Foreign Bodies: Poems

Kimiko Hahns tenth collection, Foreign Bodies, explores the grip that seemingly insignificant objects exert on our lives, inspired by her encounter with Dr. Chevalier Jacksons collection of ingested curiosities. The collection provokes surprise, wonder, and recognition, and the speaker sees reflections of these items in the heartbreaking detritus of her family home and her long-dead mother's Japanese jewelry. Hahn remakes the lyric sequence in chains reminiscent of the Japanese tanka, expanding the foreign bodies to include the immigrant woman's trafficked body, fossilized remains, a grandmother's Japanese body, and a celebration of the nautilus.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 05 April 2022
Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Inspired by her encounter with Dr. Chevalier Jacksons collection of ingested curiosities at Philadelphias Mütter Museum,Kimiko Hahns tenth collection delves into the profound influence that seemingly insignificant objects can have on our lives. Like a cabinet of curiosities, the collection evokes the same sense of surprise, wonder, and poignant recognition that Hahn experienced as she opened drawer after drawer of these swallowed and retrieved objects—a radiator key, a childs perfect attendance pin, a mother-of-pearl button. These moving poems, spoken by the speaker, reflect the remnants of these items in the heartbreaking detritus of her family home and in her long-dead mothers Japanese jewelry.

As Hahn reimagines the lyric sequence in chains reminiscent of the Japanese tanka, the foreign bodies of the title broaden to encompass the immigrant womans trafficked body, fossilized remains, a grandmothers Japanese body. She explores the intricate relationship between our innermost selves and the remnants of our vanished past, creating space for contemplation on grief and the fleeting nature of the material world. The collection also includes an account of a nineteenth-century female fossil hunter, as well as a celebration of the nautilus.

Foreign Bodies showcases Hahns electrifying originality and her exhilarating mastery of ever-evolving forms. Through her meticulous exploration of the human condition, Hahn invites us to reconsider the objects that surround us and the profound impact they can have on our lives.

Weight: 136g
Dimension: 155 x 206 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780393882445