Bold Words - by Rajini Srikanth (Paperback)

About the Book

A century of Asian American writing has generated a forceful cascade of "bold words." This anthology covers writings by Asian Americans in all genres, from the early twentieth century to the present.

Book Synopsis

A century of Asian American writing has generated a forceful cascade of "bold words." This anthology covers writings by Asian Americans in all genres, from the early twentieth century to the present. Some sixty authors of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, and Southeast Asian American origin are represented, with an equal split between male and female writers. The collection is divided into four sections-memoir, fiction, poetry, and drama-prefaced by an introductory essay from a well-known practitioner of that genre: Meena Alexander on memoir, Gary Pak on fiction, Eileen Tabios on poetry, and Roberta Uno on drama. The selections depict the complex realities and wide range of experiences of Asians in the United States. They illuminate the writers' creative responses to issues as diverse as resistance, aesthetics, biculturalism, sexuality, gender relations, racism, war, diaspora, and family. Rajini Srikanth teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the coeditor of the award-winning anthology Contours of the Heart: South Asians Map North America and the collection A Part, Yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America. Esther Y. Iwanaga teaches Asian American literature and literature-based writing courses at Wellesley College and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Review Quotes

Bold Words is an ambitious attempt to sweep together, into an elegant volume, examples of the literature produced by Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and South-east Asian Americans. The bookÆs reach extends beyond ethnic boundaries; it consciously erases the boundaries of gender and genre often observed by anthologies. The result is a richly varied . . . collection of stories, poems, drama and memoir, the multilingual voices echoing different corners of the world . . .-- "Times Literary Supplement"

Bold Words is an ambitious collection of a wide range of works by Asian American authors. In contrast to the limited scope of previous compilations, this volume successfully reflects the incredible diversity of the Asian American experience in terms of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, mixed racial heritage, region and generation. . . . An anthology that would be equally useful in the classroom or for an individual who wishes to acquire broad knowledge of and exposure to Asian American literature over the past century. . . . Comprehensive, well organized and accessible, Bold Words would make a fine addition to any personal or library collection. The reader will encounter many familiar names, such as Carlos Bulosan, David Mura and Maxine Hong Kingston, as well as an exciting array of other talented authors whose work one will be happy to read.-- "Pacific Reader "

Srikanth and Iwanaga reframe the debate by shifting attention away from the ethnic and/or gender identities of the writers and onto the writing itself by arranging the text by genre. With the material grouped in this way, readers will attend to the contribution writers are making to the literary field rather than to their representation of any particular identity. . . . In doing so, they present a broader range of international heritages, including a strong showing of Indian, Arab, and Southeast Asian writing, areas heretofore mostly overlooked. . . . The text is rich with solid favorites and surprisingly good newcomers. Highly recommended.-- "Choice"

About the Author

Rajini Srikanth teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the coeditor of the award-winning anthology Contours of the Heart: South Asian Map North America and the collection A Part, Yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America.

Esther Y. Iwanga teaches Asian American literature and literature-based writing courses at Wellesley College and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.