Weekly Prompt: Directions to My Childhood

In 2008, Florida-based poet Nick Carbo published the poem “Directions to My Imaginary Childhood” in the Norton anthology Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry From the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond (eds. Tina Chang, Nathalie Handal, and Ravi Shankar).  “Directions” sweeps the reader through the bustling streets of Manila and then, in an eerily meta-textual moment, onto the page itself (“open the door and enter/ this page and look me in the eye”).  It also offers a set of instructions, directions, and pithy observations on the people and places of the speaker’s childhood; this, for me, was an access point into writing some childhood directions of my own.

As, in a sense, all homelands are a kind of fiction (for more, see Chapter One of Salman Rushdie’s Imaginary Homelands), write a poem exploring the sights, smells, and idiosyncrasies of your childhood homeland, whatever your conception of that that space/time may be.  Frame your exploration as a set of instructions: tips, insights, observations on how to best navigate the tricky terms of not only childhood in general, but your childhood in particular.

Here is an excerpt from my version of “Directions to My Childhood.”

If the meat lady catches you lingering by the catfish,

Goggle-eying the eels, she’ll pinch; better to watch

From behind mother’s grocery bag.

Watch for the sacred beam when you enter.

You may think Buddha is in tranquil meditation

But a careless foot will cost you.

A crumpled owl found at the bottom of the cage

Fits perfectly in my palm.  The backyard fills with parrots,

Slow lorises, spotted turtledoves, and the cold forms

Of a rabbit and her progeny.

A can is not a good place to bury a bird.

You may think a lid will preserve it from decay

But when you see the sodden remains—

Though a “Directions” poem will generally operate in the instructional mode, you are of course welcome to explore alternative ways of framing your narrative.  Take seriously the notion that all homelands are–or quickly become–imagined spaces, and allow this to authorize creative moves you might not otherwise consider in a poem.  Have fun with this, and good luck!  Please consider posting an excerpt or entire poem here for the Lantern Review blog community to read–we would love to see your responses.

Editors’ Picks: Open Books – A Poem Emporium

A poet’s utopia, Open Books: A Poem Emporium, is a poetry-only bookstore located in Wallingford, Seattle.  Owned and run by husband and wife duo John Marshall and Christine Deavel, Open Books is the only bookstore of its kind on the West Coast (the other is in Cambridge, MA).  The store’s collection caters to a wide range of poetic sensibilities and carries not only recently published works, but a variety of rare and first editions as well.

Continue reading “Editors’ Picks: Open Books – A Poem Emporium” →

A Conversation with Luisa Igloria

Luisa A. Igloria and two of her most recent books
Luisa A. Igloria and two of her most recent books

LUISA A. IGLORIA is the author of Juan Luna’s Revolver, recipient of the 2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize (University of Notre Dame, 2009 ); Trill & Mordent, recipient of the 2006 Global Filipino Award for Poetry (WordTech Editions, 2005); and 8 other books. Luisa has degrees from the University of the Philippines (B.A.), Ateneo de Manila University (M.A.), and the University of Illinois at Chicago (Ph.D.), where she was a Fulbright Fellow from 1992-1995. Other awards include Finalist in the 2009 Narrative Poetry Contest, the 2007 49th Parallel Prize from Bellingham Review, the 2007 James Hearst Poetry Prize (North American Review), the 2006 National Writers Union Poetry Prize, the 2006 Stephen Dunn Award for Poetry; and 11 Palanca Awards and the Palanca Hall of Fame Distinction in the Philippines. Originally from Baguio City, she lives in Norfolk, Virginia and is an associate professor on the faculty of Old Dominion University, where she directs the MFA Creative Writing Program. She keeps her radar tuned for cool lizard sightings. Visit her online at her web site or at her blog The Lizard Meanders.

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LR: When did you first decide that you wanted to become a writer, or have you always known?

