Fire Cider Rain

Fire Cider Rain is a poetry collection that explores the warmth of the poet's Chinese-Mauritian family ties, the limits of shared cultural and geographic histories, and the experience of water as a medium for the cyclical movement of island bodies, stories, and cultures. It follows the lives of three Chinese-Mauritian women as they disperse, settle, and root over northern landscapes, and the brittle family bonds that tie them to one another and to their home country. The book explores parent-child relationships as vessels for cultural identity and the ways in which expressions of love and non-love can rupture a sense of place, self, and a collective diaspora.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 14 December 2022
Publisher: Coach House Books

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 ARCHIBALD LAMPMAN AWARD

Poetry that navigates the science of cold waterways to consider the warmth of the poet's Chinese-Mauritian family ties

Fire Cider Rain is about the limits to which shared cultural and geographic histories can hold a family together. It follows the lives of three Chinese-Mauritian women on the course of dispersing, settling, and rooting over northern landscapes, and the brittle family bonds that tie them to one another and to their home country. Told from the perspective of the youngest of the three women, the book follows the events leading up to and following the death of her grandmother, an ex-lighthouse keeper and matriarch whose fractured relationship with her own daughter haunts the narrator's life in soft, painful aftershocks. As she navigates the cold cities and waterways of Southern Ontario, our narrator struggles with conflicting desires to run toward and flee from her island identity, which grows ever distant, ever more difficult to find her way back to.

At its core, Fire Cider Rain is a book about parent-child relationships as vessels for cultural identity, and the ways in which expressions of love and non-love within those relationships can rupture a sense of place, self, and at times, a collective diaspora. Throughout the book, Ng Cheng Hin explores the geopolitics of island nations, the dilution of family histories over time, and the experience of water as a medium for the cyclical movement of island bodies, stories, and cultures. The Mauritian landscape and waterways of southern Ontario recur through the book as convergence points for its many themes.

In this stunning debut, Rhiannon Ng Cheng Hin weaves wondrous verse across geological spaces that extend from Mauritius to Canada. In this poetry, the Inuit inspire the poet to consider the warmth of her Chinese-Mauritian family ties. Through vivid imagery and sensory details, Hin explores the complexities of cultural identity, the impact of colonization, and the search for belonging. Fire Cider Rain is a powerful meditation on the power of language and the importance of preserving cultural heritage.

The book is divided into three parts, each representing a different stage of the narrator's journey. The first part, "Dispersal," follows the narrator as she leaves her home in Mauritius and moves to Canada to study at university. The second part, "Settling," explores the challenges of adjusting to a new culture and the complexities of navigating intercultural relationships. The third part, "Rooting," focuses on the narrator's attempt to establish a sense of belonging in a foreign land.

Through her poetry, Hin explores the themes of displacement, isolation, and the search for home. She uses the natural world as a metaphor for the human experience, drawing on the imagery of ice, snow, and water to convey the sense of isolation and dislocation that many immigrants experience. Hin also explores the complexities of cultural identity, particularly the ways in which it can be shaped by colonization and the pressures of assimilation.

One of the most striking aspects of Fire Cider Rain is its use of language. Hin's poetry is rich with imagery and sensory details, and she uses language to evoke a sense of place and emotion. She uses metaphor and simile to create vivid images that bring the reader into the narrator's world. For example, in the poem "Snow," she describes the snow as "a white blanket / covering the land like a gentle embrace." In the poem "Ice," she describes the ice as "a mirror / reflecting the sky like a thousand stars."

Hin also uses language to convey the emotional impact of the narrator's experiences. In the poem "The Lighthouse Keeper," she describes the grandmother as "a woman / who lived alone on the edge of the world / and kept watch over the sea." In the poem "The Island," she describes the narrator's sense of isolation as "a deep, dark hole / that I can't escape from."

Fire Cider Rain is a powerful and moving exploration of cultural identity, displacement, and the search for home. Through her vivid imagery and sensory details, Hin creates a sense of place and emotion that is both intimate and universal. The book is a testament to the power of poetry to convey complex ideas and emotions and to inspire a sense of wonder and exploration.

In conclusion, Fire Cider Rain is a stunning debut that explores the complexities of cultural identity, displacement, and the search for home. Through her vivid imagery and sensory details, Rhiannon Ng Cheng Hin creates a sense of place and emotion that is both intimate and universal. The book is a testament to the power of poetry to convey complex ideas and emotions and to inspire a sense of wonder and exploration.

Weight: 164g
Dimension: 128 x 206 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781552454510