Heaven is Just Another Country: Poems by Jaime Jacinto (Out of Print)

Out of print title

In this lush collection of poems, Jacinto evokes a landscape of loss and melancholia. Jacinto’s lyric speaker observes the quiet catastrophes of life: a bum outside a hotel door coughing, a funeral procession, a father facing his impending death, a stripper dancing for GIs, among other such circumstances. His work shuttles back and forth between the Philippines and the United States and in those cross and criss-crossings asks us continually to consider how histories of colonialism and violence intrude into the everyday. In “Tongue-Tied,” the speaker describes his experience being beaten by priests when he is unable to pronounce English perfectly.

In “Apparition,” families wait for fathers who have presumably gone to the United States in search of fortune and economic success, only to be left with a haunting presence that never takes shape. The title poem “Heaven is Just Another Country” places into context the inability for the immigrant to ever establish the oft-desired, but rarely attained American Dream. Like Kimiko Hahn’s Unbearable Heart, one of the first poems, “Another Monsoon Rain,” immediately sets the tone for the vast majority of poems that will follow.

Paperback
Publisher: Small Press Distribution; First Edition edition (October 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 096096307-3
ISBN-13: 978-09-6-096307-2
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces