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New Books for You to Read
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Danger and Beauty
By Jessica Hagedorn (City Lights Books)
An expanded edition of Hagedorn’s collected works, first published in 1993, Danger and Beauty has it all: early poems, prose pieces, cultural commentary and performance text. More than just collected works, this book traces the history of one of the fiercest APA women writers out there. Journey back to San Francisco in the 1970s, “the shaky transition out of the burned out Sixties” where Hagedorn was discovering herself as a Filipina American writer; where consumed by music she started the band The West Coast Gangster Choir. Then flip to New York City where Hagedorn was performing her poems on stage at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater. Be sure to read “Pet Food,” a 70-page novella following the life of young Filipina George as she mixes with feline lovers, strung-out millionaires and a beautiful boy named Boogie.
Sweet Jesus: Poems About the Ultimate Icon
Edited by Nick Carbó and Denise Duhamel (Anthology Press)
Filipino American poet Carbó and Duhamel were inspired by John Lennon’s controversial proclamation that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus.” What follows is a truly tasty exploration of Jesus: his life, his rebirths, his influence and many explorations of what he might be doing today (according to these poets, he might be playing Sega, on a bus in Skokie, crashing weddings in the desert, selling chilies from a truck in New Mexico, doing his laundry at the laundromat, in line at the A&P or strapped down at a nursing home). Featuring poets like Eric Gamalinda and Sherman Alexie, Sweet Jesus is worth some time in church. |
