Dear Readers,

Last week our class had the opportunity to view UBC’s collection of original documents that had accumulated from Joy Kogawa’s process of writing Obasan. These documents ranged from letters delivered to Kogawa from readers to exchanges with publishers to newspaper clippings to original transcripts. The sheer amount of physical paperwork that resulted from writing Obasan made me realize how arduous and lengthy a task it is to write and publish a book. As readers, we are usually preoccupied with the sheer contents of what we are reading, and many of us can go through books fairly quickly without giving them a second thought. Our class’s trip to UBC’s rare books library gave me insight into the process that Kogawa went through while planning out her book, deciding on title names, mapping out family trees, researching historical events, and contacting publishers; through this experience I have come to truly appreciate the patience and effort it takes to write a book, and this has a particular impact on me because it is one of my life goals to become published.

Seeing Kogawa’s documents also brought to my attention the real life value of physical remnants, or artifacts, and how they function as what Marita Sturken calls “technologies of memory”. If Kogawa had not preserved her papers so well and had the consideration to donate them to UBC, researchers and students such as ourselves would not have the chance to see this side of Obasan and our full understanding and appreciation of the book would be lacking. Furthermore, the fact that Kogawa left an extensive paper trail in the process of writing her book is something that may possible be limited to that point in time, for in modern days, many writers (and people in general) have switched to using digital word processors and other programs as methods of preserving memories, ideas, and information. This idea made me question which is more malleable or vulnerable: physical or digital documents? Although physical artifacts can be lost, hidden or destroyed, in comparison what is the risk that digital documents could spontaneously be wiped off the internet? It is especially important to consider these risks during times such as now where we see digitally stored information such as credit card numbers or pass codes being constantly hacked or altered and having drastic affects on those involved. I believe it is important to understand the significance of the method that we choose to store our memories in, because each has its own risk of being destroyed.