From Library Journal
Here 14 Asian American poets display the process of their poems and discuss their sources of inspiration, which include paintings, readings, personal encounters, countries of origin, and the sight of "dog piss." Tabios (poet and editor of the Asian Pacific American Journal) then presents drafts of poems from early stages through numerous alterations, deletions (sometimes entire pages), and additions, all with explanations. This makes for slow reading but engrossing revelations and ultimately rewarding insights into the birth of a poem. Tabios's skillful interviews help the poets reveal their modus operandi. That the writers are Asian American hardly matters; this is a valuable source for poets, aspiring poets, and poetry-lovers. Recommended for creative writing collections.?Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NYCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book features Eileen Tabios (editor of The Asian Pacific American Journal) discussing the development of a particular poem(s) (featuring early drafts leading to the final draft of a poem) with some of the country's leading poets: Meena Alexander, Indran Amirthanayagam, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Luis Cabalquinto, Marilyn Chin, Sesshu Foster, Jessica Hagedorn, Kimiko Hahn, Garrett Hongo, Li-Young Lee, Timothy Liu, David Mura, Arthur Sze (who also provides an introductory essay), and John Yau.

Black Lightning is the first ever publication of poetry-in-progress articles showcasing Asian American poets.

Though the focus of the book is on Asian American poets, Black Lightning is also believed to be the first collection ever of poetry-in-progress articles that actually feature the drafting stages of the subject poems. Thus, is an invaluable addition to creative writing and poetry literature in general.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Here 14 Asian American poets display the process of their poems and discuss their sources of inspiration, which include paintings, readings, personal encounters, countries of origin, and the sight of "dog piss." Tabios (poet and editor of the Asian Pacific American Journal) then presents drafts of poems from early stages through numerous alterations, deletions (sometimes entire pages), and additions, all with explanations. This makes for slow reading but engrossing revelations and ultimately rewarding insights into the birth of a poem. Tabios's skillful interviews help the poets reveal their modus operandi. That the writers are Asian American hardly matters; this is a valuable source for poets, aspiring poets, and poetry-lovers. -- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau College, Garden City, New York

A. Magazine