In the Absent Everyday [Paperback]

Tsering Dhompa (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0974468770 | ISBN-13: 978-0974468778 | Publication Date: April 1, 2005

Poetry. Asian American Studies. "There is an inevitability implicit in the directness of Tsering Wangmo Dhompa's poetry that leaves the reader quite unprepared for the sudden leaps in reality it then proposes. As the first Tibetan-American poet to receive any substantial distribution, Dhompa opens U.S. poetry up to new modes of possibility in almost anything she does. She is a terrific one, on any terms. Dhompa isn't just about bringing some new strands of thread into the American literary tapestry, she's out to reweave the whole thing. We all stand to be far richer for that. But we'll have to pay attention"—Ron Silliman.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The strongest of this remarkable set of open-ended apostrophes are like "fingers without guile/ soft as a kitten's throat"—beautiful and foreboding at the same time, with lines that seem to disappear into the images they carry. Steely, mystical, engaged and emotionally charged, the diction that Tsering achieves in this second collection is uniquely her own, comprising a world where "all confirmation of life/ remains outside"—yet it remains. It's a style that draws from whatever currents—politico-economic, lyric, base taxonomic, Tibetan folkloric—serve its descriptions, which are finally "Words I use because I like who I become." Readily apparent influences include Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Barbara Guest, Bernadette Mayer and Rilke—and perhaps the photography of Justine Kurland. Finally as elusive as it is resolute ("fugitive and fulcrum," as one telling phrase puts it), and following on Rules of the House (2002), this book is deeply satisfying in its pointed ambiguity and angular clarity: "They looked for signs to disinter/ her needs. She was a yearling. They saw she liked yellow flowers/ in winter, talcum powder, and an occasional local whiskey." (June)
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About the Author

Tsering Wangmo Dhompa was raised in India and Nepal. Tsering received her MA from University of Massachussetts and her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Her first book of poems, RULES OF THE HOUSE, published by Apogee Press in 2002 was a finalist for the Asian American Literary Awards in 2003. Other publications include IN THE ABSENT EVERYDAY (Apogee Press, 2005) and two chapbooks, In Writing the Names (A.bacus, Potes & Poets Press) and Recurring Gestures (Tangram Press). Tsering works for a San Francisco based non-profit foundation that provides humanitarian aid to people of the Himalayas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 81 pages
• Publisher: Apogee Press (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974468770
• ISBN-13: 978-0974468778
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,126,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)