I’ve been amazed by the response to my last post on Asian American studies–some great comments here and even more discussion on Facebook, and even a shout-out from angry asian man. It seems like the state and place of Asian American studies is something a lot of people have been thinking about, although I get just as strong a sense…
Has Asian American Studies Failed?
Episode 1: The New York Times publishes a review of the learning center at Heart Mountain, one of the sites of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Halfway through, the piece takes a hard turn toward historical revisionism. Internment was “more the rule than the exception” and was applied to other ethnic groups too. Japan was a “racist, militant…
War Is Over (If You Noticed)
In March 2003–more than eight years ago–I ended my first blog post with these words: I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m feeling compelled to start one of these things at the very moment that the U.S. has engaged in a mad war on Iraq. The blogger, the poet, and the dissenting citizen seem to have a lot in…
The Tiger Wife
for Wendi Deng tiger tiger tiger wife wonder woman volleyball spike if you have an Asian wife maybe she’s not just a gold-digger? tiger wife or trophy wife? slam-down sister or socialite? bright pink jacket and pencil skirt not like gold-digger who wants old man hurt Wendi Deng is a Power Ranger with Crazy Asian Magic Powers was in Red…
The 500 Project: Do You Care about Asian American Literature?
Kartika Review and poet Bryan Thao Worra have thrown down the gauntlet. Can we find 500 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders–10 from each state–who love Asian American literature? The 500 Project is seeking responses from Asian Americans in all 50 states. The goal is to find at least 500 “writer activists who will express without equivocation that Asian American literature…
Paper Tiger Mother: On Amy Chua
Amy Chua’s new book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, has provoked controversy for its supposed argument that Chinese mothers are better than American ones. But don’t be fooled. Chua’s book is not about being a Chinese mother. What Chua’s actually doing is inventing a new model of high-stakes, high-pressure, middle-class American parenting—and calling it “Chinese.” Chua’s book leads us…
Does (Paid) Criticism Matter?
The New York Times Book Review has a feature up on “Why Criticism Matters,” with six book critics opining on the continuing value of literary criticism. Is it necessary? Is it dead? Here’s my question: what does the NYT mean by “criticism”? They don’t just mean “reviews,” since (as the editors point out) we’re awash in those, from stars to…
Race and the Avant-Garde
My new book, Race and the Avant-Garde: Experimental and Asian American Poetry since 1965, is now available from Stanford University Press. You can get it directly from the press website, through Amazon, or through a really esoteric bookstore near you.
Blogs, Boutiques, and the Public Square
Here’s the paper I gave on Thursday about poetry blogs at the “Markets: From the Bazaar to eBay” conference held by the University of Toronto’s Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies. Special thanks to Jonathan Mayhew, Eileen Tabios, and Del Ray Cross, who emailed in response to my call for contributions and whose comments I incorporated into the paper. I…
A Call to Poet-Bloggers
If you’re a poet who blogs (or someone who blogs about poetry), I’d love to have your input on a talk I’m giving at a conference next Thursday here at the University of Toronto. The conference is on “Markets” and is being sponsored by the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies. (Full program in PDF can be found here). I…