Poetry Book Review--Multicultural

POETRY BOOK REVIEW

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Janet S. Wong. 1996. A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED AND OTHER POEMS. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689807880


SUMMARY
She has a background of Korean, Chinese and American. She has divided her book into three sections—one section per culture. She has written poetry about each and helps the reader/listener gain a better understanding of what is like to have such a varied heritage.

In the first section the Korean poems help her connect to her mother’s background. The next section is about her father’s Chinese heritage. Finally, in the last section she writes about her American heritage.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
All of the poems written in this book are written in free verse form. Not only does she speak and write from the heart but she writes about topics that she is familiar with which packs a powerful punch. Wong has a powerful way with words and through her poems expresses a wide range of emotions.
For example, in LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, which is in the first section of her book, the love that her mother and father have for each other as young lovers is evident and instantly a reader can envision the two running into each other’s arms after a playful chase once they have reunited after her father’s return from war.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

I like to imagine Mother
when her face was full and smooth
and she wore her hair in a long braid,

and I like to imagine Father
with his crooked smile and his crooked crew cut,
wearing an American uniform,

running after her
in the narrow dirt streets
of her Korean village,

as she rushes away
laughing,
her long braid

wagging like the tail of a dog
that has found
a fresh bone.













One of my favorite poems in her second section is MONEY ORDER. It is like the saying goes “the pasture is always greener on the other side.” In the poem her family works hard, scrimps and saves to send money back to her family in China. How ironic that her family later learns that the money that was sent to the family members was used to purchase a television set so they could learn about all the possessions that Americans have and see how wealthy the American people live.

MONEY ORDER
We eat salt fish and rice,
night after night after night,
to save some money
to send
to cousins
I never have seen

who used our money last year
to buy a color TV,
so they could watch
rich Americans
eating
steak and potatoes.


REVIEW EXCERPT

School Library Journal-“Wong was born in America of Chinese and Korean heritage, but the basic subjects she addresses in neat stanzas of free verse aim at the heart of any family, any race.”


CONNECTIONS

Explore the various cultures that make up the fabric of the United States. Have the students write poems that express their heritage.

Bring in a variety of foods that are native to Korea and China and have the students see them precooked, taste raw if applicable, cook in a wok if applicable, and then have a feast with the prepared foods.

Read, enjoy, and explore other poetry books written by Janet S. Wong such as:
YOU HAVE TO WRITE. 2002. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689834098
ALEX AND THE WEDNESDAY CHESS CLUB. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689858906
TWIST: YOGA POEMS. 2007. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689873948
GOOD LUCK GOLD AND OTHER POEMS. 1994. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689506171
KNOCK ON WOOD: POEMS ABOUT SUPERSTITIONS. 2003.
New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689855125