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A review by adastraperlibros
Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter by Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner
5.0
Iep Jāltok is the debut poetry collection by Marshallese activist Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner. The poems here range in topic to everything from the racism she experienced as a Marshallese person in Hawaii to the legacy of American nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands to the outsized impact of climate change on island nations.
The opening page explains that "Iep Jāltok" is Marshallese for a basket that faces the speaker, but can also refer to Marshallese society as a whole, and a basket is exactly what this collection reads as. Fibers of Marshallese culture, diaspora experiences, and the fight against a rising sea weave together in ways both beautiful and heartbreaking, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.
These pages thrum with hurt, sadness, and rage, but also with healing, justice, and hope. I highly recommend videos of the author reading her own poems, they're really meant to be heard.
The opening page explains that "Iep Jāltok" is Marshallese for a basket that faces the speaker, but can also refer to Marshallese society as a whole, and a basket is exactly what this collection reads as. Fibers of Marshallese culture, diaspora experiences, and the fight against a rising sea weave together in ways both beautiful and heartbreaking, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.
These pages thrum with hurt, sadness, and rage, but also with healing, justice, and hope. I highly recommend videos of the author reading her own poems, they're really meant to be heard.