National Network for Equitable Library Service

Jessica Hagedorn has transformed her bestselling novel about the Philippines during the reign of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos into an equally powerful theatrical piece that is a multi-layered tour de force. —As Harold Bloom writes, "Hagedorn expresses the conflicts experienced by Asian immigrants caught between cultures... she takes aim at racism in the U.S. and develops in her dramas the themes of displacement and the search for belonging." —Jessica Hagedorn is a performance artist, poet, novelist, and playwright, born and raised in the Philippines. Her novels include Dogeaters (Penguin 1990)—which was nominated for a National Book Award—and The Gangster of Love (Penguin 1996); a short story collection, Danger and Beauty (City Lights 2002).