Rain in Plural: Poems

Rain in Plural, the fourth collection of poetry by Fiona Sze-Lorrain, is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It explores private narratives and the overexposed discourse of the polis, using silence, montage, lyric, and antilyric to envision creating between liberties. It rethinks questions of citizenship, sensory memory, and the tether of word and image to the actual, featuring Agrippina the Younger, Franz Kafka, Bob Dylan, a butoh performance, and an unnamed Raku tea bowl.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 29 September 2020
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Fiona Sze-Lorrain, a poet whose previous book was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, has released her highly anticipated fourth collection of poetry, Rain in Plural. The Rumpus has praised Sze-Lorrain as a master of musicality and enlightening allusions, and her new collection does not disappoint. In the wholly original world of these new poems, Sze-Lorrain addresses both private narratives and the overexposed discourse of the polis, using silence and montage, lyric and antilyric, to envision what she calls creating between liberties. With a moral precision embracing us without eschewing, she rethinks questions of citizenship, the selections of sensory memory, and, by extension, the tether of word and image to the actual.

She writes, "I accept the truth in newspapers / by holding the murder of my friends against my chest." To each weather forecast, she gives thanks: "merci for every outdated / dusk/dawn." Agrippina the Younger, Franz Kafka, Bob Dylan, a butoh performance, an unnamed Raku tea bowl—each has a place here. Made whole by time and its alteration in timelessness, synchrony, coincidences, and accidents, Rain in Plural beautifully reveals an elegiac yet ever-evolving inner life.

Sze-Lorrain's poetry is a testament to her talent and her ability to create a unique and powerful voice in the world of literature. Her use of language and imagery is stunning, and her ability to blend the personal and the political is impressive. Rain in Plural is a must-read for anyone who loves poetry and is interested in exploring the complexities of contemporary life.

Weight: 202g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691203560