Crossings : voices from the Pacific Rim : readings from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and Canada

Summary: This anthology is an attempt to capture what the cultural theorist Mikhail Bakhtin called the "multi-voicedness" which exists within and across cultures. The project was begun in the belief that the most intense and productive life of cultures and individuals takes place on boundaries, those margins where we begin to see ourselves both through the eyes of others, and in the eyes of others. The anthology reflects the influence of both history and geographical place - its focus is on cultures whose gazes face out across the Pacific Ocean, particularly from the west coast of Canada, from China and Japan, as well as from Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam. Selections include literary and cultural texts - historical narratives, personal essays, fiction, and poetry - all engaged in human dialogues which cross between native shores and foreign traditions.