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 STUDY GUIDE: The Souvenir by Louise Steinman Developed by Library Services, Santa Clara County Offices of Education
ABOUT THE WRITER
Her work frequently deals with memory, history and reconciliation. Her book, The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father’s War, won the 2002 Gold Medal in Autobiography/Memoir from ForeWord Magazine. Her first book, The Knowing Body: The Artist as Storyteller in Contemporary Performance (North Atlantic Books)—was hailed by the L.A. Times as a "dazzling study of the performing arts." The Knowing Body is based on two decades of Louise’s experience as a performer/director of interdisciplinary theater and as a dance/theater critic. As Cultural Programs Director for the Los Angeles Public Library, she has curated its award-winning ALOUD lecture, performance, and author series for the past decade. She was Senior Creative Advisor for the Sundance Institute Arts Writing Program and she is an active member of PEN Center USA West. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, sculptor Lloyd Hamrol, and two cherished and persnickety cats—Oona and Fredo. Author's website: louisesteinman.com
ABOUT THE BOOK When Louise Steinman was growing up in 1950s there were three rules: 1. Never cry in front of father 2. Never wear black in his presence and 3. Never ask questions about these rules. It was only after her parents' death, when she made a chance discovery that Louise Steinman began to understand why. Hidden among her parents' belongings was an old metal ammunition box. Inside were hundreds of letters her father wrote home during the Pacific War. "Dearest," he writes in one, "After months of dreading nighttime, it is so hard to change. You see I need you to help me get over that type of fear and use the nights for what they were meant for." He wrote this letter after 167 days of straight combat. Louise Steinman was astonished--here was a side of her father she never knew. To her, he was a gruff, practical man--a pharmacist, actually, who worked 13-hour days, and kept mostly to himself. She never knew that he fought in a campaign that set the record for consecutive days of combat in the war. He had never talked about it. He had never told her how, at 24, he was yanked from his young wife who was pregnant with their first child, to fight in a place that was completely foreign to him. His letters home were his only connection to all that he knew and loved--they were his lifeline. As Louise poured through them, she found a Japanese soldier’s flag-a souvenir he later regretted sending home. Japanese soldiers carried these flags for good luck. THE SOUVENIR is the heartbreaking and heartwarming story of a woman discovering her father, the men he fought with, and the men he fought against. Because of these letters and this flag Louise Steinman sets upon on a journey that takes her across the world, to the snow country of Japan, to a mountain top in the Philippines, and back home again forever changed. Over the course of that journey, she finds the family of the Japanese solider, Yoshio Shimizu, whose flag this once was, and returns it to his surviving family. Finding her father’s s ammunition box was a gift--one that unlocked a part of him that was sealed by the trauma of war. And through the act of returning the flag she is able to bring about a kind of catharsis--for her father, herself, and the family of his enemy.
BEFORE READING THE BOOK Tapping Prior Knowledge: World War II Invite students to share what they know about relations between the United States and Japan During World War II. Ask if they know how these relations affected the lives of Japanese-Americans? Interview/Connecting to Past Generations One of the goals/results of Louise Steinman’s writing of The Souvenir was the understanding of her father and his generation. Through the process of interviewing family members and others students will personalize the sometimes-distant events of WWII. Create a "Class Book" of By engaging in this strategy, students will not only link with past generations but will also experience the writing process. Just as the book The Souvenir is based on letters, memories, and conversations collected by author Louise Steinman, so also may a "Class Book" be based on oral histories collected by students from adults they know. Once the histories have been collected, each student will choose a favorite recollection, turn it into a narrative, and contribute it to a class book named, for example, Memories of WWII. This book will undergo the publishing phases and may be shared by distributing copies to the authors. Activities for the "Class Book" Strategy Have students gather and record oral histories from adult family members or adult friends.
Use the rubric shown below to assess the stories.
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Louise Steinman is a writer and literary curator. She has a
M.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in
Literature from Reed College. For the past two decades, her essays and feature
articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, New York Times
Syndicate, L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, Salon.com, Washington Post, and
other publications.
