Paper Money

<h3 class=ql-align-center>Winshen Liu's <em>Paper Money</em> is a sensory and sparse exploration of grief and the complexity of the second-generation Taiwanese immigrant experience in America.</h3><h3 class=ql-align-center></h3><p>These poems awaken our own yearning for the universe of the senses that Liu renders with an exquisitely refined depth of observation.</p><p></p><p class=ql-align-right>- Diane Seuss</p><p class=ql-align-right>author of <em>frank: sonnets</em> and <em>Modern Poetry</em></p><p class=ql-align-right></p><p>This book is an <strong>exploration of language</strong> particularly the intersection of languages that is a part of having a foot in two countries (in this case Taiwan and the US). Liu includes Chinese characters and words that will add a layer for both <strong>English and bi-lingual</strong> readers.</p><p></p><p>Many poems are full of sensory images particularly <strong>foodways and customs</strong> that draw the reader into the world of the poems. Food is deeply connected to <strong>memory and community</strong> and is a powerful symbol throughout.</p><p></p><p>This collection is ultimately about <strong>grief</strong> both elegy for the death of the speaker's grandfather and an exploration of the loss and longing one feels for <strong>home</strong>.</p><p></p><p>The motif of money draws up the important theme of <strong>poverty</strong> and the <strong>American Dream.</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Paper Money </em>is for lovers of tight image-heavy verse and those interested in learning more about the Taiwanese immigrant experience in America from a fresh new voice.</p>