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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 811.54
EAN: 9780874212952
ISBN: 0874212952
Label: Utah State University Press
Manufacturer: Utah State University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 67
Publication Date: 2000-08-01
Publisher: Utah State University Press
Studio: Utah State University Press

2000 Winner of the May Swenson Poetry Award. Foreword by Maxine Kumin. Although the poems in this collection are not narrative, they do present a narrative, gradually unspooling the tale of the poet's rebel aunt, who left the family "to marry a Chinaman" in the 1930's. It's an old story, full of poignancy, mystery, family pride, and doubt. When the aunt returns to die, the poet, now grown, discovers in herself the need to reclaim the connections that her family had severed. She travels to China several times--to learn. Gradually, through wide-eyed, insightful poems, we see the poet rebuild with her Chinese cousins a sense of generation, family, and humanity--bridging over all that divides us.

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fresh Images
Review: This collection of poems piques the reader's senses and maintains interest throughout. The narrative with compelling characterizations keeps the reader moving along and even identifying with the mysterious Chinese aunt and her family in the United States. It is one of those rare books of poetry which you want to read to the very end without putting it down, and yet to enjoy stopping and mulling over individual poems. The encounters between Buddhist, Christian, and Confucian elements lend universal significance. This is the best poetry on today's literary scene.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Hope & Caring & Sharing
Review: This book is the winner of the May Swenson Poetry Award for 2000. While not a narrative poem, the story of the author's aunt that married a "Chinaman" and left her family only to return when she was dying, is as close as one can get. The poems tell of the author's need for connections and a sense of family and humanity that are inspiring and eternal. The bridge over all that divides us is, after all, built on hope and caring and sharing. A Marvelous collection.

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