About the book
Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry from the Association for Asian American Studies
New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Winner
Julie Suk Award Finalist
Dear Diaspora is an unapologetic reckoning with history, memory, and grief. Parting the weeds on a small American town, this collection sheds light on the intersections of girlhood and diaspora. The poems introduce us to Suzi: ripping her leg hairs out with duct tape, praying for ecstasy during Sunday mass, dreaming up a language for buried familial trauma and discovering that such a language may not exist. Through a collage of lyric, documentary, and epistolary poems, we follow Suzi as she untangles intergenerational grief and her father’s disappearance while climbing trees to stare at the color green and wishing that she wore Lucy Liu’s freckles.
Winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Dear Diaspora scrutinizes our turning away from the trauma of our past and our complicity in its erasure. Suzi, caught between enjoying a rundown American adolescence and living with the inheritances of war, attempts to unravel her own inherited grief as she explores the multiplicities of identity and selfhood against the backdrop of the Vietnamese diaspora. In its deliberate interweaving of voices, Dear Diaspora explores Suzi’s journey while bringing to light other incarnations of the refugee experience.
Editions of Dear Diaspora
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781496227904
- EBook
- ISBN 9781496229267
- EBook
- ISBN 9781496229274
Read an Excerpt
Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry from the Association for Asian American Studies
New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Winner
Julie Suk Award Finalist
Dear Diaspora is an unapologetic reckoning with history, memory, and grief. Parting the weeds on a small American town, this collection sheds light on the intersections of girlhood and diaspora. The poems introduce us to Suzi: ripping her leg hairs out with duct tape, praying for ecstasy during Sunday mass, dreaming up a language for buried familial trauma and discovering that such a language may not exist. Through a collage of lyric, documentary, and epistolary poems, we follow Suzi as she untangles intergenerational grief and her father’s disappearance while climbing trees to stare at the color green and wishing that she wore Lucy Liu’s freckles.
Winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Dear Diaspora scrutinizes our turning away from the trauma of our past and our complicity in its erasure. Suzi, caught between enjoying a rundown American adolescence and living with the inheritances of war, attempts to unravel her own inherited grief as she explores the multiplicities of identity and selfhood against the backdrop of the Vietnamese diaspora. In its deliberate interweaving of voices, Dear Diaspora explores Suzi’s journey while bringing to light other incarnations of the refugee experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dear Diaspora about?
Outstanding Achievement Award in Poetry from the Association for Asian American Studies
New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Winner
Julie Suk Award Finalist
Dear Diaspora is an unapologetic reckoning with history, memory, and grief. Parting the weeds on a small American town, this collection sheds light on the intersections of girlhood and diaspora. The poems introduce us to Suzi: ripping her leg hairs out with duct tape, praying for ecstasy during Sunday mass, dreaming up a language for buried familial trauma and discovering that such a language may not exist. Through a collage of lyric, documentary, and epistolary poems, we follow Suzi as she untangles intergenerational grief and her father’s disappearance while climbing trees to stare at the color green and wishing that she wore Lucy Liu’s freckles.
Winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Dear Diaspora scrutinizes our turning away from the trauma of our past and our complicity in its erasure. Suzi, caught between enjoying a rundown American adolescence and living with the inheritances of war, attempts to unravel her own inherited grief as she explores the multiplicities of identity and selfhood against the backdrop of the Vietnamese diaspora. In its deliberate interweaving of voices, Dear Diaspora explores Suzi’s journey while bringing to light other incarnations of the refugee experience.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Dear Diaspora?
Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Poetry / Poems
Where can I read a sample of Dear Diaspora?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781496227904
Is Dear Diaspora part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series The Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Dear Diaspora?
Susan Nguyen
Who is the Publisher of the book Dear Diaspora?
Nebraska
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Dear Diaspora is available as paperback(ISBN 9781496227904) and ebook(ISBN 9781496229267) and ebook(ISBN 9781496229274)
Where can I buy Dear Diaspora online or support local independent bookshops?
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Where can I buy Dear Diaspora?