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Asian American Little Magazines 1968-1974: By Amardeep Singh

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Asian American Little Magazines This site introduces readers to Asian American little magazines published between 1968 and 1974, marking the emergence of the Asian American movement as both idea and as social network.

The late 1960s and early 1970s was a moment when a new Asian American identity movement -- as developed by a community of activists, writers, artists, and musicians -- was in the process of emergence, at college campuses as well as at urban centers on both the east and west coast. Young writers and activists, some of whom would go on to become established figures, were first publishing their works in new magazines during this period, including Gidra, Bridge: the Asian American Magazine, Rodan, Aion, Kalayaan International, Amerasia Journal, and Yellow Seeds. Writers whose early works are described on this site include Lawson Inada, Janice Mirikitani, Frank Chin, Amy Uyematsu, Mike Murase, and Ron Tanaka, and many others.

To be clear, this is not a digital archive of Asian American little magazines. Many of the works published in those magazines are likely still under copyright -- and in any case, there are other sites that operate as repositories for some of the works published in those magazines (for a list of such repositories, see below).

1968 seems an appropriate a starting point because that is the year when, scholars claim, Yuji Ichioka coined the term "Asian American" to describe a shared sense of identity amongst Chinese-American, Japanese-American and Filipino-American communities. Until that point, there had certainly been advocacy and activism within those groups, but it was 'ethnic' advocacy -- Japanese Americans tended to advocate for other Japanese Americans. The Asian American movement marks the beginning of true pan-ethnic Asian identity.

1968 is also the year of the groundbreaking student strikes at San Francisco State College (later, University) and UC Berkeley -- which led to the creation of the first Ethnic studies departments at American universities. The next few years would see impressive activity amongst Asian American activists, students, and community members -- and the emergence of numerous independent publications on both the east and west coasts. Many of these magazines were working on the same thematic issues, and some of them saw considerable cross-pollination in terms of contributing authors and editors. Since 1974 is the year of the publication of a major anthology of Asian American literature, Aiiieeeee: An Anthology of Asian-American Wariers, 1974 seems like an appropriate endpoint for a narrowly-focused project like this one.

Little Magazines

A "little magazine" is typically understood as an independent publication aimed at a niche audience. Our usage of the term borrows from substantial scholarly work in modernist studies on the role of the little magazine in early 20th century writing. Little magazines were crucial to the emergence of an avant-garde modernist movement in England and the U.S. Analogously, I believe important conversations were occurring amongst Asian-American writers during the period marked here -- through which writers from different communities came to see their experiences as connected, despite real differences. The outcome of this work was the formation of an Asian American literary movement -- greater in some ways than the sum of its parts. Alongside documenting the actual magazines in question, this site aims to show the emergence of a network during the time period in question.

To be clear, these were by no means the only Asian American magazines being published at the time. Alongside the alternative publications showcased here were established magazines like Pacific Citizen, Kashu Mainichi, and Crossroads. Within the Japanese community, these were often operated and edited by the older generation (Nisei); the independent little magazine format was largely favored by the then-emergent third generation Japanese American community (Sansei).

This project has been greatly facilitated by several repositories of little magazine materials online, including:

the Gidra repository
the Aion repository
the Yellow Seeds repository

The journal Amerasia Journal was initially published as an academic journal by undergraduates at Yale University; its editors were in direct conversation with writers and editors who tended to publish in the other journals, so it will be considered here alongside the others. (Early issues of Amerasia Journal are available through academic journal providers.)

Magazines such as Bridge: the Asian-American Magazine can be found in the special collections of various research libraries, including some on the east coast. Magazines such as Rodan and Kalayaan International, tend to be more limited to West Coast collections.

--Amardeep Singh
Department of English
Lehigh University
Gidra Magazine (1969-1974; Los Angeles) Gidra: The Monthly of the Asian American Experience, was a Los Angeles-based monthly that ran from 1969-1974. Given the range of topics covered and the pedigree of its authors and editors, Gidra might be the single most influential Asian American little magazine. A number of articles first published in Gidra were later re-published in other venues, including Roots: An Asian American Reader. Figures who would later be influential in California politics, including Warren Furutani and Mike Murase, had their start at Gidra, as did influential poets like Amy Uyematsu.

Gidra was created by a group of students at the University of California, Los Angeles. Its early issues cover the first course on Asian American identity taught at UCLA, "Orientals in America" (issue 1-2; the course was taught by Yuji Ichioka), as well as the founding of the Asian American Student Alliance (issue 1-3). Other topics covered in the first few issues include the reaction of S.I. Hayakawa to Gidra itself (he was dismissive), as well as the trial of Dr. Thomas Noguchi.

