Asian American Pacific Islander Books Published by PNW Presses

by: Sam Rivas, Contributor & Guest Author

De-Canon celebrates Asian American Pacific Islander writers, zooming in on Pacific Northwest published poetry. These collections share elements of identity—history, grief, and family.

Portuguese by Brandon Shimoda @brandon_shimoda (Octopus Books & Tin House Books) @octopusbookspoetry

“Every child I see I say to myself / is that how my child will look? I look/ For parents to extrapolate against, see only/ Myself on the opposite shore” (8, The Grave on the Wall)

Proof of Stake an Elegy by Charles Valle @checking4charles (Fonograf) @fonografeditions

“I want to invent a new plasticity of language, / Of movement, of motions, of grief / And strike these words to widen the aperture / To blur the background, all that baggage/ In buttery bokeh, unrecognizable/Dark, more dark “ (59)

Picasso’s Tears Poems 1978-2013 by Wong May (Octopus Books) @octopusbookspoetry

Poem titled, “DARK TIMES: LU HSÜN (1881-1936)” by Wong May, page 29 (Wave Books)

A Thousand Times you Lose your Treasure by Hoa Nguyen @hn2626 (Wave books)

Poem titled, “Tones in Vietnamese Language”

Photo: Hoa Nguyen’s mother was part of an all women motorcycle stunt group from Vinh Long. This is a photo of one of the women in the group.

Photo collage in Hardly War by Don Mee Choi, “Hardly Opera” pg 54-55 (Wave Books)

Photo of drawing and poem in DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi, “Orphan Nine” pg 71 (Wave Books)

Sep 12, 2018

De-Canon: A Celebration of Our Summer Events & A Look Forward

Our stay at Mile Post 5 has been a phenomenal experience. We have enjoyed having a large space to ourselves in which we’ve been able to not only exhibit the entire (and continually expanding) collection of books, but create a space where we’ve hosted readings, offered writing workshops, provided room for meetings, and enabled writers and artists of color to interact with each other, as well as the local community. Here’s an overview of what' we’ve done this summer.

Mar 6, 2018

Some Notes for AWP 2018

Although De-Canon does not have a formal presence at AWP this year (that is, we didn't invest in a table), we will still have a presence of sorts. If you'd like to chat about the project, discuss past or future post topics for the blog, or want to learn more about how to have your own books included in the archive, stop by Table 1136 in the bookfair to find Neil who is representing Boxcar Poetry Review & Have Book Will Travel.

Mar 2, 2018

Owning the Means of Production, Part 2: POC-Edited Literary Journals

In this post, we survey the landscape of literary journals and provide a listing of currently operating journals which are helmed by POC editors. In total, we found __ literary journals whose mastheads list a writer of color as their editor-in-chief. Many also feature additional associate editors and staff members who are also POC. Some of these journals have been around since the 70s, but many are newer online journals, having come into existence in the last 5 years.

Feb 22, 2018

Owning the Means of Production, Part 1: POC-run Presses

If we hope to truly challenge or reimagine literary canon, it is not enough to consider the academic programs where young writers are taught and trained. We must look beyond the classroom and the professoriate, past endless reams of syllabi making and remaking what constitutes canon, and consider the practical matter of how these texts enter the field in the first place. In this post, we present a list of POC-helmed presses that are currently in operation.

Feb 7, 2018

Upcoming Poetry Book Prize Contests for POC Writers

Although the field of literary publishing is still primarily populated by white editors and publishers, there are some POC-owned and directed publishers and a number of new and well-established poetry book prizes that are judged by respected POC authors and which seek to champion work of writers from particular communities of color. If you're a POC poet with a book manuscript in need of a home, here's a list of upcoming contests you might want to try

Feb 2, 2018

POC Writers and Their Libraries

Over the past week and a half, we've been gathering images of POC writers and their libraries, as well as asking readers and writers of color to contribute their thoughts on the importance of building a personal library and how books by other POC writers have impacted their lives.

This post showcases responses from and glimpses into the libraries of Kazim Ali, Francisco Aragón, Jackson Bliss, Genève Chao, Shu-Ling Chua, Oliver de la Paz, M. Evelina Galang, Nathania Gilson, Jenna Le, Gemma Mahadeo, Meera (@ashmeera101), and Brian W. Parker.

Jan 26, 2018

A Library of One's Own

It's hard to explain exactly why having a personal library is so valuable -- and why it is particularly valuable to a person of color (writer or reader) to build a library for oneself. Here are a few ways of thinking about the value and purpose of a personal library -- and what it can enable in ourselves.

"The history of English is inextricably tied to the history of war, to the history of empire; they cannot be separated. And hence our literature cannot be separated from these histories. Language is one of the most powerful weapons of war. It is also one of the war's first victims."

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