Judges 5:27

 ”for even as a youth, he ran to war
against his father, on behalf of her -
the lady unto whom, just as to death,
none willingly unlocks the door…”

Kingston’s Woman Warrior holds more weight for me as a piece of literature than A Japanese Nightingale, if I may make a quick comparison, because the way it uses its own poetic language to make its point is not only wonderful to read, but leaves no questions about where it’s headed. Whereas Watanna seemed unsure, unprofessional, & downright unfair when it came to her subjects, Kingston writes from both personal experience & personal grievances. She knows trouble, even if she has not lived through every minute of it personally, & her willingness to write without barriers about the trials is just further proof of her courage as a writer, as a woman, & as an Asian American. She seems to me to be THE voice of her audience, so much so that what she writes is written from inside Asian American Women as a unified, cataloged group, & could be related to many, if not all, of the tales of its past & future ancestors (truly, both exist).

Here’s a quick something I found interesting to pass the time. It’s a short video of Maxine Hong Kingston (Fa Mu Lan?) explaining the different histories & origins of Asian Americans & the effect they have had on the “new generation” of Asian Americans living here. The video’s got weird perspective problems visually, maybe it’s better to just watch it with the monitor off. It’s interesting especially to note the mention of the Gold Rush, which we heard about in Monday’s class.