Asian American Poetry : The Next Generation

This exciting anthology of work by up-and-coming writers is the first to profile a new generation of Asian American poets. Building on the legacy of now-canonized poets, such as Li-Young Lee, Cathy Song, and Garrett Hongo, who were the first to achieve widespread recognition in the American literary community, this new generation also strikes off in bold new directions.Asian American Poetry: The Next Generationgathers for the first time a broad cross section of the very best work of these young poets, much of which has never before been published or has appeared only in hard-to-find journals and first books of poetry. The poems collected inAsian American Poetry: The Next Generationlay a groundwork for readers while at the same time expanding the scope of American literature. Featured poets, all under the age of forty, include Timothy Liu, Adrienne Su, Sue Kwock Kim, Rick Barot, Brenda Shaughnessy, Mong-Lan, as well as less familiar names. Their backgrounds combine many ethnicities and their perspectives and concerns broaden the boundaries of Asian American poetry. Some continue with styles and topics closely related to those of their predecessors while others break conventional patterns and challenge readers with new subject matter, fresh language, and powerful new voices. A foreword by Marilyn Chin puts the book in context of both Asian American national identity and history, and makes the important distinctions between generations clear.Asian American Poetry: The Next Generationopens the door on a dynamic, developing part of the poetic world, making it finally accessible to students, scholars, and poetry fans alike.

Victoria Chang's book of poetry, Circle, won the Crab Orchard Review Award Series in Poetry and will be published in 2005. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in journals such as The Nation, Slate, New England Review, Three-penny Review, DoubleTake, and Michigan Quarterly Review. She has received a Breadloaf Scholarship, a Taylor Fellowship, and a Hopwood Award. She resides in L.A. and San Diego. Marilyn Chin's books of poems include Rhapsody in Plain Yellow, The Phoenix Gone, the Terrace Empty, and Dwarf Bamboo. She has won many awards, including two N.E.A.s, two Fulbright Fellowships and the Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University. She directs the M.F.A. program at San Diego State University.