In addition to beautiful blooms around Camden, May brings the month-long observance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This celebration of heritage has been in place in some form since 1979, when Congress thus designated the first ten days of May to the recognition of Asian American history, which was expanded to a full month in 1990. The choice of May was made to coincide with the anniversaries of the first Japanese immigration to the United States and the completion of the transcontinental railroad, driven largely by Chinese workers. And what exactly does this umbrella term cover? According to the Library of Congress, "Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island)." Whew!
There are more than 20 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders in this country, and certainly one designated month is not the only to time to listen to, read, and explore their stories and perspectives. Given recent events in this country, however, it feels more important than ever to try to gain an understanding of other cultures and experiences. On that note, today I'm bringing you a selected reading list of novels, memoirs, histories, poetry, and more from Asian American and Pacific Islander authors. As usual, it's only the tip of the iceberg!
If you are interested in learning more about Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage, visit the online exhibit curated through a partnership between the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the National Archives Records Administration, and others. You can view artwork, documents from the archives, and explore other cultural and historical information, from Japanese relocation to current day experiences to explorations of sites of cultural importance. Explore the multifaceted exhibit here: https://asianpacificheritage.gov/.
Without further ado, the reading list! Click on the links to learn more about each title and/or to request them from our catalog.
Fiction
Insurrecto, Gina Apostol
America is Not the Heart, Elaine Castillo
Days of Distraction, Alexandra Chang
Trust Exercise, Susan Choi
Forgotten Country, Catherine Chung
The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang
The Leavers, Lisa Ko
Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
Severance, Ling Ma
A Burning, Megha Majumdar
Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka
The Island of Sea Women, Lisa See
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
Chemistry, Weike Wang
I Hotel, Karen Tei Yamashita
Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu
Sour Heart: stories, Jenny Zhang
Memoirs, Poetry, Biographies, and Other Nonfiction
Go Home!, ed. Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
All You Can Ever Know, Nicole Chung
Minor Feelings, Cathy Park Hong
The Woman Warrior: memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston
Native Speaker, Chang-rae Lee
Rose: poems, Li-Young Lee
They Called Us Enemy, George Takei
The Body Papers: a memoir, Grace Talusan
Eye Level: poems, Jenny Xie
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