Jack Hicks teaches California literature and directs the Graduate Creative Program at the University of California, Davis. James D. Houston's seven books of fiction/nonfiction include "Continental Drift "(California, 1996) and "The Last Paradise" (1998), which won the American Book Award. Maxine Hong Kingston is the author of "The Woman Warrior" (1976), "China Men" (1980), and "Tripmaster Monkey" (1989). An early draft of her fourth novel, "The Fifth Book of Peace, " was destroyed in a fire; the restored version will be published in 2000-2001. Al Young's twenty books include African American l...