreciate how connected the personal is to the political. Countless, courageous activists came before who gave voice to the nature of unequal power in America. For myself, the realization of how the Suzuki family’s experience embodied a direct example of American oppression was only made possible by the efforts of Asian Americans who came before me who struggled to have their experiences acknowledged through art, literature, and activism.
3. PBR: Was there one particular story related to you that you found most surprising? Most inspiring? Many stories were earned through great difficulty, and it seemed as though some of them feared how they would be judged. How hard was it for you to remain objective?
Objectivity was nearly impossible. Although almost all of the narratives caught me by surprise, the one that truly haunted me was the story of the life of my grandfather, Normand. It took great courage to understand that what he did to my father was out of a sense of compassion, even though he had no idea how much it would cause my father to suffer. There is a reason that my grandfather and his peers were called “The Greatest Generation.” I could only begin to hope that I would have the focus and strength of conviction to follow my own values in the face of such adversity.
PBR: The analysis of how interment affected the different generations of Japanese Americans is particularly fascinating, leading to an era of children who are largely disassociated with their heritage. How important do you think it is to introduce new generations to what was stolen from them, and do you have any thoughts on how this could be accomplished?
There are grassroots movements across “minority” American communities to connect newer generations with a disconnected – and often obliterated – heritage. The most humbling and inspiring examples I have witnessed have been within Native American communities, where elders work against dominant forces to share their culture and history with the generations to follow. Japanese Americans in World War II are only one of several “minority” groups in the USA who have been forced to suffer the humiliation of cultural annihilation followed by forced assimilation. There are many histories that still require documentation within high school textbooks.
5. This doesn’t appear to be a story that can end with your book, and of course the history of Japanese Americans is one that deserves more attention. Are you and will you continue your investigation, or is this the end?
My journey is one that has led me towards activism – where I feel that I can exact the greatest agency. For each voice I offered for my Japanese American relatives, there are hundreds of Japanese Americans – and countless Asian Americans – who have yet to give voice to their histories. I made a commitment long ago that my life would be dedicated to helping those who had seemingly been silenced by the Western Canon.
6. PBR: What are your current projects?
As I mentioned, my focus has shifted significantly since the completion of the book to the purpose of social activism. As a Social Worker, my mission is to validate the experience of those who I work with while giving voice to those who have felt silenced. Publication almost always tends to revolve around the particular privilege of being among the middle-class elite. It is very much likely that I will not publish a book in the future that must be purchased in order to be accessible.
7. PBR: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Creative non-fiction can be written with or without compassion. Lacking compassion, writing is grandiose. With compassion, a great love and humility will ground your work in the lived, raw, and joyful pain of humanexperience.
To learn more about Imperfect Circles please read the review at: Pacific Book Review.
