From the Bookshelves: ISLAND: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940

The University of Washington Press has just released a second edition of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940, edited by the late Him Mark Lai, Genny Lim, and Judy Yung.

From the press release:

From 1910 to 1940, most Chinese immigrants coming to the United States were detained at the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay.  There, they were subject to physical exams, interrogations, and long detentions aimed at upholding the exclusion laws that kept Chinese out of the country.  Many detainees recorded their anger and frustrations, hopes and despair in poetry written and carved on the barrack walls.

Island tells these immigrants’ stories while underscoring their relevance to contemporary immigration issues.  First published in 1980, Island has been updated and expanded to include a new historical introduction, 150 poems in Chinese and English translation (including from Ellis Island and Victoria, B.C.), extensive profiles of immigrants gleaned through oral histories, and dozens of new photographs from public archives and family albums.

An important historical document as well as a significant work of literature, Island is a testament to the hardships Chinese immigrants endured on Angel Island, their perseverance, and their determination to make a new life in America.

A great book to run out an get for the immprof in your life still needing a holiday gift.

-KitJ