Rhapsody in Plain Yellow

by Marilyn Chin

Book Overview

Marilyn Chin, with her multilayered, multidimensional, intercultural singing, elegizes the loss of her mother and maternal grandmother and tries to unravel the complexities of her family's past. She tells of the trials of immigration, of exile, of thwarted interracial love, and of social injustice. Some poems recall the Confucian "Book of Songs," while others echo the African American blues tradition and Western railroad ballads. The title poem references...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393324532
• ISBN13: 9780393324532
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 110 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

a marvelous collection!

Marilyn Chin's "Rhapsody in Plain Yellow" is a challenging collection that rewards the time and attention it demands. The poems are wide-ranging in their forms and allusions, moving rapidly from ancient China to modern America, from remote history to deeply personal. Her imagery startles you, her word-choice sometimes unsettles you, her humour engages you, her humanity touches you. This is a marvelous collection of poems that I will definitely re-visit.

The customer service was good.

Unfortunately when I received the book I opened it and the pages fell out. I notified the seller and they said they order them from the publisher and sometimes they aren't up to their own standards. They offered to send a new book at no charge.

Nothing Plain about this Collection

Summoning imagery from contemporary life in southern California as well as from ancient China, and places in between, including words and symbols from both languages, Marilyn Chin creates a poetic narrative that is both personal and political. Dwelling on themes of race, history, love and nature, these poems examine the transitory moments of our fragile existence. In "Cauldron," Chin asks: "What is destiny, but an angry wind-plagues and salvages, / death knocking on your neighbor's door, and you dare look out / your window, relieved that you were spared for another hour" (37). In the moments of that hour, with the pages of this book, Chin offers a risky, dynamic collection of poetry, gifts of her particular vision and sensitivity.

you've got to read it!

I've been a fan of Marilyn Chin's poetry for years. She never fails to surprise me with her intelligence, brilliance, craft and daring. She can write everything: blues poems, ballads, long meditations, hymns, political anthems...There's a big beautiful banquet in this book. And, she's funny as hell, but while you're laughing, you realize that the joke is on you, or that she is able to sneak in a life lesson. Not enough room here for all the praise she deserves. Read all her books; you'll be a fan forever.