University Libraries

By Ione Damasco

The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” may be true, but at the University of Dayton, April brings a month of celebrations and recognitions. Nationally, April is recognized as Arab American Heritage Month, and at UD, we also celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander  Heritage Month. These celebrations provide an opportunity to spotlight the rich and varied cultural backgrounds, common struggles, unique achievements and shared experiences of the many individuals who form these communities. We invite you to explore the stories that provide a window into their experiences.

Fiction

I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom, by Shannon C.F. Rogers (find it in leisure reading): Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature in 2024, this is a powerful novel about Filipina American teen Marisol Martin, who is trying to figure out who she is in the wake of her mother’s untimely passing.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (find it in leisure reading): This bestselling novel, shortlisted for the National Book Award, focuses on the story of poet Cyrus Shams, a newly sober, queer Iranian immigrant who is trying to come to terms with the death of his parents while navigating ongoing struggles with addiction, depression, insomnia and feelings of alienation. It’s a powerful story about what it means to be creative and find purpose in a world that can oftentimes be cruel and uncaring.  

She Is a Haunting, by Trang Thanh Tran (find it in leisure reading): Seventeen-year-old Jade Nguyen agrees to spend several weeks in Vietnam visiting her estranged father, who is restoring an old French colonial house. But once Jade arrives, she quickly realizes the house is more than it seems. It’s both an atmospheric horror story and a tale of coming to terms with one’s own complicated identity.

Nonfiction

Arab New York: Politics and Community in the Everyday Lives of Arab Americans, by Emily Regan Wills: Using ethnographic data, Wills presents a compelling narrative of Arab Americans in New York City, exploring how this community is engaging with the politics and discourse that surrounds them.

Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics, edited by Lynn Fujiwara and Shireen Roshanravan (find it on the fifth floor): This collection of essays explores the relationships among Asian American feminisms, feminist-of-color work, and transnational feminist scholarship. Topics included in this book are: the politics of visibility; histories of Asian American participation in women-of-color political formations; accountability for Asian American “settler complicities” and cross-racial solidarities; and Asian American community-based strategies against state violence. 

From Here: A Memoir, by Luma Mufleh (find it in leisure reading): Mufleh is the founder of Fugees Family, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing educational equity to refugee resettlement communities across America. This is her coming-of-age memoir, where she shares her own difficult journey of navigating being a gay, Muslim, and Arab woman seeking political asylum. She eventually becomes a refugee in the United States, finding new friends and creating a chosen family. Her experiences lead her to found Fugees Family.

— Ione Damasco is a professor and associate dean of the University Libraries.