Intersections of Diasporic Asian-American Literatures: A Comparative Study of Zamora Linmark’s and Lois-Ann Yamanka’s Novels

Diaspora has been one of the current trending issues in the academe across the globe; consequently, the cultural production, including literature, has been extended beyond the limits and borders of one’s state or nation and diversity among the genres and types has been welcomed with open arms. In light of ongoing studies on diaspora, Asian-American literature has been brought into the flanks of literature departments in different institutions, from East to West. Two unique and compelling novels are Rolling the R’s by Zamora Linmark and Blu’s Hanging by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. This paper focuses on the points of the intersectionality of the diasporic spaces through these two pieces of Asian-American literature—namely, language, gender identity, and ethnicity, which are apparent in both novels. The paper further illuminates the role of diasporic space in cultivating these different points of intersections with the help of two literary theories—post-colonialism and gender theory—which are both important lenses to strengthen and support the arguments regarding the role of diasporic spaces in undermining the socio-cultural backgrounds of different interlocutors present in the story, from their languages to their ethnicity.