What they're saying..."In this vivid, wonderfully empathetic book of poems, Lunch in Chinatown, Mary Bonina is an inquisitive seeker, not only set to teach English but also to learn about the lives of her immigrant students. There's the student who worked with the very ill and the job did not allow wearing jewelry "without that ring on her finger/her hand felt too light, made her think/that she wasn't in the world anymore," another puzzled over the same abbreviation for Saint and Street, a young man recalled his young love in Port au Prince. In her masterful telling Bonina has given us glimpses of their worlds, both before and after the immigration. These poems celebrate the common human language, of disappointments and loss, aspirations and love, and also how poetry and the resolve of students and their teacher can make all the difference in the world."
— Pui Ying Wong, author of Fanling in October |
“It’s a wonderful book and an important one given our often harsh climate toward newcomers.”
— Ellen Steinbaum, author of Leavings, poetry (forthcoming from Every Other Thursday Press ) |
“The book is elegant, the cover photograph, the red background, the typeface…I think it will find a wide interest. The powers that be should know about it.”
— Helena Minton, author of Paris Paint Box, Poetry (Loom Press) |
“So many of these poems remain in my mind. Two of my favorites, among many others I could name, are “Fashion Sense” and “Drift,” the latter of which I learned is carved into a granite monolith. What an honor…It’s truly a memorable and moving collection.”
— Mary E. Mitchell, author of Starting Out Sideways, A Novel and Love in Complete Sentences, A Novel (St. Martins Press) |
For signed copies, contact the author or attend an upcoming reading (listed below).
Available also at The Lost Bookshelf, Cervena Barva Press. |
Mary Bonina |
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