Asian American Literary Review
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Gerald Maa: Regionally: born in the Midwest, raised Texan, came into my own on the East Coast, and now reside in Southern California. I have a loving mother, step-father, and brother—and both branches of the family are rife with even more caring people. Ever since my sophomore year at Rice University, I’ve devoted my vocational life to literature in one way or another. Right now I’m an editor-in-chief of the Asian American Literary Review and a graduate student at University of California, Irvine.
Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis: I’m a reader, editor, writer, scholar, teacher, foodie, basketball junkie, dog person, and dad, not in precisely that order. My mom came to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1966; my dad’s family, originally from Wales, has been here a little longer than we can easily trace. I was born in Florida and raised in Maryland, where I live now. With Gerald I co-direct AALR, which we founded together in 2009.
What is the Asian American Literary Review?
GM: We are a journal-based literary non-profit. Our mission statement is: “The Asian American Literary Review is a space for writers who consider the designation ‘Asian American’ a fruitful starting point for artistic vision and community. In showcasing the work of established and emerging writers, the journal aims to incubate dialogues and, just as importantly, open those dialogues to regional, national, and international audiences of all constituencies. We select work that is, as Marianne Moore once put it, ‘an expression of our needs…[and] feeling, modified by the writer’s moral and technical insights.’ Published biannually, AALR features fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations, comic art, interviews, and book reviews.”
LMBD: AALR started as a conversation amongst friends, and still is—the circle’s just gotten a bit bigger.
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