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A review by allyexa
Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner
5.0
Read this slim collection of poignant poems for a bit of Marshallese history, a bit of culture, a bit of family, and food, and sickness from nuclear fallout, a bit of environmental activism.
I don’t know how to rate or sum up good poetry. But I will say that I sprinkled these poems over about a week, and they filled my head in quiet moments, sprang up at the darndest times. Once, I was telling a friend about one of the poems, and I had not memorized it, but even the general gist of it gave him a shiver.
And often the ends of poems would pack a surprise punch that had me choking back tears.
Read this now. It’s short but powerful.
1/20/23
I don’t know how to rate or sum up good poetry. But I will say that I sprinkled these poems over about a week, and they filled my head in quiet moments, sprang up at the darndest times. Once, I was telling a friend about one of the poems, and I had not memorized it, but even the general gist of it gave him a shiver.
And often the ends of poems would pack a surprise punch that had me choking back tears.
Read this now. It’s short but powerful.
1/20/23