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Description
Language for a New CenturyExperience the profound beauty of contemporary poetry with *Language for a New Century*, a landmark anthology that showcases an extensive collection of Asian and Middle Eastern voices. This extraordinary compilation features works from South Asian, East Asian, Central Asian poets, and those living in the Diaspora, making it the most inclusive collection available today. From political to apolitical themes, and from monastic to erotic expressions, this
Experience the profound beauty of contemporary poetry with *Language for a New Century*, a landmark anthology that showcases an extensive collection of Asian and Middle Eastern voices. This extraordinary compilation features works from South Asian, East Asian, Central Asian poets, and those living in the Diaspora, making it the most inclusive collection available today. From political to apolitical themes, and from monastic to erotic expressions, this anthology brings together 400 unique poems that challenge conventional literary boundaries and traditions. Eminent poets like Bei Dao and Mahmoud Darwish share pages alongside emerging talents, providing readers with a diverse panorama of the current artistic landscape. Each section is thoughtfully organized by themes rather than national affiliation, allowing the poems to resonate deeply and challenge readers' perspectives on identity and humanity. Personal essays from the editors introduce these exquisite works, urging readers to reflect on their own experiences in light of these powerful voices. In a world too often divided by cultural misunderstandings, *Language for a New Century* stands as a bold testament to the transformative power of art and the shared humanity that binds us all together. This critically-acclaimed anthology is a must-have for poetry lovers and those eager to expand their understanding of contemporary literature. Enjoy free shipping and expect delivery within 6 weeks. Note: Once your order is placed, it cannot be canceled.Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780393332384
Year: 2010
Publisher: W W Norton & Company
Pages: 784
Description:
A landmark anthology, providing the most ambitious,
far-reaching collection of contemporary Asian and Middle Eastern
poetry available.
Language for a New Century celebrates the
artistic and cultural forces flourishing today in the East,
bringing together an unprecedented selection of works by South
Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian poets as well
as poets living in the Diaspora. Some poets, such as Bei Dao and
Mahmoud Darwish, are acclaimed worldwide, but many more will be new
to the reader. The collection includes 400 unique
voices?political and apolitical, monastic and
erotic?that represent a wider artistic movement that
challenges thousand-year-old traditions, broadening our notion of
contemporary literature.
Each section of the anthology?organized by theme rather than
by national affiliation?is preceded by a personal essay from
the editors that introduces the poetry and exhorts readers to
examine their own identities in light of these powerful poems. In
an age of violence and terrorism, often predicated by cultural
ignorance, this anthology is a bold declaration of shared humanity
and devotion to the transformative power of art.
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4.7 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Truly, the best we could do
Format: Kindle
An excerpt from my analysis essay I submitted for my literature course: By revisiting her family’s past from before, during, and after the Vietnam War, she gained a deeper understanding of the emotional burdens her parents carried and the sacrifices they made that defined the entirety of their lives. Bui’s illustrated graphic memoir reveals that trauma does not simply disappear over time; instead, it becomes inherited, processed, and transformed. Through this process, Thi Bui is able to move toward empathy for her parents, acceptance of who they are, and a more complete sense of self.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Phenomenal. A must-read!
Format: Paperback
I first learned about this book only a week ago when visiting my sister for Thanksgiving in Eugene, Oregon. We went to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art where I saw some work on display by the author, and there was a copy of her book available to look at, so I perused through and decided to buy it and read it. I'm so glad that I did! This is an incredible, poetic story that spans four generations, multiple wars and conflicts, and examines the fragility of the author's relationship with her parents and with her sense of place and motherhood. This book is one of the best I've read in a long time, and the art is moving and beautiful. It gave me new insight into the struggles of refugee life, and created a truly relatable narrative. I devoured this story in one Saturday. I highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2018
★★★★★ 5
A well composed memoir
Format: Paperback
Full review on nguyentoread.com
The Best We Could Do is Thi Bui's graphic memoir. Thi was born in Vietnam three months before the Vietnam War reached what we consider to be the end of the war. She came to America with her family in 1978. Bui's memoir spans multiple generations. In learning of her mother's and father's pasts, we learn the history of their parents. We see the struggles and pains of two people from very different walks of life trying to live during a time of war and chaos. We see glimpses of the agony everyone in the middle of the Vietnam War faced. Those who were not directly involved on either side but were caught in the middle of larger powers at war. This memoir more closely details the lives of her parents leading up to them arriving in America and making their life there. I was unsure if this memoir would focus largely on the experience of being a Vietnamese immigrant in America. There were parts that showed how it was for Bui's parents in a country where tensions were still high after the Vietnam War, where discrimination largely due to that was overt, and where degrees were not recognized and people who had spent their lives working and creating careers for themselves were not qualified for most work and had to hurdle multiple challenges to learn a language and complete education all over again if they wanted to provide a better life for their children. What Bui so beautifully captures in this memoir is the why behind how her parents were in raising her. Although Bui was born in Vietnam she was young when her family arrived in America. So I think her experience is one that many first generation Vietnamese-American people of my generation can understand and sympathize with. The wanting to know why their parents are the way they are but unable to ask because many have parents, like Bui's mother, who reluctantly share their stories and don't allow their children that glimpse that could help them better understand. In the panel which was most poignant to me, Bui draws her father as he looks over her work that would become The Best We Could Do. He says "You know how it was for me. And why later I wouldn't be... normal."
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2019
★★★★★ 5
This book made me love my parents more
Format: Kindle
I loved the raw depictions of vietnamese history and human emotions. I recommend this book to anyone experiencing intergenerational trauma. 5 stars, this book helped me understand my father and mother just a little more, and that is priceless
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Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Excellent customer service
Format: Paperback
Totally recommendable.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2019