Classical Reception in Asian American Literature
The first study devoted entirely to classical reception in Asian American culture
Description
Troubled by the discipline’s historical relationship to white supremacy, classical scholars have begun to reexamine their fundamental assumptions about the relevance of ancient Greece and Rome to the modern world. After decades in which classical reception was relegated to the periphery of the discipline, a consensus has developed that the study of modern interactions with antiquity is inherently valuable. One of the newest branches of classical reception focuses on the cultural productions and political realities of Asian Americans. Contending that the Asian American authors discussed herein understand the ancient world as fundamentally unstable, Classical Reception in Asian American Literature interrogates this instability as manifested in fragmentation, violence, mythology, allusion, performance, and memory.
The study explores the written works of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Ocean Vuong, Quan Barry, Chang-rae Lee, David Lau, Sally Wen Mao, Johanna Hedva, Hoa Nguyen, and Vi Khi Nao. Via their written works, Christopher Waldo explores the bond between Demeter and Persephone, Telemachus’ identity as a fatherless son, the relationship between diasporic authors and Sappho, reinventions of mythology surrounding the Trojan War, and more. In Classical Reception in Asian American Literature, the literary traditions of the East and West collide to illuminate the threads of connection between the ancient and modern worlds.
Christopher Waldo is Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Reviews
“This is the first sustained study of the role of Classical Antiquity in Asian American literary and cultural discourse, and as such opens the doorway for Asian American literary scholarship to participate in new understandings of Classical Studies. It’s powerful to see the diverse and ingenious ways that Classical Antiquity shows up in Asian American literary imagination.”
- Sue-Im Lee, Temple University
“Classical Reception in Asian American Literature stakes new ground by showing how literary works by contemporary Asian American writers engage, in both direct and in more allusive ways, in a dialogue with ancient Greek and Latin literature. Long-read and much-translated ancient texts still have new meanings to reveal when studied alongside the latest songs which, as Telemachus says to Penelope in Odyssey 1.351-2, are the ones praised all the more.”
- Kristina Chew, Rutgers University
“Christopher Waldo’s Classical Reception in Asian American Literature makes a major contribution with its innovative methodology, focus on fascinating and understudied works, and incisive readings and analyses. Anyone interested in the living presence of antiquity will learn and benefit from it.”
- Joshua H. Billings, Princeton University
“As the inaugural volume of the Classics and Asia at the Intersections series, Chris Waldo’s book opens up an entirely new field of reception studies. Every page is packed with fresh insights, whether you’re interested in Sappho’s lyrics, Greek mythology, or Asian American literature. I found Waldo an informative and highly engaging guide to this material.”
- Melissa Mueller, University of Massachusetts, Amherst