- Glenn Masuchika
- 814.8672229
- Library Learning Services
Asian American literature has not been in the mainstream of American literature for a long time, yet enough time has passed that we can acknowledge some of the seminal texts or soon-to-be seminal texts. All the books in this highly subjective list are available at the libraries of Penn State University Libraries, and we welcome all those interested to borrow them and experience the words that began it all. The bold, underlined title or the image of the books are links to the CAT. More titles will be added in the near future.
No-no Boy. 1957. John Okada What happens to a Japanese American who refuses to sign his American loyalty oath? Who refuses to join the American Army in World War Two to prove his loyalty to the United States? In this powerful novel written in a spare style, we witness the conflicts of a young man adrift in a world ostracized by both Caucasians and Asians.
Woman Warrior : Memoir of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. 1976. Maxine Hong Kingston. A retelling of the sixth century Chinese story of Hua Mulan - a woman who took the place of her father, joined the army dressed as a man and fought bravely. Maxine Hong Kingston brings to life through this metaphor the struggles and triumphs of an Asian woman in America. Her memoir is one of the most taught books in university literature classes, however this fact should not stop you from reading it. A true joy.
America is in the Heart. 1946. Carlos Bulosan. A young Filipino man escaping the economic depression of his homeland is tossed into a maelstrom of racial hostility and forced poverty in America. This semi-autobiograpical novel of a Filipino immigrant in the labor movements in the early 20th century is sometimes celebrated as the first "post-colonial" Asian immigrant story in the U.S.
Chickencoop Chinaman and the Year of the Dragon : Two Plays. 1972, 1974. Frank Chin. Whenever I read Frank Chin, I am reminded of Whitman's famous phrase from Song of Myself "I sound my barbarian yelp over the rooftops!" Chin's drama, best seen live (see Year of the Dragon), still retains its tension and anguish when read. Witty, clever, very revealing, very disturbing.
East Goes West. 1937. Younghill Kang. Kang was a professor of English at New York University and on the editorial staff of the Encyclopedia Britannica. This autobiography of his early life in America has the charm of a stranger desperately and obtusely trying to understand the customs of a new land, knowing he will make the land his new home. An innocent eye looking abroad and commenting on all things slightly strange and bizarre.
Mrs. Spring Fragance and Other Writings. 1912. Sui Sin Far. The pen name of Edith Maude Eaton, daughter of an English father and a Chinese mother. This collection of interlinked short stories gives a pre-War look into the Chinese American experience at the turn of the 20th century. Although there is definitely a "Pearl Buck" feel to them, these stories do feature strong and dynamic Asians, a startling contrast to the "inscrutible Orientals" imagery found in popular literature of the same period.
Aiiieeeee! : an Anthology of Asian-American Writers. 1975. Edited by Frank Chin, Shawn Wong, Lawson Fusao Inada, and Jeffrey Paul Chan. Acknowledged as one of the best anthologies that introduced Asian American literature to both the general and academic public. There have been many Asian American anthologies published since this book's appearance, yet none has the same driving ambition to define itself and the Asian American genre as this early book.
