Events › Albany Reads Mid-Event: Poetry and Resilience

At the heart of Albany Reads, this special mid-series gathering honors the enduring power of poetry, memory, and community. Join us for an afternoon of reflection and inspiration featuring readings from The Poet and the Silk Girl: A Memoir of Love, Imprisonment, and Protest, as author Satsuki Ina shares her father’s poetry alongside her own; words that carried hope, dignity, and love through one of the most unjust chapters in American history.

The program will also feature the Youth Poet Laureates of Alameda County, lifting the voices of a new generation in conversation with the past. In addition, the Wakasa Memorial Committee will present a replica of the Wakasa Memorial, commemorating James Wakasa, who was fatally shot by a guard at the Topaz incarceration camp, an act of remembrance that speaks to both loss and resilience.

Through poetry, testimony, and collective reflection, this event affirms the human capacity to endure, to create meaning, and to transform suffering into solidarity. Come be part of this powerful gathering as Albany continues its shared journey of remembrance, justice, and hope.

Free copies of the book will be available at this event while supplies last. 

The book is also available in the library’s collection.

The Poet and the Silk Girl

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This program is part of the Albany Reads series, bringing our community together around The Poet and the Silk Girl: A Memoir of Love, Imprisonment, and Protest by Satsuki Ina. Through shared reading and related events, we reflect on history, foster dialogue, and connect past injustices to present-day conversations about civil liberties and belonging.

Library staff may take photos, videos, or audio recordings at our events. Please tell us if you do not wish to be photographed, video-recorded, or audio-recorded. We will always respect your requests!

An ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter or closed captioning can be provided for this program if requested at least seven (7) days in advance. For assistance, please contact your library or accessibility@aclibrary.org.