An eclectic list of Asian Poets
In honor of AAPI heritage month, which is celebrated in the United States each May, here’s a list of some books of poetry, poetic picture books and verse novels with connections to Asia that are on my shelf. Maybe you’d like to add some of these to your reading list if they’re not already on it?
I’ll start with some Verse Novels that are on my shelf:
Mirror To Mirror
One of the coolest perks of being an author is receiving books in the mail - and sometimes advance reader editions of books that aren’t yet on other shelves. I was delighted to add the ARC of Mirror to Mirror to my collection. Here’s yet another lyrical verse novel by Newbery-Honor Winning Author Rajani LaRocca, which I’m sure will win many admirers. LaRocca is a brilliant wordsmith with an ear for the musicality of language and in this latest verse novel, about twins of South Asian heritage growing up in the United States, she makes the language sing, just as she did in her debut verse novel. I am certain that this latest will soar with success, as did her multiple award-winning RED, WHITE AND WHOLE.
Call me Adnan
CALL ME ADNAN is Faruqi’s third verse novel, and easily the one I love best of her three. Just as LaRocca’s Mirror to Mirror delves into the relationship between twin sisters, central to CALL ME ADNAN is a sibling relationship - in this case the bond between an elder brother and an at times pesky younger brother. This book’s journey is off to a great start with a JLG selection and a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which calls it a “tender story of loss… employing vivid details surrounding Adnan’s Pakistani Muslim identity… and nuanced characterizations to present a tear-jerking ode to family.”
THE LANGUAGE INSIDE
Holly Thompson is an author who has lived and raised a family in Japan, and this novel deals, among other things, with complex issues of identity , as do her other verse novels (Orchards, which was an APALA award winner, and Falling Into the Dragon’s Mouth, an NCTAsia Freeman Book Award title). I love and often teach the title poem “the language inside” which is a moving tribute to all who are bilingual and feel that they belong to more than one culture, and this poem is most creative uses of the form that I’ve ever come across in a verse novel - if for no other reason than to read this single poem, please do pick up this book!
Other verse novels with links to Asia that are on my shelf include:
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai - a verse novel that deservedly carries National Book Award and Newbery Honor stickers, about a girl growing up in Vietnam and then moving to the United States; Lai is, among other things, a master at choosing just a few precise words to capture characters
Love, Love by Victoria Chang - features a 10-year old Chinese American girl, Frances, who lives in Detroit with her immigrant parents and learns to deal with bullies
Dust of Eden by Mariko Nagai - a moving verse novel about American Internment Camps of WWII in which Japanese-American citizens were forcibly and immorally detained. I want to call readers’ attention to an important point that I heard George Takei, author of the graphic novel THEY CALLED US ENEMY, who spoke eloquently on Ali Velshi’s show about the importance of calling the internment camps American (not “Japanese” because they were established by the American government and constitute a terrible and undemocratic social injustice perpetrated by the United States, in the United States, to loyal United States citizens).
Little Green by Chun Yu - a powerful verse novel about growing up during the cultural revolution in China
Tofu Quilt by Ching Yeung Russel - an ALA Notable free verse memoir about, among other things, life in Hong Kong
Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu - a Crystal Kite Award winning book about life in a multi-generational, bi-cultural home in Tokyo, which has a lovely poem that employs onomatopoeia with such excellence that I often use it as an example when I teach about the poetic toolbox
Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong - a poignant novel about a Chinese American teenager, written in sensual language that brings scenes alive, sometimes with a touch of gentle humor (that I absolutely love)
Up From the Sea by Leza Lowitz - a fast-paced yet important book about a teen boy who survives the earthquake and Tsunami that devastate his village in Japan
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton - a novel about a half-Black, half-Japanese-American girl who lives in New England and dreams of becoming an astronaut; set in 1969, this book unflinchingly explores racism and gender bias
Poetic Picture Books
At Diverse Verse we’ve often discussed the place of picture books in our discussions of poetry; I think they surely deserve a place and here are some picture books that come to mind with Asian themes that are also on my bookshelf. This list quite clearly shows my bias toward South Asian centric picture books, I’m afraid! But I did say in the title that this was an eclectic list!
