Living In America: Poetry And Fiction By South Asian American Writers [Paperback]

Roshni Rustomji-kerns (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0813323789 | ISBN-13: 978-0813323787 | Edition: Ex-Library

The book includes both a historical introduction and one exploring South Asian literary traditions and the concept of the collection.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a major compilation of Asian American authors, some native-born, others immigrants, refugees, or expatriates. While some of the writers are well known (e.g., Ved Mehta, Meena Alexander), most are emerging voices. The volume is divided into two parts: poetry and fiction. Poets are represented by one or two poems; short story writers by just one piece. Each author contributed a "statement," whether biographical, literary, or philosophical, that appears before his or her work. The editor (professor emeritus, liberal studies and India Studies Program, Sonoman State Univ.) has provided more traditional biographical information at the back of the book. The writers describe a wide range of experience in a great variety of styles. Recommended for larger literary collections or for libraries with large Asian American populations.?Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press; Ex-Library edition (April 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813323789
• ISBN-13: 978-0813323787
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,061,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!!, February 24, 1997

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This review is from: Living In America: Poetry And Fiction By South Asian American Writers (Paperback)

For centuries, people from the Indian subcontinent have been on the move. They migrated to Southeast Asia and East Asia as emissaries of trade and religion. They traveled to the outposts of the British Empire in Africa, the Caribbean, Guyana, and the Pacific Islands as indentured laborers. They journeyed to North America as students and swamis, laborers and merchants.

Living in America offers snapshots of the South Asian diaspora in North America. Written with panache and passion, some of the experiences strike a resonant chord in the soul of the reader. Bapsi Sidhwa, for instance, wryly narrates harrowing encounters with American immigration officials. Kirin Narayan evokes the remorse and anguish of the native, returning from the motherland. Javaid Qazi examines the psyche of the unemployed professional, a victim of corporate downsizing. Chitra Divakaruni poignantly recalls the plight of poor Sikh laborers in California at the turn of the century.

Particularly outstanding vignettes deal with culture conflict; not the traditional conflict between the dominant white culture and the immigrant value system but an interesting variation of the old theme, namely, the clash of values between South Asian immigrants and South Asian-Americans.

Minal Hajratwala pleads with immigrant parents for compassion and acceptance of their bisexual offspring. Tahira Naqvi depicts the betrayal and shame of a Pakistani family when their daughter weds an American boy. Jyotsna Sreenivasan portrays the frustrations of an Indian-American school girl with a classmate just arrived from India. Rajini Srikanth captures the anger and tension that emanate from a South Asian American woman seeking space and privacy from her immigrant counterpart.

The writings in this anthology are not gut-wrenching "ghetto" tales or soul-searing "barrio" experiences. Instead, they reflect the yearnings and concerns of a predominantly middle class, English speaking, educated South Asian community straddling two cultures and struggling to define its identity.

While the ethnic profile bolsters popular stereotypes of the model minority, it doesn't quite explain their relative anonymity in the social fabric of American life. Does the low social visibility of South Asian- Americans imply successful assimilation? Did the acculturation process begin in the American universities, where most of them spent their initial years? Or, is it a marginalized existence of accommodation without assimilation?

Demographic changes have made it harder for South Asians to maintain a low profile. The more recent immigrants are often not as well educated as the relatives who sponsored them. On arrival, they enter the work force, eschewing university life for a paycheck. Many end up as service providers, driving taxicabs and manning toll-booths, making them vulnerable to racial confrontation. A more insidious change stems from the aging of the community. As more retired professionals join the ranks of senior citizens, what will their twilight years be like in America?

Perhaps the next anthology will reflect these shifting trends and the response of the South Asian-American community to the new challenges