C IS FOR CANADA and S IS FOR SOUTH KOREA

I’ve been dying to read about the tragic history of “comfort women” since I, an immigrant to the US, and not that well-versed on East Asian history, first heard about them on the radio. And this poetry book with an absolutely incomparable name became the unlikely but satisfying read on the subject. I am definitely going to read some non-fiction about “comfort women” later (perhaps the fascinating oral history mentioned in this book’s acknowledgements) but meanwhile I just want to reread “A Cruelty Special to Our Species”, and to savor all its depth again. It’s a short collection, even for a poetry book, but it contains so much truth and pain on origins, race, womanhood, war, alienation, and language. Timeless, relentless and absolutely spectacular. I feel very lucky to have read Emily Jungmin Yoon’s poetry this early in this career and will stay on the lookout for more. (We share an agent, apparently, what a treat!)

A Cruelty Special to Our Species by Emily Jungmin Yoon
Published by Harper Collins in 2018