A breakthrough of sorts might be found in Gidra 1.5 (August 1969). This issue contains a series of detailed explorations of Asian American identity through historical essays looking at the experiences of Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, and Filipino Americans. It also contains an extensive list of community organizations. The strong historical focus and the emphasis on the emerging pan-ethnic networks suggests a shift in the magazine's orientation -- from an emphasis on provocation to a focus on community development.

The entire run of Gidra is available online at Densho Repository.

More links:

An introduction to Gidra by Brian Niiya at Densho Digital Repository.
An overview of Gidra by Jaeah J. Lee, with recent interview material from editor Mike Murase.
Asian American Little Magazines: Welcome This site introduces readers to Asian American little magazines published between 1968 and 1974, marking the emergence of the Asian American movement as both idea and as social network.

The late 1960s and early 1970s was a moment when a new Asian American identity movement -- as developed by a community of activists, writers, artists, and musicians -- was in the process of emergence, at college campuses as well as at urban centers on both the east and west coast. Young writers and activists, some of whom would go on to become established figures, were first publishing their works in new magazines during this period, including Gidra, Bridge: the Asian American Magazine, Rodan, Aion, Kalayaan International, Amerasia Journal, and Yellow Seeds. Writers whose early works are described on this site include Yuji Ichioka, Lawson Inada, Janice Mirikitani, Frank Chin, Emma Gee, Amy Uyematsu, Mike Murase, Ron Tanaka, and others.

To be clear, this is not a digital archive of Asian American little magazines. Many of the works published in those magazines are likely still under copyright -- and in any case, there are other sites that operate as repositories for some of the works published in those magazines (for a list of such repositories, see below).

1968 seems an appropriate a starting point because that is the year when, scholars claim, Yuji Ichioka coined the term "Asian American" to describe a shared sense of identity amongst Chinese-American, Japanese-American and Filipino-American communities. Until that point, there had certainly been advocacy and activism within those groups, but it was 'ethnic' advocacy -- Japanese Americans tended to advocate for other Japanese Americans. The Asian American movement marks the beginning of true pan-ethnic Asian identity.

The coinage of the term "Asian American" appears to be somewhat apocryphal -- Ichioka did not publish a specific manifesto or essay announcing the new concept -- but the immediate outcome was the creation of the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) group at UC-Berkeley in the summer of 1968 (created by Ichioka and Emma Gee). This was a group largely focused on anti-Vietnam war activities and connected to the newly emerging Peace and Freedom Party. I have been unable to find a singular 'origin' statement from Ichioka or Gee themselves, but here is an excerpt from a speech given by AAPA member Richard Aoki in July 1968:
"We Asian-Americans believe that American society has been, and still is, fundamentally a racist society, and that historically we have accommodated ourselves to this society in order to survive...We Asian-Americans support all non-white liberation movements and believe that all minorities in order to be truly liberated must have complete control over the political, economic, and social institutions within their respective communities. We unconditionally, support the struggles of the Afro-American people, the Chicanos, and the American Indians to attain freedom, justice, and equality… We are unconditionally against the war in Vietnam… In conclusion, I would like to add that the Asian American Political Alliance is not just another Sunday social club. We are an action-oriented group, and we will not just restrict our activities to merely ethnic issues, but to all issues that are of fundamental importance pertaining to the building of a new and a better world." (Cited in Voices of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Experience)

In 1968, the AAPA was also involved in the groundbreaking student strikes at San Francisco State College (later, University) and UC Berkeley -- which led to the creation of the first Ethnic studies departments at American universities. While AAPA would quickly disband (in 1969), it put in place a concept that would continue to grow in influence. The next few years would see impressive activity amongst Asian American activists, students, and community members -- and the emergence of numerous independent publications on both the east and west coasts. Many of these magazines were working on the same thematic issues, and some of them saw considerable cross-pollination in terms of contributing authors and editors. Since 1974 is the year of the publication of a major anthology of Asian American literature, Aiiieeeee: An Anthology of Asian-American Wariers, 1974 seems like an appropriate endpoint for a narrowly-focused project like this one.

Little Magazines

A "little magazine" is typically understood as an independent publication aimed at a niche audience. Our usage of the term borrows from substantial scholarly work in modernist studies on the role of the little magazine in early 20th century writing. Little magazines were crucial to the emergence of an avant-garde modernist movement in England and the U.S. (See Churchill and McKible, 2005; Scholes and Wulfman, 2010).

