Between the Covers

From the Archives : Brandon Shimoda : The Grave on the Wall

In this archival episode, poet and writer Brandon Shimada discusses his memoir The Grave on the Wall, which traces his grandfather’s World War II internment at Fort Missoula and situates it within a broader history of U.S. detention sites—from Indian‑War forts to modern border camps. Shimada explores how personal and collective memory are shaped by archival silences, using family stories like picture‑bride marriages to reveal how Japanese‑American experiences are intertwined with white America’s labor and imperial narratives. He argues that remembering these histories is an act of solidarity that connects past injustices to present‑day detentions of migrants and Indigenous peoples. The conversation also touches on Shimada’s poetic work and his view of writing as a material, restorative practice.