Awake in the River and Shedding Silence
Groundbreaking poems in Asian American feminist literature

Fierce, raw, and unapologetic, Janice Mirikitani’s poetry and prose are as vibrant and resonant today as when these two collections were first published in 1978 and 1987. Now back in print in one volume, Awake in the River and Shedding Silence epitomizes Mirikitani’s singular voice—one that is brash, sexual, politically outspoken, and unconcerned with pandering to mainstream audiences. An influential artist and activist, Mirikitani has advanced the causes of women of color feminisms, global anti-imperialism, and Afro-Asian solidarity for more than fifty years. Her writings confront sexualized violence, anti-Asian racism, the intergenerational trauma of incarceration, the dangers of passivity, and internalized oppression, while also illuminating the power of awakening from silence and fighting for justice. Connecting Japanese American discrimination with broader struggles from the local to the global, Awake in the River and Shedding Silence showcases how the renowned poet found power in speaking out.

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Awake in the River and Shedding Silence
Groundbreaking poems in Asian American feminist literature

Fierce, raw, and unapologetic, Janice Mirikitani’s poetry and prose are as vibrant and resonant today as when these two collections were first published in 1978 and 1987. Now back in print in one volume, Awake in the River and Shedding Silence epitomizes Mirikitani’s singular voice—one that is brash, sexual, politically outspoken, and unconcerned with pandering to mainstream audiences. An influential artist and activist, Mirikitani has advanced the causes of women of color feminisms, global anti-imperialism, and Afro-Asian solidarity for more than fifty years. Her writings confront sexualized violence, anti-Asian racism, the intergenerational trauma of incarceration, the dangers of passivity, and internalized oppression, while also illuminating the power of awakening from silence and fighting for justice. Connecting Japanese American discrimination with broader struggles from the local to the global, Awake in the River and Shedding Silence showcases how the renowned poet found power in speaking out.

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Awake in the River and Shedding Silence

Awake in the River and Shedding Silence

Awake in the River and Shedding Silence

Awake in the River and Shedding Silence

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Overview

Groundbreaking poems in Asian American feminist literature

Fierce, raw, and unapologetic, Janice Mirikitani’s poetry and prose are as vibrant and resonant today as when these two collections were first published in 1978 and 1987. Now back in print in one volume, Awake in the River and Shedding Silence epitomizes Mirikitani’s singular voice—one that is brash, sexual, politically outspoken, and unconcerned with pandering to mainstream audiences. An influential artist and activist, Mirikitani has advanced the causes of women of color feminisms, global anti-imperialism, and Afro-Asian solidarity for more than fifty years. Her writings confront sexualized violence, anti-Asian racism, the intergenerational trauma of incarceration, the dangers of passivity, and internalized oppression, while also illuminating the power of awakening from silence and fighting for justice. Connecting Japanese American discrimination with broader struggles from the local to the global, Awake in the River and Shedding Silence showcases how the renowned poet found power in speaking out.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780295749587
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication date: 03/01/2022
Series: Classics of Asian American Literature
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Janice Mirikitani (1941-2021) was the author of five collections of poetry and the biography Beyond the Possible (with Cecil Williams), as well as the editor of several anthologies. An award-winning artist and activist, she was San Francisco’s second poet laureate and also the cofounder and founding president of the Glide Foundation, which provides services to marginalized communities in the Bay Area.

Table of Contents

Foreword Juliana Chang ix

Awake in the River

For My Father 7

Sing with Your Body 9

August 6 10

Loving from Vietnam to Zimbabwe 12

Desert Flowers 16

Watergate, U.S. 18

The First Generation 20

Japs 21

A Certain Kind of Madness 24

Jungle Rot and Open Arms 27

Salad 30

Ms. 31

(Untitled) 32

Bitches Don't Wait 34

Nakama 37

The Winner 40

Looking for a Poem 45

We, the Dangerous 47

Spoils of War (excerpt) 49

A Song for You 65

Lullabye 67

The Fisherman 69

Attack the Water 71

When She Enters 74

Drowning in the Yellow River 75

Breathe between the Rain 77

September Second 79

A Lecherous Poem to Toshiro Mifune 81

The Question Is 84

Crazy Alice 85

Canto a Neruda 88

Hospitals Are to Die In 90

Awake in the River 92

Shedding Silence

Without Tongue

Without Tongue 101

Jade Junkies 102

Prisons of Silence 104

Generations of Women 109

Doreen 115

Recipe 118

American Geisha 119

Suicide Note 123

Breaking Tradition 125

Shadow in Stone 127

Breaking Silence 131

Tomatoes 135

(Untitled) 139

Slaying Dragon Ladies 141

It Isn't Easy

It Isn't Easy 145

In Remembrance 147

Soul Food 150

Spoils of War 152

Healthy Choices 157

The Lovers 160

Fats 164

What Matters

What Matters 167

Graciella 170

Assaults and Invasions 172

Red 174

"… If You Don't Want to Believe It …" 176

Where Is Beauty, Imelda? 178

(Untitled) 181

Love Canal 183

Reversals

Reversals 189

Zipper 191

Jade 192

Who Is Singing This Song? 194

(Untitled) 201

When There Is Talk of War 202

(Untitled) 205

Jealousy 207

Tearing Threads 209

Why Is Preparing Fish a Political Act? 212

Shedding Silence 215

Glossary 249

Source Acknowledgments 251

What People are Saying About This

Lynn Itagaki

"Each compact line explodes with the power of raw emotion held too tightly, for too long. Mirikitani’s groundbreaking words reverberate across the decades, etching into our collective memories the sharpest, deepest cuts of US militarism, racism, colonialism, and violence against women. Deeply compassionate and elegiac, her poems are songs of survivors, when the voiceless finally speak and are heard. Her works summon coalitions: of Asian Americans, of women of color. In these poems, Mirikitani gives generation after generation of readers the fierce words to pass on the harshest of personal and community traumas and inspire her readers to continue fighting oppression and countering violence. This collection of her early poems marks a turning point in American poetry, history, and culture that must be recognized; we hear again the powerful, startling voice of an Asian American woman poet forging a new literature from an emerging Asian American identity."

Judy Tzu-Chun Wu

"Janice Mirikitani was a muse for the Asian American feminist movement. She spoke back eloquently and cuttingly, challenging orientalist depictions of sexuality and compliance. She proclaimed collective survival and the will to resist both the spectacular (World War II internment, nuclear destruction, genocidal war) and every day acts of aggression. Juliana Chang offers a wonderful introduction to this dual volume of Awake in the River (1978) and Shedding Silence (1987). Together, they reintroduce 21st century audiences to the power and vision of Janice Mirikitani."

Maya Angelou

"A major poet in America, Janice Mirikitani speaks all our truths."

David H. Hwang

"Janice Mirikitani’s writings, artistry and activism inspired me to pursue my own career as a dramatist. I’m thrilled that her groundbreaking work is being reissued at a time when what we used to call "Third World Solidarity" has become more necessary than ever. In this volume, Janice’s prose and poetry thrills me anew with its vitality, joy, and unstoppable life force."

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