“...books by authors from marginalized identities.”

May 30, 2019 9:47 AM

How to publish classic books that aren’t just by dead white men [Vox] “As the canon of English literature slowly, gradually opens itself up to books by women and authors of color, Modern Library and Penguin Classics have just launched two new series aimed at rediscovering forgotten books by marginalized people. 1. Modern Library Torchbearers. 2. Asian American Masterpieces from Penguin Classics. Part of how we determine the canon comes from what is available to us as readers, which means what publishers have made available to us.”

• Love, Disappointment Course Through 4 Classic Asian American Novels [NPR Books]

“In her foreword to America Is in the Heart — Carlos Bulosan's classic 1946 novel about Filipinx and Mexican migrant workers on the West Coast — the Filipina American novelist Elaine Castillo asks readers, "Do you remember how old you were when you first read a book that had a character who looked and lived like you in it?" As a white reader, my answer to Castillo's question is most assuredly different than that of readers of color — I can't share the thrill of discovering people who look like me in the pages of Bulosan's gorgeous and brutal autobiographical novel, nor in the other three mid-century Asian American novels that Penguin Classics has just reprinted. But I can experience a different kind of thrill: that of being blown away by the work of some of these writers and understanding America better through the fierce love and disappointment that courses through their pages.”

• 13 Asian American & Pacific Islander Authors On The First Time They Saw Themselves In A Book [Bustle]

“There are 48 countries in Asia and three Oceanic sub-regions, and the experiences of those with heritages from these cultures vary dramatically from state to state, city to city, and individual to individual. The publishing world has only recently begun to catch up to the striking diversity of these experiences. [...] Today, authors are creating a phenomenal, heterogenous canon for readers. Books spring to life when readers read and talk about them. During the present moment, in which some seek to narrow what it means to be American, what it means to be us, it’s more vital than ever to buy, read, and support these rich, pioneering works.”

• 17 Books by Queer Asian American Writers [Electric Lit]

“To be queer and Asian is both a singular and collective experience. Our bodies become a reclamation in reconciling self-identity with communities that can, oftentimes, feel like they are against us. It’s a liminal space between celebration and danger; inside, we question the multiplicity of our consciousness. How do we exist? How do we generate love? In a moment where the Supreme Court issued that it would oversee three court cases on LGBTQ+ protections, these questions seem more and more pertinent. There are no simple answers to understanding the self, but there are definitive actions that help the process and give greater access to these dialogues: Having the openness to listen. Being an ally. Creating and sustaining pro-queer rights in and out of the home. Being generous and kind to yourself. For me, creating this reading list.”

• 25 Amazing Books by Asian American and Pacific Islander Authors You Need to Read [Mental Floss]

“May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which celebrates the lives and contributions of inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through various mediums. In honor of the holiday, here are 25 books from Asian American and Pacific Islander authors that you should include on your reading list, from prize-winning fiction to graphic novels, essays, and memoirs.”

• Alexander Chee On The Groundbreaking 1937 Novel That "Changed Something" In Him [Buzzfeed News]

“The novel East Goes West was the first to detail in fiction the experiences of a Korean American in America, by the first Korean American novelist, Younghill Kang. First published in 1937, East Goes West would later inspire the Filipino American Carlos Bulosan’s novel America Is in the Heart, published 28 years later — Bulosan quite openly said that Kang’s success emboldened him to write. Bulosan’s novel was also groundbreaking and inspirational, and so there is a seismic line to draw in Asian American fiction that begins with Kang and extends, in a series of autobiographical novels by Asian American writers, into the present. A line I’ll draw all the way to myself. I was not inspired directly by Kang with my first autobiographical novel, though I can say that East Goes West changed something in me, and that my work after I read it will forever reflect this. Both Kang’s work and his existence changed my sense of belonging to this country, and I can see I inhabit a space he made for me. He is one of those writers whose work has influenced you even if you’ve never read him. ”

posted by Fizz (6 comments total)

— the Filipina American novelist Elaine Castillo asks readers, "Do you remember how old you were when you first read a book that had a character who looked and lived like you in it?"

It wasn't until adulthood that I found fiction that had written characters that looked and lived like me. I grew up in the 80s and so much of the fiction (canon) I read was written by white men and women. This discussion is driven by what we're presented with, who controls what is served on to our plates. So it's not simply a case of having more diversity in authorship, it's also in how things are curated (as well as WHO is in charge of this curation).

Thankfully we are living in a time where there is so much more diversity in who writes and what is written about. There's still more work that needs to be done and space needs to be carved out for diverse marginalized peoples.
posted by Fizz at 11:00 AM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

There was a post last year about under-appreciated female writers (Feminize Your Canon), and I've been slowly working my way through most of those authors. I'll have to check these links for more suggestions!
posted by hopeless romantique at 11:43 AM on May 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

I read Bulosan's America Is in the Heart again last year. Helped contextualize a little the Chinatowns or Japantowns that have become descriptions on little plaques in the middle of parks or parking lots on California's Central Coast. I definitely wanted a reading list like the ones presented here to get a fuller picture of Asian American experience here in the US.
posted by Mister Cheese at 12:06 PM on May 30, 2019

This type of post is [one of many reasons] why I love MetaFilter. Had never heard of this and so glad I have now! So excited to check these various collections out. Thanks for posting.
posted by rogerroger at 9:36 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

“I did not want to write this book as a way of explaining the humanity of Vietnamese. Toni Morrison says in Beloved that to have to explain yourself to white people distorts you because you start from a position of assuming your inhumanity or lack of humanity in other people’s eyes. Rather than writing a book that tries to affirm humanity, which is typically the position that minority writers are put into, the book starts from the assumption that we are human, and then goes on to prove that we’re also inhuman at the same time.”

I was 26 years old the first time I truly related to a quality book. It was The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Before I read the book, I didn't even realize I put in extra work to try and relate to white male protagonists. Then I saw I didn't have to do that extra work because there are works out there I can relate to. Or even better, make white people put in the extra work to relate to us.

Thanks for this post. It makes the search for relatable content much easier.
posted by Become A Silhouette at 12:20 AM on May 31, 2019 [3 favorites]

I saw this post the other day and thought, "Cool, new editions of No-No Boy and America Is in the Heart! Hmm, didn't they just do that a few years ago? Oh well, neat!"

Then this Facebook post from Shawn Wong started making the rounds in the various Nikkei communities I'm a part of. There's more on his profile. Apparently Penguin is claiming that he filled out the copyright form incorrectly in 1976 (when the novel was rediscovered and republished by a group of Asian American writers including Wong), and that only their introduction is copyrighted, giving Penguin the right to publish the novel, which they claim is in the public domain. The novel has been published by the University of Washington Press (to whom Wong transferred the rights in 1979) for decades. Kind of messed up. And interesting that after years of obscurity, interest in Diverse Books is suddenly high enough that Penguin would even try to pull a stunt like this. (America Is in the Heart was also published by University of Washington Press for a long time... wonder if something similar is going on there?)

Anyway, if you are going to read No-No Boy (which I highly recommend!), respect the author's family and the Asian American arts community by getting the University of Washington Press edition, which has a KILLER foreword by Ruth Ozeki as well as the original intro by Lawson Fusao Inada and Frank Chin explaining how the book was rediscovered, which at this point is as much a part of the book's story as the story itself.
posted by sunset in snow country at 12:00 PM on June 4, 2019 [2 favorites]