Ava Chin is a poet/writer/performer. She has previously written for the Village Voice, had a brief stint as a guest editor for a top hip-hop culture ‘zine, and has worked in collaboration with dancers. I asked Ava to do a little Q&A about what's going on with the Asian American presence in the American magazine biz.

"First thing, I became aware of Asian American magazine publications in the 80's. My great-grandmother sent me this magazine with Tiffany Chin on the cover. While it was the first glossy magazine I had seen published by Asian Americans. It was somewhat centered on the bourgeoisie of Asian American society. So it wasn't the type of writing I was interested in. I am the third generation of Asian Americans born in America, in my family. I read voraciously as a child, and watched a lot of television .

I was always aware that there were Asian American writers out there. One of the earliest books I remember reading was The Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Wong. Not only was I exposed to Asian American writers works in my home, but later in college. When I was a student in Queens College I took a course titled something like; The Immigrant Experience in America. In this class I was further exposed to Asian American writers experiences and views. Although much of the Asian American writers works focused on eastern world vs. western world viewpoints. One of the books was America In The Heart ,a memoir by Carlos Bulosan. In this memoir he chronicles his experiences as an Asian American. His writing is classic in that it he considers his writing as a political act.

I was always hungry for writings by contemporary Asian American writers. I wanted to read works that did not focus solely on race, but culture as well. Yuri Kochiyama is an Asian American writer and activist, who was interned in a detention camp in the US during the Pearl Harbor period. She was active in the Civil Rights era of the 60's and 70's, and later wrote two books about her association with Malcolm X and the civil rights movement. She is someone whose writings I gravitated towards. I think you will often find Asian American writers and activists who have been influenced by African Americans in some way.

Okay, back to your question about Asian Americans in the zine biz. In the 90's, important Asian American publications came out of the West coast. The first was A, a magazine edited by Jeff Yang, formerly a critic at the Village Voice. I wrote briefly for A but I was unhappy with the Studs Terkel type writing, and fashion representations in the magazine. I was more interested in writing about the experiences of sweatshop workers, and also exposing the complicity of fashion models. There is also Yolk, more recently is the magazine Giant Robot. I'm not sure if Yolk is still in publication. Giant Robot though, has hit something. It is a good cultural magazine with interesting articles and it presents a global perspective in Asian American contemporary culture."

" I would agree that in the 90's we did see the increase of varied Asian American writers publications. I think you could say it had it's beginnings in the 70's. During that period there were the Basement Writers Workshops where Asian American writers, artists, activists met and developed their work. Some of the writers who were part of these workshops were Fay Chan and Kimiko Hahn. Many of the Asian American writers whose works I have read have come out of those 70's writers workshops."

"I think there will be a greater interest in Asian American publications by the mainstream publishing world, and among mainstream readers. As we move toward the millennium there seems to be more interest in general, in American magazines worldwide. Look at the success of Latina magazine for example. Giant Robot is a zine that is ready for mainstream attention. I'm not aware of Asian American editors at major publishing houses. But I think there will be an increase in the publishing of Asian American writers. Two of those writers will be; Vietnamese American writer Christian Langworthy ( a poet with Mudfish publications) and Chay Thuy Lee. Kaya Press, an independent publisher focusing on the works of Asian Americian writers, has previously published the works of Kamiko Hahn and Larry Chew. It continues to present the work of little known contemporary writers. Yeah, I would agree there is a lot more to come."

We have put together a short list of other titles by Asian American writers available at amazon.com.

We have put together a short list of other titles by Asian American writers available at amazon.com.