Faking It: Critical Writing 1984-1999

about this book

According to Fred Wah, the act of thinking critically is one of exploration and discovery. In Faking It, Wah demonstrates how writing poetry is writing critically. This scrapbook of Wah’s work— collected from fifteen years of his writing— contains essays, reviews, journals, notes and, most importantly, poetic improvisations on contemporary poetry and identity. Faking It was written between 1984 and 1999—during major shifts in critical thinking and cultural production—and the hybrid style of the book is an apt reflection of these changing times, as well as a reflection and study of Wah’s own hybrid identity.

reviews

"Faking It: Poetics & Hybridity was a considerable pleasure and astonishing on the level of developing Wah’s extremely varied literary and poetic inspirations . . . it would obviously be useful to teach alongside any of his collections as the readers gain an astonishing glimpse into the critical (and creative) mind of the poet, one that tells us how much the writerly subject position is vital to any readerly interpretation.” –Asian American Literature Fans