Sky Country
The Asian American experience is little known, comparatively, and that’s a shame on this country. Immigrants are the best of us. Introducing Christine Kitano—not that her work needs an AA asterisk as a selling point—and Sky Country, her second collection after Birds of Paradise.
Originally from LA, the daughter of a Korean immigrant mother and Japanese father, she earned an MFA at Syracuse and now teaches poetry and Asian American literature at Ithaca College.
A Story with No Moral
Lost Angeles, 1989
My mother and I are fighting again over what I should wear. I’m
small, maybe four years old. I don’t remember why I don’t want to
wear what she picks out, but recall a sense of general discomfort—
stockings that bunch and won’t stay up, nickel sized buttons that
catch my hair, lace collars that itch around my neck. I pout. My
mother says nothing for a moment, then reaches into the closet
and yanks, one surprisingly swift motion, a pink dress from its
hanger. She grips a ruffled sleeve in each hand, then pulls. The
dress rips down the bib, the pink cloth shredding, thin wisps of
pale thread framing the rupture. I’m scared. I know I’m not the
daughter my mother wants, but I still don’t know who or what she
wants me to be.
Reviewed by
Matt Sutherland
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
