{"product_id":"asterism-9781961209015","title":"Asterism","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn intelligent and gorgeous collection of poems.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At times personal, at others political, slipping back and forth between lyric and narrative and drawing on various languages and geographies, \u003ci\u003eAsterism \u003c\/i\u003eis a collection of grace and grit, the work of a mind at work—in, and on, a world that is simultaneously expanding and contracting. Both accessible and legitimately experimental, these poems invite and challenge the reader, moving between registers and modes with ease.\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I have been waiting quite a while for a poet to risk the elegance and gestural audacity of the Baroque upon issues of origin and identity. All too often, these issues vex and distort our poetry. But in \u003ci\u003eAsterism\u003c\/i\u003e, they amplify the language of Ae Hee Lee onto a ravishing spree of utterance and image. There is great breadth here, and heartening innovation.”  * Donald Revell *\u003cbr\u003e“Ae Hee Lee’s \u003ci\u003eAsterism \u003c\/i\u003eis a sweeping tour de force of a collection. In this stunning debut, mouths eat, name, translate, dream, kiss. If we are what we eat, then, in these pages, the poet is everything. The body is a chestnut, the country a walnut, and homesickness a woman licking a spoon. Moreover, the poet’s mouth is a conduit to ‘an inward- \/ stretching universe of lungs \/ and dark matter.’ And Lee’s breath, which moves visibly over these poems, carries us into constellations of possibilities and light.”  * Wendy Chen, author of Unearthings *\u003cbr\u003e“I believe the poetics of heritage and belonging in this \u003ci\u003eAsterism \u003c\/i\u003eare transformative. But how does Ae Hee Lee do it? Follow the poet’s eye: ‘I show my mother the photo I’ve taken: a lone piece of winter light had landed \/ on her left cheek, as if it too could sense in her \/ a glint of its future.’ There is a sensuality that comes from kinship, and goes beyond it: ‘my mother teaches me that in Korean to forget is also expressed as to have peeled.’ Which is to say, there is a knowledge in this book that is both hidden, and in plain sight. Transformative, indeed. The attentive reader will find magic in how the message is delivered by language here: ‘you can \/ trust me, just in the beginning,’ the poet writes, ‘then translate \/ me for yourself, question me \/ unsparingly like a sparrow \/ to another sparrow about breadcrumbs.’ A marvelous work, filled with terrific imagery and—perhaps more importantly—mystery, \u003ci\u003eAsterism \u003c\/i\u003eis a brilliant debut.”  * Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa *\u003cbr\u003e“What does it mean to seek a life beyond belonging? Traveling through rich landscapes of memory, Ae Hee Lee’s \u003ci\u003eAsterism\u003c\/i\u003e retraces the poet's lineage from South Korea to Peru to the United States, restlessly seeking the self ‘at the edge of every edge.’ Words bloom and refract as they move across borders; uncertainties ring out in the gaps. Yet what is most powerful about this book is how it reaches again and again toward the reader, toward the possibilities that exist between ‘my air and your ear.’ A tender, finely-tuned collection, and a beautiful contribution to the canon of Korean diasporic literature.” * Franny Choi *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Portrait as Portrait 3\u003cbr\u003eInheritance :: Invocation 4\u003cbr\u003e(Dis)ambiguation 6\u003cbr\u003eDream Series of my Mother Making Kimchi in Trujillo 7\u003cbr\u003eHan-sum :: Breath, Singular 9\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Portrait as Mother 10\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Study through Daily Sustenance 11\u003cbr\u003eSijo :: Genealogy 16\u003cbr\u003e**\u003cbr\u003eAsterism 18\u003cbr\u003eTrujillo :: Homecoming 20\u003cbr\u003eCenters 21\u003cbr\u003eBongsung-a :: Impatient Balsam 22\u003cbr\u003e(Dis)ambiguation 23\u003cbr\u003eChicago :: Re-entry Ritual 24\u003cbr\u003ePrayer 25\u003cbr\u003eSijo :: Meeting Point 26\u003cbr\u003eUpon Practicing a Second Language 27\u003cbr\u003eRoad Trip 28\u003cbr\u003eEl Milagro :: Edges 30\u003cbr\u003eAnything You Can Find in the World You Can Find in the Body 32\u003cbr\u003eKorea :: Things to Review Before Landing 35\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Study through Homes 36\u003cbr\u003eBougainvillea :: Papelillos 39\u003cbr\u003eHome Remedies 40\u003cbr\u003eNaturalization :: Migration 41\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Portrait as I 43\u003cbr\u003eMogyoktang :: Inside 44\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Borders 45\u003cbr\u003eMidwest :: Equinox 46\u003cbr\u003eMending of Shoes 47\u003cbr\u003e***\u003cbr\u003eGreen Card :: Evidence of Adequate Means of Financial Support 51\u003cbr\u003ePapers 53\u003cbr\u003eMadrugada :: Small Hours 54\u003cbr\u003eWhen a Language is Said to be Lost 55\u003cbr\u003e(Dis)ambiguation 56\u003cbr\u003eWould I Rather Soften 57\u003cbr\u003eLa Esperanza :: Poinciana Tree 58\u003cbr\u003eGrounding Exercise 59\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Study through Prefixes 60\u003cbr\u003eHyu :: In-Between 62\u003cbr\u003eConversation with Immigration Officer 63\u003cbr\u003eDrinking Alone After the Rain Stops 67\u003cbr\u003eMercado Central :: Marginalia 68\u003cbr\u003eSelf-Portrait as Sister 70\u003cbr\u003ePrelude 71\u003cbr\u003eNotes 73\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgements 74","brand":"Tupelo Press, Incorporated","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51021035929943,"sku":"9781961209015","price":15.15,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781961209015.jpg?v=1750785016","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/asterism-9781961209015","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}