Prescribee

Prescribee is an archaic collection of poetry that redefines Taiwan's history and captures the alienation of immigrant experience with an original voice, challenging expectations of race, gender, nationality, and citizen status.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 88 pages
Publication date: 29 December 2022
Publisher: Nightboat Books

An arch, precise collection of poems that casts world-historical hierarchies in an aspic mold and serves them back to us on a warped platter.

Reading Prescribee is not dissimilar to the experience of coming across a recipe in a vintage American cookbook: it transforms the familiar ingredients of contemporary life into an uncanny, discomfiting concoction. Wielding English as a foreign language and medium, Chang redefines the history of Taiwan and captures the alienation of immigrant experience with a startlingly original voice. Flouting tired expectations of race, gender, nationality, and citizen status, Prescribee is as provocative as it is perceptive, as playful as it is sobering.

Prescribee is a collection of poems that explores the complexities of identity and belonging through the lens of an immigrant experience. The poems are written in English, which is not Chang's native language, adding an additional layer of complexity and depth to the text. Through her use of language and imagery, Chang challenges traditional notions of race, gender, nationality, and citizenship and offers a fresh perspective on the experiences of immigrants.

One of the key themes in Prescribee is the idea of displacement and alienation. The poems explore the feelings of isolation and dislocation that immigrants often experience when they arrive in a new country. Chang uses vivid imagery and sensory details to convey the sense of being lost and disconnected from one's past and culture. She also explores the challenges of assimilating into a new society and the struggles to find a sense of belonging.

Another theme in Prescribee is the intersection of race, gender, and nationality. Chang examines how these identities intersect and shape one's experience of immigration and identity. She challenges the notion that these identities are fixed and immutable and instead shows how they are constantly evolving and changing. Through her poetry, Chang offers a nuanced and complex understanding of the experiences of immigrants who are navigating multiple identities.

Prescribee is also a playful and witty collection of poems. Chang uses humor and irony to address serious topics and offer a sense of levity to the text. Her poems are filled with clever wordplay and playful imagery, which add to the overall enjoyment of the collection.

Overall, Prescribee is a powerful and thought-provoking collection of poetry that offers a unique perspective on the immigrant experience. Through her use of language and imagery, Chang challenges traditional notions of identity and belonging and offers a fresh and original understanding of the experiences of immigrants. The collection is both provocative and perceptive, as well as playful and sobering, making it a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of contemporary life.

Weight: 136g
Dimension: 139 x 215 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781643621517