Editors: Denise Imura and Eddie Wong Advisors: Guest Editor: Fred Wei-han Houn BOSTON: Siu-wai Anderson, songwriter/musician; Suzanne Lee, Chinese Managing Editor: Kayo Hatta Progressive Association; Lydia Lowe, Asian American Society, Art Director: Leon Sun University of Massachusetts at Boston Layout Designers: Sonny Kim, Pam Matsuoka, Leon Sun BOWLING GREEN, OHIO: Production Staff: Pat Catolico, Linda Doami, Joel Kurokawa R. Errol Lam, Librarian at the University of Ohio at Bowling Photo/Darkroom: Ben Ferris, Gary Kozono, Deborah Moy, Green Ken Yamada HONOLULU: Advertising, Business and Circulation: Steve Hom, Minette Kwok, Ko Hayashi, writer and media consultant for Media Tech Janice Sakamoto L O S A N G E L E S : EAST WIND Representatives: BOSTON: Vivian Lee; Marion Fay, attorney and Chinatown Progressive Association; HONOLULU: Joan Ihkano; LOS ANGELES: Richard Katsuda, Lloyd Inui, Director of Asian American Studies at California State Meg Thornton; Evelyn Yoshimura; NEW YORK: Sasha Hohri, University at Long Beach; Akemi Kikumura, Ph.D., author; Greg Morozumi; SACRAMENTO: Elaine Lew; Diane Tomoda; David Monkawa, National Coalition for Redress/Reparations; SAN DIEGO: Dennis Kobata, Anson Hisao Pang; Mike Murase, California Executive Director of the Rainbow Coali SAN FRANCISCO: Ernestine Tabayas; SAN JOSE: Duane Kubo; tion and L.A. Free South Africa Movement; Joyce Nako, Pacific SEATTLE: Tom Eng Asian American Women Writers' West; Bert Nakano, National Spokesman of the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations; Contributing Editors: Roy Nakano, Reginald Heber Smith Legal Fellow UCLA; Megumi ASHLAND, OREGON: Dick Osumi, attorney and former Editor of Amerasia Journal, Lawson Inada, writer, poet and Professor of English at Southern Dean Toji, co-founder of Friends of A-Bomb Survivors in Los Oregon College Angeles; Jay Yoo, Korean community organizer BOSTON: NEW YORK: Peter Kiang, Asian American Resource Workshop; Michael Liu, "Charlie" Chin, Asian American musician, songwriter, poet and teacher and Chinatown People's Progressive Association bartender; Mutya Gener, Filipinos for Alternative Media; Florence Houn, physician, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital; HONOLULU: Morgan Jin, delegate to Newspaper Guild of New York and Puanani Burgess, Hawaiian community activist Secretary-IVeasurer of Minority Caucus of the New York Times; L O S A N G E L E S : Aichi Kochiyama, Asian Women's Editor of Ethnic Women and Shop Steward of Local 1930 of DC 37 AFSCME; Virgo Lee, Chair Bruce Iwasaki, attorney and former staff of GIDRA\ Miya man, Chinese Progressive Association and Shop Steward of Ameri Iwataki, National Coahtion for Redress/Reparations and Field can Postal Workers Union; Renee Tajima, Third World Newsreel, Representative for Congressman Mervyn Dymally; Linda N a t i o n a l A s i a n A m e r i c a n Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s A s s o c i a t i o n B o a r d o f Mabalot, Executive Director, Visual Communications and member Directors, and writer of Movement for a Free Philippines; Lillian Nakano, National Coalition for Redress/Reparations; Alan Nishio, President of Little SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Ibkyo People's Rights Organization; Philip Vera Cruz, Pihpino George Kagiwada, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies labor organizer and past Vice-President of the United Farm at the University of California at Davis; David Tsue, Southside Workers Union; Evelyn Yoshimura, Little Tokyo Service Center People's Art Collective and L.A. Free South Africa Movement SAN DIEGO: NEW YORK: Dr. Yosh Kawahara, Professor of Psychology at San Diego Mesa Rockwell Chin, attorney and teacher of Asian American studies College and San Diego Chapter of the National Coahtion for at Hunter College; Sasha Hohri, Concerned Japanese Americans; Redress/Reparations; Virginia Hom Fung, editor of the Pan Asian Fred Wei-han Houn, musician, writer, political activist; Yuri Express-, Lorna Moon, poet and teacher of Honors English, Kearny Kochiyama, activist in the Asian and Third World people's High School; Leilani Sauter, poet and instructor of Sociology, San movements Diego Community College SAN FRANCISCO: SAN FRANCISCO: Virginia Ceienio, writer and member of Bay Area Filipino Mars Estrada, poet, founding member of PILAC (Philippine Arts Writers; Wilma Chan, founding member of the Chinese Pro in the Community), Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, singer/songwriter; gressive Association; Gordon Chang, graduate student in history Bill Sato, Professor of History, Peralta CoUege District and Tile at Stanford University; Antonio De Castro, videographer and Lake Pilgrimage Committee; Pam Tau, Business Agent, Local 2, founder of Human Ties Productions and Philippine Arts in the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union and Chinese Community (PILAC); Arleen de Vera, No. Califomia Coordinator, Progressive Association; Mabel Teng, Chinese Progressive Associa Asian Pacific Student