Asian Poetry

Taiwanese immigrant Anna and her family make a shocking discovery that puts their American dreams at risk in this searing companion to In the Beautiful Country, which Gene Luen Yang called “vivid and hopeful.” * A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices List Selection * Anna’s family...

An affirming picture book that celebrates the brilliance and power of brown and Black boys to achieve their dreams, from poet and activist Leslé Honoré and #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Keturah A. Bobo. My brown boy laughs like a song, rhythm like rain, soft and strong. He holds...

A powerful selection of poems by Kazakh poet Baktykozha Izmukhambetov, blending steppe traditions, history, and universal themes of honor, identity, and resilience—now available in English for the first time. The powerful voice of Baktykozha Izmukhambetov—one of Kazakhstan’s most respected contemporary poets—crosses borders to speak to readers around the world. With lyrical precision and unflinching honesty, Izmukhambetov reflects on identity, history, love for the homeland, and the human spirit’s resilience. From vivid portraits of the Kazakh steppe and its legends to deeply ...

Finalist for the 2023 PEN Open Book Award and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Pick Named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker “Paul Tran’s debut collection of poems is indelible, this remarkable voice transforming itself as you read, eventually...

A timeless, visionary collection of poems from one of China’s most acclaimed poets—now available in English for the first time in a generation and featuring a foreword by his son, contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei One of the most influential poets in Chinese history, Ai Qing is...

“The Wolf Epoch” introduces English-speaking readers to the poetic voice of Nurlan Orazalin, a celebrated Kazakh poet, playwright, and laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan. Spanning themes of national identity, spiritual legacy, and the human condition, this anthology brings together selections from his many poetry collections — including Time of Music, Restless Heart, and Farewell to the Century. With lyrical richness, philosophical depth, and a profound connection to Kazakhstan’s cultural and natural heritage, The Wolf Epoch speaks to a global audience seeking poetry that ...

"Take your time with these poems, and return to them often.” —The Washington Post The New York Times-bestselling collection of poems from the award-winning writer Ocean Vuong How else do we return to ourselves but to fold The page so it points to the good part In this deeply intimate second...

From the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting: a narratively driven, deeply human biography of the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai—also known as Li Po In his own time (701–762), Li Bai's poems—shaped by Daoist thought and characterized by their passion, romance, and lust for life—were...

Every single step you take forward, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is significant. No matter how small your daily progress may be, it all adds up in the end. Keep going, going, and going until you're proud. Standing and waiting for the storm to end won't end it unless you decide to go through it and face it. This book is a collection of prose with a soft poetic touch. It will help you understand what it means to keep moving forward in life, and it will remind you of the strength that lies within the broken pieces of yourself. It will take you on a journey to discover self-love. ...

Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. * Walter Award Winner * New England Book Award Winner * An NCTE Notable Verse Novel * Golden Kite Award Winner * Crystal Kite...

From acclaimed poet Franny Choi comes a poetry collection for the ends of worlds—past, present, and future. Choi’s third book features poems about historical and impending apocalypses, alongside musings on our responsibilities to each other and visions for our collective survival. Many have...

A middle grade novel in verse about Samira, an eleven-year-old Rohingya refugee living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, who finds strength and sisterhood in a local surf club for girls. Samira thinks of her life as before and after: before the burning and violence in her village in Burma, when she...

"Where are you from . . . ? No—where are you from from?" It's a question every Asian American gets asked as part of an incessant chorus saying you'll never belong here, you're a perpetual foreigner, you'll always be seen as an alien, an object, or a threat. Monica Youn's From From brilliantly evokes the conflicted consciousness of deracination. If you have no core of "authenticity," no experience of your so-called homeland, how do you piece together an Asian American identity out of Westerners' ideas about Asians? Your sense of yourself is part stereotype, part aspiration, part guilt.

The Wondrous Woo tells the story of Miramar Woo who is the quintessential Chinese girl: nice, quiet, and reserved. The eldest of the three Woo children, Miramar is ever the obedient sister and daughter...on the outside. On the inside, she’s a kick-ass kung fu heroine with rock star flash, sassy attitude, and an insatiable appetite for adventure. Just as Miramar is about to venture forth on the real adventure of leaving home for university, her beloved father is killed in an accident. Miramar watches helplessly as her family unravels in the aftermath of her father’s death.

“A debut poetry collection showcasing both a fierce and tender new voice.”—Booklist “Elegant and playful . . . The poet invents new forms and updates classic ones.”—Elle “[Fatimah] Asghar interrogates divisions along lines of nationality, age, and gender, illuminating the forces...

For fans of Jasmine Warga and Thanhhà Lại, this is a stunning novel in verse about a young Taiwanese immigrant to America who is confronted by the stark difference between dreams and reality. Anna can’t wait to move to the beautiful country—the Chinese name for America. Although she’s...

Vidyan Ravinthiran was born in the north of England to Sri Lankan Tamils, and moved to the United States five years ago. Considering identity in both its political and psychological senses, he leaps adventurously between memoir and criticism, understanding his life through poetry, and vice versa. This electric, compelling hybrid memoir discovers a new way of writing about the self and also literature.

She lost her words but found her voice. All My Rage meets The Poet X in this electric debut that explores a Muslim teen finding her voice in a post-9/11 America. Nida has always been known as Mamou Abdul-Hafeedh’s niece - the poet who will fill her uncle’s shoes after he was wrongfully...

“All hits no skips. I was incredibly moved by these poems.” —Roxane Gay, via Goodreads From National Poetry Series winner Su Cho, chosen by Paige Lewis, a debut poetry collection about immigration, memory, and a family’s lexicon Language and lore are at the core of The Symmetry of Fish...

The intensely confessional work of Japan’s most famous modernist poet, considered the Japanese Rimbaud, whose poems have inspired cultlike devotion—especially among fans of the hit anime show Bungo Stray Dogs—in a brilliant new translation, the most comprehensive in English A Penguin...