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jayisreading's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.5
This is a stunning but difficult poetry collection. This collection goes beyond poems; there is a documentary-like approach to many of these poems that show the incredible amount of research that was done and woven in to explore the impact of yellow rain on the Hmong that go beyond the physical. Vang shares the story of what happened to the Hmong during the 1970s and 1980s, and considers the erasure and dismissal of their experience. Many of these poems have epigraphs pulled primarily from declassified reports and cables that reveal the United States’ involvement in biochemical warfare (yellow rain) and its impact on the Hmong. It really leaves a pit in your stomach having to process how bad all of this is.
I found many of these poems haunting and visceral due to word choice. For example, “Counting all the uncorked / Nightmares you digested” from “For the Nefarious” is such a distinct description. In addition, some of these poems take interesting forms, particularly the Composition poems. These were admittedly a little difficult to follow due to the collage-esque approach that Vang took, but these poems are (quite literally and figuratively) layered with meaning.
What I think Vang did a phenomenal job with is juxtaposing the almost voyeuristic and detached scientific reports to the emotions and experiences of the Hmong. “Toxicology Conference Proposal” is a particularly good example that I think successfully evoked discomfort of the consequences of yellow rain. Again, really gets you thinking about how bad this all is. Furthermore, these are lamenting poems that also brim with anger, but they’re also poems steeped in resilience.
I can’t say that I fully understood all the poems, especially because I’m not at all familiar with the topic Vang covered, but she sent me down a rabbit hole to learn more about yellow rain and the period when all of this was happening. This collection is a needed call to pay attention to a history that has been ignored. The fact that this collection was a finalist for many awards—including the Pulitzer Prize—makes sense. It’s a provocative collection that will challenge you.
Some favorites: “Anthem for Taking Back,” “They Think Our Killed Ones Cannot Speak to Us,” “Self-Portrait Together as CBW Questionnaire,” “Blood Cooperation,” “Procedures in Hunt of Wreckage,” “Toxicology Conference Proposal,” “A Moment Still Waiting for You,” “Allied with the Bees,” “Monument,” “And Yet Still More”
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Grief, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Blood
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