Writing and Language

Throughout the collection, the author explores her evolving identity as a writer through her relationship to the English language. Growing up in a Korea American home, Hong always felt self conscious about the way she spoke English. She was particularly embarrassed of the way her parents and grandmother often used incorrect grammatical structures. Believing that her family's inability to disguise their immigrant identities was a failure to assimilate, to remain invisible, Hong worked attempted to perfect her verbal and writing skills. Despite her achievements in school, Hong could not escape discrimination and racist slurs from classmates and neighbors. In college, she attempted to distance herself from these memories and experiences. She was therefore surprised to discover a deep love for poetry while studying under Myung Mi Kim.

These studies encouraged Hong to understand the estrangement of English, the use of distorted or broken English, as a...