A helpful summary of the importance of literary magazines to early 20th century modernism might be the following passage from Churchill and McKible's Introduction to Little Magazines and Modernism (2005):
Little magazines acted as open, heterogeneous social settings in which writers of various races, nationalities, and classes read and responded to each other's work. Today, the provide loci of identification and difference, allowing us to map the lines of connection, influence, conflict, and resistance that entangled the many strands of modernism. [...] In short little magazines pulsed with the excitement of their times, and they often anticipated or forged future literary and political trends. By reading little magazines carefully, we can see how they set the stage for surprising collaborative efforts, wove webs of interaction and influence, set trends, established and ruined reputations, and shaped the course of modernism." (Churchill and McKible, 2)

I believe many of the dynamics Churchill and McKible identify as occurring in little magazines in the early 20th century might also be available in the Asian American little magazine scene that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As with modernist little magazines, Asian American little magazines, "pulsed with the excitement of their times" The issues at stake were different and the language and style were different, but the idea that the magazine culture can give us valuable information about the architecture of an emergent literary movement applies to both contexts.

Important conversations about the possibilities for pan-Asian organizing and political action were occurring amongst Asian-American writers during the period marked here -- through which writers from different communities came to see their experiences as connected, despite real differences. The outcome of this work was the formation of an Asian American literary movement -- which continues to develop today, in modified form. Alongside documenting the actual magazines in question, this site aims to show the emergence of a network during the time period in question. Who was reading whom? What conversations were happening in which cities?

Of course, these were by no means the only Asian American magazines being published at the time. Alongside the alternative publications showcased here were established magazines like Pacific Citizen, Kashu Mainichi, and Crossroads. Within the Japanese community, these were often operated and edited by the older generation (Nisei); the independent little magazine format was largely favored by the then-emergent third generation Japanese American community (Sansei).

This project has been greatly facilitated by several repositories of little magazine materials online, including:

the Gidra repository
the Aion repository
the Yellow Seeds repository

The journal Amerasia Journal was initially published as an academic journal by undergraduates at Yale University; its editors were in direct conversation with writers and editors who tended to publish in the other journals, so it will be considered here alongside the others. (Early issues of Amerasia Journal are available through academic journal providers.)

Magazines such as Bridge: the Asian-American Magazine can be found in the special collections of various research libraries, including some on the east coast. Magazines such as Rodan and Kalayaan International, tend to be more limited to West Coast collections.

--Amardeep Singh
Department of English
Lehigh University
Gidra 2.1 (January 1970) 4 Gidra 2.1 (January 1970) plain 2019-07-15T14:34:20-04:00
Annotated Table of Contents
- Soldiers Oppose War. By Alan Lee
- Remember 1942? By Carol, James, Seigo & Victor. An account of a visit to Manzanar, a former Japanese internment camp, that took place in December 1969. The visit was organized by the JACL, and connected by the JACL's drive to have Congress repeal Title II of the Internal Security Act of 1950.
- Manzanar, 1969. Photo essay showing the Manzanar Relocation Center.
- Movement Chronology. Unsigned. A detailed timeline showing the primary events of 1969, a breakthrough year for the Asian American movement.
- ARM Receives Continuance by Eddie Wong. An update on the legal process involving the twenty-two students facing felony charges after the protests in November 1969 following the firing of a black cafeteria worker.
- March For Peace. Unsigned. Announcing a planned march for peace in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.
- Prof Says--"they're quiet" by George Araki, SFCJAS. An account of a talk given by Dr. Stanford Lyman at the San Francisco Center for Japanese Amaerican Studies. Lyman was a professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, who walked through the anthropological basis of the "quiet Japanese" stereotype.
- A Victorious New Year to You ... America. An article reprinted from the Manzanar Free Press, from January 1, 1942.
- Idiots and Insanity. By Steve Tatsukawa. An opinion piece criticizing the overwhelming police force wielded against the Black Panthers following an incident that took place in Los Angeles on December 8, 1969. In that incident, 300 LAPD officers skirmished with 12 Black Panther Party militants.
- Rebel With a Cause: The Story of Dr. Thomas T. Noguchi. By Seigo Hayashi. A detailed profile of the career of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, whose trial had been covered extensively by Gidra in its first few issues.
- Book Review by Yuji Ichioka. Review of Nisei: The Quiet Americans. A critical review of the controversial book by a faculty member at UCLA -- and the Director of the Asian American Studies Center.
Poems
- "Who Am I?" by Robert. Reprinted from Yellow Journalism, Cal State Long Beach
- "God Bless America" by Jeanne Iwasaki