Frank Carlson Library

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl's parents arrange for their daughters to marry Gold Mountain men who have come from Los Angeles to find brides. But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel's Island (the Ellis Island of the West) where they are detained, interrogated,...

Eighth-grader Suzy has joined the high school gymnastics team, but faces pressures from her team, her coach, and her mother when an injury sidelines her.

"Set in New York and China over three decades, Paper Names explores what it means to be American from three different perspectives. There's Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life. His daughter, Tammy, who we meet at age nine and follow through adulthood, and who grapples with the expectations of a first generation American and her own personal desires. Finally, there's...

When Captain Shang is mortally wounded by Shan Yu in battle, Mulan must travel to the Underworld, Diyu, in order to save him from certain death. King Yama, the ruler of Diyu, is not willing to give Shang up easily. With the help of Shang's great lion guardian ShiShi, Mulan must traverse Diyu to find Shang's spirit, face harrowing obstacles and leave by sunrise, or become King Yama's prisoner forever. Moreover, Mulan is still disguised as the soldier...

Amy is determined to make a perfect dumpling like her parents and grandmother do, but hers are always too empty, too full, or not pinched together properly.

Cathay is a collection of classical Chinese poems by Li Bai, interpreted by the American poet Ezra Pound. Though Pound didn't speak Chinese, he based his translations on notes by Ernest Fenollosa, in the process setting a benchmark for modernist translations. The interpretative nature of Pound's work broke new ground in the treatment of poetry, and his status as an outsider allowed him a creative space not available to more, literal translators. Cathay...

Corona pandemic has prevented the wheels of civilization's progress. People of the world have been longing for remedies. The borders are sealed and strictly guarded by the security forces. Transport systems have stopped working. Unemployment, poverty, deprivation, environmental pollution, natural calamities, Man's violent attitudes towards nature, corruption, loss of moral senses are the prominent crisis of the recent times. The world has long been...

Freedom is a collection of 60 poems by Wang Yin, one of the most incisive and observant voices in modern Chinese poetry. Focusing on music, nightlife, and the culture of contemporary China, Wang Yin's wit and humor offer an original perspective on modern society. Freedom is the English-language poetry debut of Wang Yin. This bilingual volume includes poems in both English and Chinese, translated and compiled by Chinese poet Xi Nan and featuring a...

"They just squat and occupy it. Even when they are sick, they still want to occupy something." Broken Uterus is a collection of poems by Cai Gentan, one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary Chinese poetry. Comprising five distinct chapters focusing on sexual relationships, Chinese history, hospital life, and more, Gentan's clear-eyed, stark verse offers an engaging and comedic glimpse at modern China and its cultural contradictions.

To pay homage to China's greatest poets, renowned translator Bill Porter--who is also known by his Chinese name "Red Pine"--traveled throughout China visiting dozens of poets' graves and performing idiosyncratic rituals that featured Kentucky bourbon and reading poems aloud to the spirits. Combining travelogue, translations, history, and personal stories, this intimate and fast-paced tour of modern China celebrates inspirational landscapes and presents...