Root Fractures

Root Fractures: Poems
AuthorDiana Khoi Nguyen
PublisherScribner
Publication date
January 30, 2024
Pages128
ISBN978-1668031308
Preceded byGhost Of 

Root Fractures: Poems is a 2024 poetry collection by Diana Khoi Nguyen, published by Scribner.[1] Nguyen's second poetry collection, it was one of Time's 100 must-reads for 2024.

Contents and background

The book's poems concern a Vietnamese American family following the events of the Vietnam War. Nguyen stated she had written the book's poems between 2017 and 2021 "over various intensive writing sessions, roughly thirty days each year". After 2021, Nguyen felt like she had "enough poems" for a book but left them unordered for another year. It was after the birth of her child in 2022 that she put the book together. She also created "video work" through home videos, documentaries, and "video-poems" that helped her think through the structure of the book.[2]

Nguyen's book's release coincided with the release of Cindy Juyoung Ok's debut poetry collection, Ward Toward. Noting the similarities between their poetic projects, Nguyen and Ok embarked on a "joint book tour" in 2024. In the Cincinnati Review, Ok stated "we both had publication dates of early 2024 and imagined sharing these books together, letting them bring us, rootward, to our favorite friends, cities, and bookstores."[3]

Title

Nguyen decided on the title of the book not knowing that a root fracture was a dental term; in dentistry, a root fracture refers to a break in a tooth that reaches its root.[4] She stated that if she could go back in time, she would "remind myself to look up 'root fractures' in a search engine and spend time with all those X-rays of damaged teeth!"

Critical reception

The book was listed in Time's 100 must-reads for 2024 and The Millions' must-read poetry for winter of 2024.[5] Time called the book "a collection of poetic courage" and stated it was a continuation of Nguyen's exploration of grief from her debut.[6]

Library Journal said "At turns heartbreaking and breathtaking, this collection of poems and images stuns. Listeners will be eager for more from this talented poet."[7] In a starred review, BookPage lauded the book's relationship between memory, history, and trauma, stating "These are poems worth returning to; each reading brings discoveries of new pathways of tension and connection."[8] Preposition commended the book for how it traced "through the fractures and fractals of history".[9]

References

  1. ^ Nguyen, Diana Khoi (2024). Root fractures: poems. New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1-6680-3130-8.
  2. ^ "Ten Questions for Diana Khoi Nguyen". Poets & Writers. 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  3. ^ "Interview with Diana Khoi Nguyen and Cindy Juyoung Ok". Cincinnati Review. 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  4. ^ Arterian, Diana (2024-02-01). "The Annotated Nightstand: What Diana Khoi Nguyen is Reading Now and Next". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  5. ^ Farah, Summer (2024-01-09). "Must-Read Poetry: Winter 2024". The Millions. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  6. ^ Schneid, Rebecca (2024-11-13). "'Root Fractures' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2024". TIME. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  7. ^ "Root Fractures: Poems". Library Journal. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  8. ^ Sachs, Freya (2024-03-18). "Book review of Root Fractures by Diana Khoi Nguyen". BookPage. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  9. ^ "Nguyen // ROOT FRACTURES". PREPOSITION. Retrieved 2024-11-16.

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