Ward Toward
 | |
| Author | Cindy Juyoung Ok |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
Publication date | March 5, 2024 |
| Pages | 100 |
| Awards | Yale Younger Poets Prize |
| ISBN | 978-0300273922 |
Ward Toward is a 2024 poetry collection by Cindy Juyoung Ok, published by Yale University Press.[1] It was selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets in 2023 by Rae Armantrout.[2]
Contents and background
[edit]The book's poems concern Ok's identity as a Korean American woman as well as her and her family's relationship to the events and legacy of the Korean War. It also tackles more recent incidents like the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings.
Ok's manuscript was selected for the 118th Yale Younger Poets Prize by Armantrout. In her foreword to the book, Armantrout wrote:
"This book is radically honest and unpretentious. Cindy Juyoung Ok never claims to know best. Her inquisitive, skeptical mind challenges beliefs, including any she herself might hold ... Ok's resistance to being categorized or labeled, evident throughout the book, may have begun in her experience as an Asian American or in her dealings with the medical establishment, but has become a poetics."[1]
The release of Ward Toward coincided with the release of Root Fractures by Diana Khoi Nguyen. Feeling similarity between their poetic projects in addition to publication dates, Ok and Nguyen agreed to embark on a "joint book tour" in 2024. In a joint interview for 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]
Critical reception
[edit]In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the book a "refreshing" and "brave and idiosyncratic debut" that tackled the history and circumstances of the Korean War.
Critics observed the book's relationship to identity and history.[4] The Poetry Foundation lauded Ok's experiments in language as a means to tackle the "isolation and dislocation" of Korean American heritage.[5] RHINO argued that Ok's poems presented language as both "a ward that shapes a world ... a tool of brainwashing" as well as "a site for play ... not just a vehicle for meaning, but a visual and sonic playground."[6] The Los Angeles Review of Books argued that Ok's poems had the effect of reclaiming representation of Korean American women, stating "Ok transforms society’s reduction of her identity into a skillful and imaginative poetics that embodies her corporeal self."[7] On the Seawall said the book "impresses with its depth of feeling, range of meaning, and verbal dexterity" on its litany of topics including the Korean War, Korean American identity, and various articulations of wards.[8] The Harvard Crimson wrote that "Questions of identity, mental health, relationships, and race collide as Cindy Juyoung Ok pushes her poetry to its full potential".[9]
The book was recommended in poetry collection lists by Electric Literature and LitHub.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ok, Cindy Juyoung (2024). Ward toward. Yale series of younger poets. Yale University Press. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-27391-5. OCLC 1402244323.
- ^ "Artist with 'impulse to shake things up' wins 2023 Yale Younger Poets Prize". YaleNews. 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ "Interview with Diana Khoi Nguyen and Cindy Juyoung Ok". Cincinnati Review. 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ "Cindy Juyoung Ok". The Sewanee Review. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Simonovis, Leonora. "Ward Toward". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Pérez, Emily (2024-03-27). "Ward Toward by Cindy Juyoung Ok". RHINO. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Xiang, Chloe (2024-03-19). "I Wrong Form: On Cindy Juyoung Ok's "Ward Toward"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Hunt, Aiden (May 7, 2024). "on Ward Toward, poems by Cindy Juyoung Ok". On the Seawall. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Demneri, Erlisa (April 2, 2024). "'Ward Toward' Review: A Stunning Exploration of Form Carves Out An Inventive Path for Poetry". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Ali, Sarah Ghazal (2024-04-10). "7 Poetry Collections that Transform the Personal Into Portals". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- ^ Frank, Rebecca Morgan; Woo, David (2024-01-04). "Here Are the Poetry Books to Read in 2024". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2024-11-16.