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho
Namasté is a Greeting by Suma Subramaniam
She Sang for India by Suma Subramaniam
The Yellow ÁO DÀI by Hanh Bui
My Paati’s Saris by Jyothi Gopal
Dancing In Thatha’s Footsteps by Srividhya Venkat
Home is In-Between by Mitali Perkins
The Happiest Tree and Yoga Class by Uma Krishnaswami
Novels that are mostly prose, but incorporate poems written by a character - in both cases a middle-grade girl:
HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU’RE NOT LOOKING FOR, by Newbery Honor winner Veera Hiranandani, which won the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the Jane Addams Book Award and was released to 5 starred reviews, is a deeply nuanced exploration of racism and religious prejudice, as well as religious, cultural and ethnic pride. Set in the wake of the landmark Loving vs. Virginia ruling, this story is told in second-person by a girl whose White, Jewish sister elopes with a Brown, Hindu man.
A BIT OF EARTH by Karuna Riazi is a new take on an old favorite - a retelling of The Secret Garden. It was sent to me for a blurb, and, I believe carries my blurb on the backcover!
Poetry Collections
Tap Dancing On the Roof
This is a delightful collection of Sijo poems by the legendary Linda Sue Park. Not sure what a Sijo poem is? Well, you ought to find out - and have fun trying your hand at writing a few!
A Suitcase of Seaweed & More
This is not only a delightful and insightful collection of poems by Janet Wong, winner of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children; this new edition is also a magnificent resource which, in addition to the poems, contains writing prompts and suggestions. This, and it’s companion book, GOOD LUCK GOLD & MORE, would be excellent additions to every ELA Teacher’s bookshelf.
I’ll end with a few books of poetry that weren’t written with young readers in mind, and that, nonetheless, contain some wonderful poems that may be chosen for use in the classroom by high school teachers who are looking to expand the reading repertoires of their highly motivated high school readers.
Bearings by Karthika Nair - I was introduced to the work of this poet by our advisory circle member, Marilyn Nelson - need I say more? If that’s not a remarkable recommendation, what is?
The Gardner by Rabindranath Tagore - Translations of Tagore’s poetry were among the books I re-read most often as a child growing up in India. I recommend all of them, including lesser known titles like this one, in addition to his Nobel Prize winning collection, The Gitanjali.
Poems of Kabir translated by Rabindranath Tagore - Kabir’s work is deeply spiritual, sometimes irreverant, always powerful and thought-provoking, and I’ve carried this translation around with me for years. No wonder, perhaps, that the protagonist of my 5th novel, BORN BEHIND BARS, is named Kabir!
Dothead by Amit Majumdar - This is a collection that I received as a gift from my brilliant, kind, generous and supportive poet and friend Scott Rex Hightower.
Nine Indian Women Poets (an anthology) edited by Eunice DeSouza - When I first came across this anthology, I rejoiced, and I’ve carried it around with me ever since, as an inspiration to contribute my own body of poetic work to the world of literature in English written by women of Indian heritage.
Happy AAPI heritage month, to those of our readers from the United States!
Padma Venkatraman is the author of BORN BEHIND BARS, THE BRIDGE HOME, A TIME TO DANCE, ISLAND’S END and CLIMBING THE STAIRS. She is the winner of a WNDB Walter Dean Myers Award, Golden Kite Award, Crystal Kite Award, two Nerdy Book Awards, two Paterson Prizes, two Julia Ward Howe awards, three South Asia Book Awards and many other awards and honors. Her novels have been shortlisted for over 20 state awards, received over 20 starred reviews, appeared on numerous best book lists, such as the ALA Notable, NYPL Best Book, Kirkus Best Book, Booklist editor's Choice and Junior Library Guild selection. Her poetry has been published in Poetry magazine and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming an American author, Dr. Venkatraman spent time under the ocean and in rainforests, served as chief scientist on oceanographic research vessels where she was the only BIPOC female, and also worked as a teacher and diversity director. When she’s not writing, she loves speaking to others about her love for books and her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion and has presented keynote addresses, conducted writing workshops and attended festivals and conferences around the world. She is the founder of www.diverseverse.com and www.authorstakeaction.com. Visit her at www.padmavenkatraman.com to explore resources and sign up for her newsletter to receive writing prompts and more; arrange for a visit via https://theauthorvillage.com/presenters/padma-venkatraman/; follow her on twitter (@padmatv); (@venkatraman.padma) on fb and ig.
