A Resource Guide to Asian American Literature ed. by Sau-ling Cynthia Wong and Stephen H. Sumida (review)

this one?" In addition, students and scholars would probably want a more thorough index in the back; Hibbard's collection, which is, of course, 600 pages shorter, has a wonderfully detailed index diät Lotringer might have used as a model to guide those who do not have die time to sift through all ofBurroughsLive. One also might wish, given the length and heft ofthe book, diät Lotringer had included her notes at the end ofeach interview rather than at the back ofthe book. Finally, her brief biographical essays to transitional periods in Burroughs' life, while informative , might be more thorough. But given the probable audience for this time, as well as the more detailed biographical essays included in James Grauerholz and Ira Silverberg's 1998 Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader (which is an ideal companion piece for this collection), one can understand Lotringer's decision to keep her comments short and to let Burroughs present himself. These points notwithstanding, Lotringer's book is a welcome and invaluable source for Burroughs scholars and students and a captivating read for his old and new fans. After reading diis collection, one might recall a scene from Burroughs' 1981 novel Cities oftheRedNightin which private investigator Clem Williamson Snide makes die following observation: "Don Juan says anyone who always looks like the same person isn't a person. He is a person impersonator" (41). Reading these interviews, one thing is certain: William S. Burroughs was a person. % Sau-ling Cynthia Wong and Stephen H. Sumida, eds. A Resource Guide to Asian American Literature. New York: The Modern Language Association ofAmerica, 2001.345p. Gwendolyn James Columbia Basin College In the preface to A Resource Guide to Asian American Literature, editors Sau-ling Cynthia Wong and Stephen H. Sumida recall the moment in 1987 when Lawson Fusao Inada, after being asked, "What is Asian American poetry?" by a reporter, responded by writing the following poem: From Live Do Asia is where my people arefrom. America is where I live.»0 + ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW * FALL 2003 Reviews Poetry is what ldo. So there it is: Asian American poetry: From Live Do. (2-3) ThroughoutA Resource Guide, the editors and contributingwriters build upon Inada's playful certainty in answering the larger question, "What is Asian American literature?" It is clear in this text that generations ofAsian American artists and scholars have established a literary identity rooted in experience and memory. This book draws upon this tradition as it seeks to explore insightful approaches to teaching this literature in a classroom. Because this volume includes many well-known Asian American writers, including Maxine Hong Kingston, Amy Tan, Frank Chin, David Henry Hwang, and others, it should prove to be an excellent resource for those teaching this material at any level. It covers book-length prose narratives and drama comprehensively and includes some selections on poetry, short fiction, and anthologies. As the editors point out, "die literature profoundly does not represent identity, culture, and groups ofAsian American peoples. But it does present strategic fictive bases for apprehending and analyzing historical constructions ofAmerican culture in relation to Asian American histories, cultures, and racialization" (4). This is exactly the manner in which the material is presented. Primarily, this volume features background information on book-length prose narratives and drama as these provide the "most ready access" to an understanding of this literature (1). There are twenty-one units written by individual contributors, and each one includes publication information, an overview and discussion ofdie work's critical reception, a biography ofthe author, historical contexts for both the narrative and writing ofthe text, a discussion ofmajor themes, an outline ofcritical issues, teaching suggestions, and a comprehensive bibliography which often includes films, videos, and websites. While diis information is densely packed into this resource guide, it remains very accessible. It is clear in each unit that this material has been classroom-tested. The pedagogical suggestions are both practical and provocative. While I understood the editors' decision to focus primarily on book-length nonfiction works, I found myselfwishing this resource guide included more units on poetry and short fiction. This is not a weakness in the text; it is, in fact, a testament...