SONG OF THE CICADAS

Mong-Lan's first book of poems,
was published by the University of Massachusetts Press
May 1, 2001.
Cover photo, cover design, & sketches inside book by Mong-Lan
ISBN: 1558493077

contact the author:
Mong-Lan
PO Box 51522
Palo Alto, CA 94303-1522
website: http://www.monglan.com

In this striking first collection of poems, the grainy strangeness of the modern world is transformed into a place at once knowable and enduring.  
Mộng-Lan conveys the certainty that even when the world stops making sense, decency and beauty somehow survive. From Saigon to San Francisco, she combines the earthly and the ecstatic, the animal and the sublime, to create lyrics that tempt and haunt.

"Welcome to a poetic voice that represents no less than a manifestation of soul. In Mộng-Lan's debut book, she has taken on the daunting responsibility of representing the Vietnamese nation and culture, via imagery, consciousness, and memory. Hers is a stunning experiment and a historical imperative."-Jane Miller

"In Asian tradition, poetry and visual art go hand in hand, with the collaboration of work, image, and calligraphy. Mộng-Lan's first book renews this tradition for American poetry, and with a startling subject matter. Her poems and drawings dealing with Viet Nam reflect the awe, the anger, and the mourning of the expatriate who returns to the country of her birth.
Brilliantly exact observation of people and places here is paradoxical evidence that this land is no longer entirely her own. We sense that she also values what she brings from her adoptive culture-a new language, a new aesthetic, and the conviction that a woman artist has special insights to offer on the subject of armed conflict and its aftermath. From visual beauty, human suffering, and verbal inventiveness, Mộng-Lan stakes out a poetic territory that is completely her own."-Alfred Corn

"Mộng-Lan is a remarkably accomplished poet. Always her poems are deft,   extremely graceful in the way words move, and in the cadence that carries them. One is moved by the articulate character of 'things seen,' the subtle shifting of images, and the quiet intensity of their information. Clearly she is a master of the art."-Robert Creeley

Winner of the 2000 Juniper Prize