The Columbia Guide to Asian American Literature Since 1945

Thirty-five years ago there were fewer than five Asian American works of fiction, poetry, and plays in print in America. Guiyou Huang's book is a testament to the range, variety, and texture of the new landscape of Asian American literature. It's an important book for readers, students, and scholars. -- Shawn Wong, professor of English and director of the University Honors Program at the University of Washington Comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and easy to read, this is an eminently useful guide for anyone interested in the fast-growing field of Asian American literature. Conceived as a reference tool for both the general reader and the specialist, The Columbia Guide to Asian American Literature strikes just the right balance between in-depth coverage and quick access. It is an indispensable reference tool and a great read. -- Gayle K. Sato, professor of English, Meiji University This intelligently conceptualized overview of Asian American literature is immensely useful. -- Elaine Kim, professor of Asian American studies, University of California, Berkeley

Presenting an historical overview of major developments, this is a comprehensive A-to-Z guide to major Asian American writers and their works. It covers Canadian and US writers with cultural and ethnic origins in East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. It includes a bibliography at the end.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.