Evacuations - Paperback

by Kevin Irie (Author)

With Evacuations, Kevin Irie weaves a poetic documentary for readers, capturing the personal and political histories of the Japanese-Canadian internment in British Columbia during World War II. The resulting poems oscillate between the lyric mode and techniques of erasure poetry to highlight the dehumanizing nature of public decrees and government notices. Irie deconstructs the Canadian state's racist policies, creating a record of painful memories replete with archival resonances. The collection offers a rich tapestry of historical voices, revealing the devastating effects of the internment and preserving the stories of a generation gradually slipping into silence.

Author Biography

Kevin Irie is a Japanese-Canadian poet whose works have been translated into Spanish, French, and Japanese. In 2024, he won Grain Magazine's poetry contest, took second prize in Prairie Fire's poetry contest, third prize in The New Quarterly's poetry contest, and had Honourable Mention in Grain's 2024 Hybrid Contest for Experimental Writing. His book, Viewing Tom Thomson: A Minority Report, was a finalist for the Acorn-Plantos People's Poetry Award and the Toronto Book Award. The Tantramar Re-Vision was picked by the CBC as one of their Spring Poetry Books in 2021. He is in The Gate of Memory: Poems by Descendants of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration (2025) and Best Canadian Poetry 2026 (2025). He lives in Toronto.