This potent, fertile collection of fiction, poetry and essays by 53 Asian-American women challenges stereotypes of female docility and subservience that stigmatize those whose roots are in China, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Korea, etc. Only a few of the startlingly forthright voices are well-known outside the Asian-American literary and scholarly milieus: Cathy Song, for example, won the 1983 Yale Series of Younger Poets award and Kitty Tsui is a widely read poet in feminist circles. Yet all have messages to convey, and do so in the incandescent language of those struggling for survival in a hostile environment. Contributors here discuss the realities of immigrating to an alien land; the history of Asian-American women's work in the trades and professions; anger at injustices they confront as women and as Asians; and the activism that has helped them to discover their identities. South Asia Bulletin co-publisher Sucheta Mazumdar's introduction, ``A Woman-Centered Perspective on Asian American History,'' provides valuable context for the kaleidoscopic views expressed in this remarkable volume. Asian Women United of California, whose members edited and contributed to Making Waves , is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to promote the social, economic and general welfare of Asian-American women. Illustrations not seen by PW. (June)
Presented here are historical and sociological essays giving information about Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Indian women, but it is the addition of poems and short stories that brings this information to life. All by Asian American women, these 57 works inevitably overlap but cover immigration, war, work, generations, identity, injustice, and activism. This is a fine companion to The Forbidden Stitch ( LJ 5/1/89); only one story by Valerie Matsumoto is repeated. Nellie Wong has works in both, but several authors have works in one and are reviewed in the other. A good choice for libraries interested in contemporary Asian issues and literature.-- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y.
