Description
Book SynopsisA reissue of the Santa Clara County poet laureate's lauded second book that deals with translation, grief, and reflection of lineage and identity. like a solid to a shadow is a documentary poetry collection about grieving, fatherlessness, and the limitations of language. Sapigao finds her deceased father’s love ‘letters’ to her mother: cassette tapes recorded in Illokano, a language of which she has imperfect knowledge. The book moves through Sapigao’s process of translating and transcribing the tapes; playing with, learning, and unlearning the Ilokano and English languages. This book then launches from the tapes to ask “what can we really know?” when it comes to family lineages and personal histories. Through family trees, photos, and mapping, Sapigao articulates, distorts, and heals her knowledge of the man who is her deceased father.
Trade Review“Sapigao dedicates her second collection to an intriguing project of translation as a means of reckoning with identity and trauma. Her father, who died when she was six, had recorded spoken love letters in the Filipino language Ilokano to her mother and grandparents... Sapigao’s 'imperfect translation' is worth the work of the journey.”—Publishers Weekly
"like a solid to a shadow is a hidden gem of a piece to read if you want to experience the vastness of not having answers, exploring one’s roots, loss and grieving, dying languages, and healing."—Antonia Dorn, International Examiner