LI: I’ve always had a love for words, perhaps because my parents taught me to read early ( by age 3 ). I was also raised as an only child by parents who were twenty years apart in age (my dad was 20 years older than my mom)—perhaps this had some bearing on the way I was raised, perhaps not; in any case I remember that they took me with them a lot when they went out or to other friends’ homes to socialize, and would invariably bring a book or two for me so I could occupy myself safely in a corner and not be bored. They loved going to art events, concerts, the movies—we weren’t wealthy but my father would sometimes be able to get complimentary tickets because of work connections, and he would always be sure to include me. They took me to see a group from the Bolshoi ballet with Dame Margot Fonteyn dancing excerpts from “Swan Lake” when I was a second grader and let me stay up past bedtime to do so; but they were also just as excited by musicals like “Showboat” and in fact took me out of school early so we could watch the first run. I always knew that whatever it was I wanted to do, it would involve the work of the imagination. They’d wanted me to be a concert pianist (in fact, I’m named after a Filipina pianist popular back in their day), or a lawyer, like my father.

Continue reading “A Conversation with Luisa Igloria” →

Friends & Neighbors: Weekend Roundup (Nov. 13-15, 2009)

For your perusal, a list of interesting literary, arts, and cultural events happening in different cities this weekend. (To add to this list, leave a comment below; we will continue to check back and update it during the next few days).

Continue reading “Friends & Neighbors: Weekend Roundup (Nov. 13-15, 2009)” →

Friends & Neighbors: 2009 Asian American Literary Awards

2009 AsAm Literary Awards for Poetry: Winner & Finalists
2009 Asian American Literary Awards for Poetry: Winner & Finalists

In anticipation of their annual literary festival, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop has announced the winners of its 2009 Asian American Literary Awards.  In the poetry category, Sesshu Foster’s World Ball Notebook took top honors, while Monica Ferrell’s Beasts for the Chase and Jeffrey Yang’s An Aquarium were named as finalists.  The contest was judged by poet Cathy Park Hong, Stanford professor Stephen H. Sohn, and Williams College professor Dorothy Wang. Continue reading “Friends & Neighbors: 2009 Asian American Literary Awards” →

Review: Ching-In Chen’s THE HEART’S TRAFFIC

The Hearts Traffic
The Heart's Traffic
The Heart’s Traffic by Ching-In Chen | Arktoi Books 2009 | $21.00

Ching-In Chen’s debut, The Heart’s Traffic, is an ideal beginning. The 117-page collection encompasses an amazing breadth of styles, including several distinct forms (e.g., sestina, villanelle, haibun, pantoum) as well as the poet’s own innovative arrangements. But beyond her technical prowess, this work resonates with me in its explorations of community and self, of the process of discovering where we do or do not belong through our simultaneous attempts to blend and resist multiple worlds and identities. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we all seek to reconcile our personal present with the collective past.

This novel-in-poems tells the tale of Xiaomei — her father’s then family’s move to America as well as her own process of exploration and discovery during and immediately after these transitions. Chen beautifully captures the conflicted relationship of immigrants with the land of their ancestors, with their loved ones, and with themselves. The narrative is nonlinear but linked, with images and lines weaving through multiple pieces. Together, the collection serves as a series of snapshots that only reveal glimmers of Xiaomei’s life. Chen skillfully arranges the collection to build toward a larger understanding of both Xiaomei’s experiences and what it means to be a young immigrant in America. I appreciated re-visiting certain poems and seeing multiple layers emerge as I moved through the overarching story.

Continue reading “Review: Ching-In Chen’s THE HEART’S TRAFFIC” →

LR News: Introducing . . . The LR Blog!

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the LR Blog!  The weeks of anticipation are finally over. We’re pleased to announce today’s launch, which coincides with the launch of our full web site and preview of our magazine’s layout.  Please add us to your RSS feeds and spread the word wherever you can!  We have a lot of exciting new content lined up for our first month, including a review of Ching-In Chen’s debut book The Heart’s Traffic and interviews with poet Luisa Igloria and Kundiman founder Joseph Legaspi, but before we begin to post new content, we thought we would take the opportunity to introduce the regular columns that we’ll be running: Continue reading “LR News: Introducing . . . The LR Blog!” →