Description
Exploring themes of multilingualism and the post-colonial legacy as well as the microaggressions that stem from queerphobia and anti-Asian racism, Chan's second collection mines the push and pull of beauty and violence through a polyphony of poetic voices.
Shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection 2023
Following their award-winning debut, Fleche (2019), comes Mary Jean Chan's gleaming second collection: Bright Fear. Through poems which engage fearlessly with intertwined themes of identity, multilingualism and postcolonial legacy, Chan's latest work explores a family's evolving dynamics, as well as microaggressions stemming from queerphobia and anti-Asian racism that accompanied the Covid pandemic.
Yet Bright Fear remains deeply attuned to moments of beauty, tenderness and grace. It asks how we might find a home within our own bodies, in places both distant and near, and in the 'constructed space' of the poem. The contemplative central sequence, Ars Poetica, traces the radically healing and transformative role of poetry during the poet's teenage and adult years, culminating in a polyphonic reconciliation of tongues. Throughout, Chan offers us new and galvanising ways to 'withstand the quotidian tug- / of-war between terror and love'.
Book Details
Format: |
Paperback |
Number of Pages: |
72 |
ISBN: |
9780571378906 |
Published: |
3 Aug 2023 |
Dimensions: |
205 x 158 x 8 (mm) |
Language: |
English |
