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Title details for 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam Le - Available

36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem

by Nam Le
Nam Le
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
An explosive, devastating debut book of poetry from the acclaimed author of The Boat
In his first international release since the award-winning, best-selling The Boat, Nam Le delivers a shot across the bow with a book-length poem that honors every convention of diasporic literature—in a virtuosic array of forms and registers—before shattering the form itself.
In line with the works of Claudia Rankine, Cathy Park Hong, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, this book is an urgent, unsettling reckoning with identity—and the violence of identity. For Le, a Vietnamese refugee in the West, this means the assumed violence of racism, oppression, and historical trauma.
But it also means the violence of that assumption. Of being always assumed to be outside one’s home, country, culture, or language. And the complex violence—for the diasporic writer who wants to address any of this—of language itself.
Making use of multiple tones, moods, masks, and camouflages, Le’s poetic debut moves with unpredictable and destabilizing energy between the personal and the political. As self-indicting as it is scathing, hilarious as it is desperately moving, this is a singular, breakthrough book.
*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of visual elements from the book, to reference for several of the poems.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 5, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593825334
      • File size: 37193 KB
      • Duration: 01:17:29

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 18, 2023
      Le’s evocative and introspective debut delves deep into the complexities of diasporic experiences, weaving intergenerational memory through a moving portrayal of survival, displacement, and identity. Le reflects, “My family came to this country with/ nothing more than a small knapsack// full of cut diamonds.” This metaphorical sack, filled with the precious memories and heritage of their Vietnamese homeland, is juxtaposed with footnotes that highlight the complexities of diaspora: “(The need to deflect via humour qua coping mechanism is a violence”// “The war broke differently for north v south, for those who left earlier v those who left later; the failure to differentiate is a violence).” These annotations underscore the internal and external conflicts arising from the complicated, layered nature of the immigrant experience. Elsewhere, Le remarks, “We know. When they say/ kill ratio they mean death—our death.” Reimagining Vietnamese culture and legacy, this volume stands as a testament to the power of poetry to articulate complex themes, from the weight of cultural heritage to the nuances of representation.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Vietnamese-born poet Nam Le's second poetry book speaks provocatively to the perspectives of people with multicultural identities, especially those whose experiences include a violent history. Many of his words are haunting, and his slow, steady way of speaking creates anticipation for what comes next. Listeners can hear the darkness and trauma in his tone. In the poem "Violence: Paedo-affective: (Slam Declension)," Le speaks the words "boom boom boom boom" in a staccato, repetitive manner with a slight elevation of energy, but, overall, his consistency in calmly delivering his poems seems to illuminate the unstable, contradictory nature of the world he is a part of. This is an eloquent, evocative narration. T.E.C. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2024

      Short story writer Le (The Boat) turns to poetry, offering a collection of intricately crafted, evocative works. Themes are varied, and Le doesn't shy away from hot-button issues such as immigration, identity, and racism ("the girls, Hello-Kitty'ed, / yellow-faced, extolled for almond eyes and / white-adjacent skin"). In "Matri-immigral," Le explores the experiences of Vietnamese immigrants, often relegated to subservient, unseen roles: "My mother wipes your mother's mouth, /.../ My mother wipes your children's bums, /.../ My mother paints and strips your nails." "Violence: Patri-confessional" finds the author at the burial of a father: "A new matter of time, him & his apologies." Unfortunately, while the topics Le traverses are powerful--devastating in their rawness and simplicity--listeners might struggle to follow along. Le employs a range of creative poetic forms and devices, but these become muddled in audio, even with the author's narration lending a personal touch. While the audio version has a print supplement, listeners will probably find that Le's work is best experienced on the page. VERDICT Le's stunning poetry debut is not to be missed, but the print edition is preferable to the audio.--Whitney Bates-Gomez

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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