Guiyou Huang - Böcker

Guiyou Huang traces the history of Asian American literature from the end of World War II to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Huang covers six genres: anthology, autobiography/memoir, drama, fiction, poetry, and short fiction; reviews major historical developments and social movements; explains key literary terms; and offers a narrative, A-to-Z guide of major Asian American writers and their works, plus their critical reception. This guide covers Canadian and U.S. authors with cultural and ethnic origins in East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. It begins with a discussion of works written shortly after World War II that explore the personal and political impact of the conflict, such as John Okada's No-No Boy and Hisaye Yamamoto's short fiction. Huang then focuses on the 1980s, when Asian American literature blossomed into a diverse, heterogeneous field characterized by a variety of themes, genres, and styles, and writers with multiple ethnic and cultural backgrounds.He considers the work of novelists Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston, the poets Ai and Agha Shahid Ali, and more than 100 additional authors, including Frank Chin, David Henry Hwang, Jessica Hagedorn, Nora Okja Keller, Bharati Mukherjee, Gish Jen, Chang-rae Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Divakaruni, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Huang points the reader toward further study for individual authors, and his selected bibliography suggests works of a more general nature, including literary criticism and histories, reference works, and collections of essays. Comprehensive though concise, clearly written but richly detailed, The Columbia Guide to Asian American Literature Since 1945 is an invaluable resource.

Asian Americans have made many significant contributions to industry, science, politics, and the arts. At the same time, they have made great sacrifices and endured enormous hardships. This reference examines autobiographies and memoirs written by Asian Americans in the twentieth century. Included are alphabetically arranged entries on 60 major autobiographers of Asian descent. Some of these, such as Meena Alexander and Maxine Hong Kingston, are known primarily for their writings; others, such as Daniel K. Inouye, are known largely for other achievements, which they have chronicled in their autobiographies.Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a reliable account of the autobiographer's life; reviews major autobiographical works and themes, including fictionalized autobiographies and autobiographical novels; presents a meticulously researched account of the critical reception of these works; and closes with a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. An introductory essay considers the history and development of autobiography in American literature and culture and discusses issues and themes vital to Asian American autobiographies and memoirs, such as family, diaspora, nationhood, identity, cultural assimilation, racial dynamics, and the formation of the Asian American literary canon. The volume closes with a selected bibliography.

Even though Asian American literature is enjoying an impressive critical popularity, attention has focused primarily on longer narrative forms such as the novel. And despite the proliferation of a large number of poets of Asian descent in the 20th century, Asian American poetry remains a neglected area of study. Poetry as an elite genre has not reached the level of popularity of the novel or short story, partly due to the difficulties of reading and interpreting poetic texts. The lack of criticism on Asian American poetry speaks to the urgent need for scholarship in this area, since perhaps more than any other genre, poetry most forcefully captures the intense feelings and emotions that Asian Americans have experienced about themselves and their world. This reference book overviews the tremendous cultural contributions of Asian American poets.Included are alphabetically arranged entries on 48 American poets of Asian descent, most of whom have been active during the latter half of the 20th century. Each entry begins with a short biography, which sometimes includes information drawn from personal interviews. The entries then discuss the poet's major works and themes, including such concerns as family, racism, sexism, identity, language, and politics. A survey of the poet's critical reception follows. In many cases the existing criticism is scant, and the entries offer new readings of neglected works. The entries conclude with bibliographies of primary and secondary texts, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Asian America has produced numerous short-story writers in the 20th century. Some emerged after World War II, yet most of these writers have flourished since 1980. The first reference of its kind, this volume includes alphabetically arranged entries for 49 nationally and internationally acclaimed Asian American writers of short fiction. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a survey of the writer's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies.Writers include Frank Chin, Sui Sin Far, Shirely Geok-lin Lim, Toshio Mori, and Bharati Mukherjee. An introductory essay provides a close examination of the Asian American short story, and the volume closes with a list of works for further reading.

This volume presents global perspectives on Asian American literature by accomplished scholars from Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain, and the US. It covers a diverse range of interdisciplinary topics in contemporary Asian American Studies across a wide spectrum of ethnic groups: Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese. Section I probes themes such as the vital role that war plays in the production of Asian American literary works, and the agency of the self in the life writings of Asian American autobiographers. Section II examines the confines of binary oppositions of gender, as well as issues of pan-ethnicity and gender relations. Section III explores the role that performance, film, and language play in the definition of self-identity and in ethnic empowerment. Five intrinsically connected themes run through all sections: gender roles; stereotyping; identity politics; intersections of literature, history, family, and the self; and the impact of wars on Asian American culture and literature. The chapters illuminate each other by discussing ideas and issues that are the enlargements of other, related themes and topics.Key Features* Global perspectives on the literary texts* Interdisciplinary approach to the subject* Contributors' expertise* Up-to-date coverage

This volume presents global perspectives on Asian American literature by accomplished scholars from Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain, and the US. It covers a diverse range of interdisciplinary topics in contemporary Asian American Studies across a wide spectrum of ethnic groups: Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese. Section I probes themes such as the vital role that war plays in the production of Asian American literary works, and the agency of the self in the life writings of Asian American autobiographers. Section II examines the confines of binary oppositions of gender, as well as issues of pan-ethnicity and gender relations. Section III explores the role that performance, film, and language play in the definition of self-identity and in ethnic empowerment. Five intrinsically connected themes run through all sections: gender roles; stereotyping; identity politics; intersections of literature, history, family, and the self; and the impact of wars on Asian American culture and literature. The chapters illuminate each other by discussing ideas and issues that are the enlargements of other, related themes and topics.Key Features* Global perspectives on the literary texts* Interdisciplinary approach to the subject* Contributors' expertise* Up-to-date coverage