Union Educational Rights Task Force; t i o n a n d C h a i r o f N o r t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a A s i a n P a c i fi c C a u c u s Forrest Gok, Paper Angels Production Board of Directors and SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: former staff of San Francisco Journal, Jon Jang, Jazz recording artist/producer of Are You Chinese or Charlie Chan?; Masao Steve Doi, attorney and instructor of Asian American Studies at Suzuki-Bonzo, Philippine Education Support Committee and tutor San Jose State University; Nancy Sato, graduate student, Stanford at the University of California, Berkeley; Ranko Yamada, University; Vivian Wu, student, Stanford University and Asian/ attorney and member of Nihonmachi Legal Outreach P a c i fi c S t u d e n t U n i o n SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: SEATTLE: Duane Kubo, Director of Hito Hata: Ray Lou, Coordinator/Pro Bob Santos, Director of the International District Improvement fessor of Asian American Studies at San Jose State University Association STORRS, CONNECTICUT STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA: E. San Juan Jr., Professor of English at the University of Connec Nelson Nagai, instructor at University of the Pacific, High School ticut and Philippine Resource Center Equivalency Program EAST WIND: Politics and Culture of Asians in the U.S., is published semi-annually by Getting Tbgether Publications, Inc. Signed articles herein reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily those of Getting Tbgether Publications. Copyright ® 1986 Getting Tbgether Publications. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of the publisher is prohibited. Subscription price = $8 per year (individual), $6 (student), $12 (Institutional). Single copy price of current issue = $3.50 plus $1 postage and handling. Back issue price = $4 per issue plus $1 postage and handling. Send all remittances and correspondence about subscriptions, contributed articles and advertisements to: EAST WIND P.O. Box 26229, San Francisco, Califomia 94126. Vol. V, No. 1 EAST WIND Spring/Summer 1986 Politics and Culture of Asians in the U.S. 2 Introduction: The Cutting Edge — Asian American Creativity and Change m '^1 ? • ? - r X - > v ' v 4 Revolutionary Asian American Art: Tradition and < ■«% .. i;ssrm« Change, Inheritance and Innovation, Not Imitation! by Fred Wei-han Houn 9 Haikus by David Monkawa 10 Searching for an Asian American Music: Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo by Norman Jayo and Paul Yamazaki 13 Poetry by Norman Jayo 14 American Chinese Opera, Chinese American Reality by Jack Chen page 4 18 Poetry by Virginia Cerenio 1 9 T H E V I S U A L A RT S : P o r t r a i t s / Vi s i o n s Works by Tomie Arai, Orlando Castillo, Santiago Rose and Yong Soon Min 25 Poetry by Mars Estrada 2 6 R u t h a n n e L u m M c C u n n : A C o m m i t m e n t to Historical Truth by Forrest Gok 28 Book Review: Sole Survivor by Genny Lim 29 An ABC from NYC: "Charlie" Chin, Asian American Singer and Songwriter by Fred Wei-han Houn 32 Hawai'i's Literature and Lunch by Darrell Lum page 14 34 The Brown Power Poet: Serafin Malay Syquia (1943-1973) 36 Poetry by Serafin Malay Syquia 39 Tribute to a Pioneer Chinese American Writer: Louis Chu (1915-1970) 42 Best of the New: Recent book and record releases E D I T O R ' S N O T E Due to the popularity of and favorable response to our last issue's focus on Asian American art and culture, the editors of EAST WIND decided to devote an entire issue to the subject. Fred Wei-han Houn, acclaimed New York-based Jazz musician, literature/music historian, critic, writer and political activist, as well as leader of the Asian American Art Ensemble and the Afro-Asian Music Ensemble, edited this special edition of EAST WIND. We hope it will stimulate more dialogue and debate on the develop ment and current direction of Asian American art. Keep sending us your comments page 19 and suggestions. Denise Imura Cover by Yong Soon Min SPRING/SUMMER 1986 1 Introduction The Cutting Edge Asian American Creativity and Change My opening essay, "Revolutionary Asian American Art," argues for the historical char By Fred Wei-han Houn a c t e r o f A s i a n A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e a s a c o n t i n u u m of resistance rooted to the hves and the strug gles of the Asian laboring masses. I posit a gen eral call for what would be revolutionary Asian American art today and encourage that work. A guest editor for this special follow-up Scholar/historian/arts organizer Jack Chen's issue of EAST WIND on Asian American art historical essay on Cantonese opera in the U.S., and culture, I have attempted to present some the earliest known Asian American cultural of the finest of contemporary Asian American form, also draws lessons for the need to support creativity that expresses a tradition of cultural Asian American art through greater audience resistance and a commitment for progressive development and strategies for self-reliance and change.