Calvi publishes long-form piece on Japanese internment

More than two years in the making and 14 thousand words long, associate journalism professor Pablo Calvi's latest journalistic work blends traditional shoe-leather reporting with the artistry of literary journalism.

The piece, "The Recollector," was published this summer in The Believer magazine. It explores the history and legacy of Japanese internment during the Second World War and the fight over a long-buried memorial on the survivors and descendants of the Topaz internment camp and the nearby, tight-knit community of Delta, Utah.

"When I came across the museum and the controversy about the Wakasa stone, I immediately felt that memory, ownership, allyship and appropriation were important ideas to discuss and revisit today, in a world that has become more exposed and open to post-colonial notions," said Calvi. "But it was only at the time of writing that I fully understood that my story as an immigrant was also connected to those notions. Argentina's dictatorship tried to erase its wrongdoings by razing torture and detention centers, and the fact that the United States government had done the same with the Japanese internment camps of the 1940s, felt too familiarly wrong to me."

Calvi stumbled onto the story during a cross-country road trip during the height of the Covid pandemic. He and his family drove through Delta and found the museum, dedicated to the internment camp, closed for the shutdown. He later returned and found a complex, nuanced history that he felt compelled to understand and share.

Calvi interviewed more than 70 people and spoke to hundreds for the story. Some had roots in Delta and Topaz or connections to the other U.S. internment camps. He spoke to a geologist about the memorial and a manager at the National Park Service, as well as the director of the Auschwitz Museum in Poland, among many others. He spent two years tracking people and their stories down, learning their histories and seeking documents, videos and details. He ended up with nearly 19 GB of transcripts and interview recordings. Not every interview made it into the printed piece, but all informed his reporting and how he told the story.

"It's a difficult story to tell, and there are many layers of emotions and feelings on the part of those who feel wronged by the museum, and on the part of those who side with the museum," Calvi said. "I knew, too, that I had a point of view as soon as I did enough research, and I tried to present it as clearly and fairly as possible, trying to not hurt feelings, hoping that the story would help foster better dialogue between the parts."

He spent many months writing the story, including at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity's Literary Arts Program for literary journalismduring the summer of 2023. The Banff program is one of the most prestigious and selective programs of its kind in North America.

"I applaud Pablo and his dedication to telling this story the way it deserves to be told - with nuance, respect and deep compassion for the pain and suffering these camps inflicted, both during World War II and down through the years and generations to today," said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the SoCJ and executive director of the Alda Center for Communicating Science. "The depth of caring and incredible skill that Pablo brings to all of his reporting, and which he instills in his students, is so vital to the work of being a journalist and journalism educator."