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_rusalka's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really get poetry. Every now and then I read a poem that blows my mind, but this book did not contain one of those. What it did contain was insights to a woman who is half Hawaiian, half Micronesian, not really fitting in to either spaces but wanting too. And one who gave us a good insight into Micronesian life.
But poetry, for this Philistine, is not going to be a medium that ever wins me over unfortunately.
But poetry, for this Philistine, is not going to be a medium that ever wins me over unfortunately.
paulap's review against another edition
4.0
The poetry was focused on roughness more than in the rhythm of poetry and beauty for the sake of beauty. I really enjoyed them, they mixed the local language with English, and is a lot about colonialism and celebration of the local culture and the people that conserve it.
readingwithkaitlyn's review
reflective
fast-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Homophobia, Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Child death, Alcohol, Excrement, and Addiction
yuukat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
elenasquareeyes's review against another edition
4.0
I think this was a very interesting collection. A lot of the poems were almost short stories or small snapshots at life, and I feel I learnt things about the Federated States of Micronesia from these poems, which is an achievement considering how short they are. For instance, I never knew about the connection between the Federated States of Micronesia and America, that many people live or work or have connections to Hawaii especially. In the poem “Destiny Fulfilled?” it covers how people from the various islands joined the US Armed Forces and its “War on Terror” in Afghanistan and Iraq. I also liked how it gets its title from a Destiny’s Child album and uses lyrics from the song “Soldier” to show the differences between pop culture and actual war.
I liked how the poet had footnotes in the poems, explaining a word or phrase that was in a different language, or adding context when a poem is inspired by real events. I believe Pohpeian is the language used throughout the collection, with many of the poems being in a combination of English and Pohpeian. Some are like a dialogue between two characters and there’s the English translation after each phrase, while in others it’s just the odd word or line that’s not in English.
The poems in My Urohs are about the people, the culture, the food, and the connections and differences between people who live on different islands in the Federated States of Micronesia and their different languages, stories and culture. It’s an interesting little collection and a great insight into a place I’d only ever heard of and knew nothing about.
I liked how the poet had footnotes in the poems, explaining a word or phrase that was in a different language, or adding context when a poem is inspired by real events. I believe Pohpeian is the language used throughout the collection, with many of the poems being in a combination of English and Pohpeian. Some are like a dialogue between two characters and there’s the English translation after each phrase, while in others it’s just the odd word or line that’s not in English.
The poems in My Urohs are about the people, the culture, the food, and the connections and differences between people who live on different islands in the Federated States of Micronesia and their different languages, stories and culture. It’s an interesting little collection and a great insight into a place I’d only ever heard of and knew nothing about.
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
My Urohs is by a poet from the Federated States of Mircronesia. A couple of things struck me about this one. The first was that in many ways it looked and read like prose. The second was the way it was written for a Micronesian audience. Many people and events were referenced without explanation. Local readers would know, others could research on their own - something I happily did. This collection also used a lot of indigenous language, although translations were provided for much of this. Many of the poems focussed on themes I’m now familiar with from other works I’ve read from the region, things like environmental degradation and the impact of colonialism. A recent iteration of this is the impact of the US War on Terror, with many Micronesians signing up to the US armed forces and some paying the ultimate price. I also enjoyed learning about the culture of the author’s island of Pohnpei, and the relationships between the different islands that make up the federation. I wish I’d been able to access a print copy and/or audio. The formatting on the Kindle edition was atrocious and a hindrance to the reading experience.
harryr's review
3.0
This is my book from Micronesia* for the Read The World challenge. It is apparently the first collection of poetry by a Pohnpeian poet. I have to admit, I didn’t pick it up with a great deal of enthusiasm; my main reaction when it arrived in the post was oh well, at least it’s short. Because picking books for this exercise is always a bit of a lottery, but the smaller the country, the worse the odds. And the track record for slim volumes of poetry is not great either.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. The poems have the local focus suggested by the title — an urohs is a Pohnpeian skirt decorated in appliqué — but it’s a contemporary version of it, with Facebook and ramen and Destiny’s Child as well as breadfruit and paramount chiefs. It’s built up with simple effective details and the English is interspersed with phrases of Pohnpeian, some of it footnoted and some of it not. The poems touch in various ways on the issues of globalisation, identity, modernity and so on, but usually without being too heavy-handed.
I don’t want to oversell it — it’s good rather than amazing — but I did genuinely enjoy it and in the end would have been happy for it to be longer.
* Strictly speaking, the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, which I just find confusing because it makes me think of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. The poems have the local focus suggested by the title — an urohs is a Pohnpeian skirt decorated in appliqué — but it’s a contemporary version of it, with Facebook and ramen and Destiny’s Child as well as breadfruit and paramount chiefs. It’s built up with simple effective details and the English is interspersed with phrases of Pohnpeian, some of it footnoted and some of it not. The poems touch in various ways on the issues of globalisation, identity, modernity and so on, but usually without being too heavy-handed.
I don’t want to oversell it — it’s good rather than amazing — but I did genuinely enjoy it and in the end would have been happy for it to be longer.
* Strictly speaking, the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, which I just find confusing because it makes me think of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
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