Words on the Other Asian Writers

I was dismayed to see that, once again, even through the eyes of a person of color, women were seen as second-class citizens and a multiracial Asian was seen as a third-class citizen. I say this because Iwata talked about “big-city theaters . . . showcasing more works by Asian American playwrights than at any time in history,” and yet he chose to ignore three important playwrights--all of them being women--while he mentioned Frank Chin, who, with all due respect, has never been produced by a “big-city theater.”

In fact, the only Asian American woman playwright who is produced in the major leagues is Velina Hasu Houston, who is a Japanese Amerasian. I think both racism and sexism were at play in excluding her from the article.

The article also excluded Wakako Yamauchi and Momoko Iko, two Japanese American women playwrights whose works have richly contributed to the Asian American literary landscape.

Iwata’s partial research smacks of exclusionary sexism and racism. He does a disservice to the portrait of literary Asian America by leaving out writers such as Houston, Yamauchi and Iko. In the name of fairness, a Times profile of Asian American women writers is in order.

PAULA EHRLICH, Marina del Rey