![Why We Write artwork](https://is5-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts113/v4/fa/74/6f/fa746f44-ef0b-5a40-4215-fb5794c826d7/mza_4951753605819850790.jpg/100x100bb.jpg)
Emily Inouye Huey explores Japanese-American history in YA debut
Why We Write
English - October 18, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 23.3 MB - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsBooks Arts Education writing authors university books literature interview lesley university higher education mfa creative writing Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episode notes
The forced relocation of thousands of Japanese and Japanese-Americans during World War II profoundly shaped Emily Inouye Huey's family. Uprooted from their home on the West Coast, her great grandparents and grandparents were forced to live in a Wyoming internment camp, which is where her father was born. Inspired by her family's story, Emily wrote Beneath the Wide Silk Sky, a heartbreaking and beautiful story of a Japanese-American teenager in the days leading up to and following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
In this episode, Emily shares her writing and research process, some questionable publishing advice she received (add werewolves?!), and the evergreen call to preserve human dignity.
About our guestEmily Inouye Huey is the author of Beneath the Wide Silk Sky (Scholastic 2022). She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and teaches at Salt Lake Community College. Besides books, her passions include education, the arts, the outdoors, and her family.
More about Emily:
Emily's websiteFollow Emily on Instagram