Customer Reviews

Black Lightning: Poetry-In-Progress (Asian American Writers Worksh)

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The author has taken an approach which has been thought of by few people in the past and written a book which is the perfect textbook for all aspiring poets. One can learn a tremendous amount through watching the 'work in progress' of poets of such diverse styles and interests. This book represents a major contribution to anyone who has ever been seriously interested in writing poetry or studying the art of the poet.

Solitude may fuel imagination, and what happens behind closed doors is often kept in secrecy by poets and writers. Black Lightning opens that door for us and lets us in to have a look at some poets' processes, almost like being allowed to sit there in their private spaces. Although we have different ways of approaching poetry and the life around it, it is still very fascinating to see the revelations of these very visible Asian American poets. It's a gem of a collection. Did I mention the very beautiful cover? Give it space on your shelf.

If there is one word that can describe Black Lightning, then perhaps the word boundless might come to mind, but even then that won't quite suffice. As author Eileen Tabios writes, "Black Lightning is many things: a miracle, an exercise in trust, a conversation, an experiment, a matter of idealism, and ultimately, a love affair." Everything from the different forms, styles, inspirations, images, and issues that worked to create the poetry filling these pages is capable of speaking to readers of all different personalities and backgrounds, "elicit[ing] different responses" at different times. But really, what makes it boundless is not just what exists on the pages we read but what exists in the spaces in between. Black Lightning is a quest for all involved to engage in this project of mapping out the human experience, mapping not only that which we can articulate in words but also that which articulates in a fashion that captures and eludes our imagination. Black Lightning is a book of the poetry-in-progress by 14 Asian American writers. Each article is rich with interviews, essays, excerpts of inspiration writings, and the reworkings of drafts of poetry towards their accomplished ends. Each is dedicated to the unique and powerful experiences and processes each writer goes through to create their masterpieces. Black Lightning belongs to a very important juncture in Asian American writing, capturing the widening scope in which Asian American writers are writing. Our concerns have expanded beyond race and ethnicity; they have even expanded beyond social and political issues although these will remain an integral part of Asian American literature. In Black Lightning, we are articulating matters such as memory, history, time, space, femininity, masculinity, sexuality, desire, spirituality, the psyche, imagination, all as integral to the Asian American experience as race is. Furthermore, in its discussion of the very act of writing a poem, Black Lightning is as Arthur Sze writes in the introduction, "just beginning to address theory and practice and the polysemous nature of the work." In this rare opportunity, we are able to share intimate moments with a fellow poetry lover as she engages in great conversation with the masters of this craft. From the very first pages, we see Tabios embark on her personal journey with insightful questions and reactions as she encounters each writer and each poem. As all poetry has its own rhythm, we hear such rhythms resonate as thoughts flow spontaneously between Tabios and these 14 poets. Tabios' interactions with the poems and their authors are intense, generating a profound understanding and appreciation for the desires, motivations, and issues that underlie the creative processes of these authors. Reading Black Lightning is like reading a personal journal - and we are privileged to be able to do so. While Black Lightning is a book that speaks of process in many ways - the process of becoming a creative writer, of becoming a careful reader, of becoming a human being - it is also a book that speaks of revelation. Tabios has created a wonderful site where experiences and intentions are unclothed and left up to the reader's interpretation in a way much different from what we are used to. Black Lightning reveals to us how ultimately the greatest lesson we need to learn is the most obvious - that poetry can be accessible to all of us. For all beginner poets, Black Lightning can be your Bible.

In 1798 William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads. Its focus upon rough language and its praise of the supernatural changed English poetics forever. In 1998 Black Lightning redirects our attention from the poem and the poet to the technology of poetry. Eileen Tabios presents knowledge that writers may use to turn base metals into sun-proof wings.

In 1798 William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads. Its focus upon rough language and its praise of the supernatural changed English poetics forever. In 1998 Black Lightning redirects our attention from the poem and the poet to the technology of poetry. Eileen Tabios presents knowledge that writers may use to turn base metals into sun-proof wings.

Library Journal Review of Black Lightning by Kitty Chen Dean of Nassau College:

Here 14 Asian American poets display the process of their poems and discuss their sources of inspiration,which include paintings, readings, personal encounters, countries of origin, and the sight of "dog piss." Tabios (poet and editor of The Asian Pacific American Journal) then presents drafts of poems from early stages through numerous alterations, deletions (sometimes entire pages), and additions, all with explanations. This makes for slow reading but engrossing revelations and ultimately rewarding insights into the birth of a poem. Tabios' skillful interviews help the poets reveal their modus operandi. That the writers are Asian American hardly matters; this is a valuable source for poets, aspiring poets and poetry lovers.

Black Lightning is the most important book on Asian American poetry to have been published within the last 10 years. If anyone off the street would want to know who Kimiko Hahn or Jessica Hagedorn was, they would do well in looking at Eileen Tabios' magnificently written essays/interviews in Black Lightning. A best buy book!

From A Review of Black Lightning by Douglas Spangle:

It should surprise nobody that literary criticism has been in terrible shape of late. New ideas come from unexpected places. Eileen Tabios began a series of interviews with Asian American poets which grew into this book. Tabios' method is to study the growth of individual poems from their earliest drafts through to completion, incorporating extensive interviews with the poets to detail, revision by revision, the genesis of each piece. It is an approach I only recall seeing once, in Alberta Turner's 50 Contemporary Poets: the Creative Process, which was nowhere near as extensive, intensive or various as Black Lightning. Tabios makes no attempt to prescribe or categorize, but meets all these poets on their own ground; although her tracing of process is meticulous and often requires a slow bell on reading speed, she avoids theoretical jargon and is accessible to any intelligent reader, no matter how "advanced" the poetry may be. I can now say that I have some understanding of (Mei-mei) Berssenbrugge, for instance, after reading this study -- something I despaired of ever doing. The question I've been begging all along in this review is why it took a novice to take this new approach, as much sense as it makes, to the study of poetry. Maybe it's just that the forest is so full of trees. Tabios writes that her ignorance and lack of intellectual baggage were probably a great benefit; the poets were more willing to be open and forthcoming with her because they sensed no hidden agendas, no axes to grind: "I think that towards poetry (or all Arts) one mostly needs to bring an open mind and an open heart." Black Lightning is the best possible recommendation for an open mind and an open heart. It is a magnificent specimen, an open book.