Foreign Wife Elegy
This debut collection bears witness to the compassion of nurses, the hardships of injury and illness, and the solitude brought on by marrying outside one’s culture. In these quiet and deceptively simple poems, Taniguchi’s words become a haven for human frailties and peaceful reflection.
REVIEWS
“Taniguchi’s poems are fresh and original, and in the solitude that comes from marrying outside her culture, she has found a firm ground on which to make her new home.”
—Library Journal
“An honest, often searing, and generous commentary on how an individual copes with loneliness and detachment from one’s own family and culture, and ultimately the triumph of compassion and hope over desperation, as seen in poignant portrayals of how her Japanese past interweaves with her present life in Midwestern America.”
—Asian American BookReview
“Taniguchi skillfully weaves Eastern and Western cultural figures and artistic forms, sometimes in a single poem, and her facility with language and imagery renders this shift seamless.”
—Altar Magazine
“For a first collection of poetry, Foreign Wife Elegy is most noteworthy for its polish and craftsmanship. [Taniguchi] creates an entire world of specific sensations and images out of a few wispy sentences—a truly remarkable gift.”
—Splendid