Name: When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities
Rating: 4.161290322580645 (31 reviews)
ISBN: 9781942683339

Chen Chen

This award-winning debut interrogates the fragile, inherited ways of approaching love and family from Asian American, immigrant, and queer perspectives.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities

Maggie Gordon

When I Grow Up... is an utter delight. Chen deftly uses humour to explore a variety of painful topics, delving into the experience of coming out in a family that is not ready to accept him, immigration, race, and sexuality. I laughed, but also felt deep sorrows. Filled with beautiful, often sharp witty language, this is a superb book, and Chen is a poet to watch out for.

Merve A. 

"i try to build a bridge to my parents but only reach my mother & it’s a bridge she’s about to jump off of."

some of the poems hit really close to home

elif sinem

absolutely love this one. it's got this great conversational tone to it that veers to the surreal in imagery. a lot of these are hilarious also and I appreciate that the same themes of immigration & sexuality pop up again and again. that all said I think some of the poems meander a little too much for my taste or feel overall a little unfocused, so it's not an all the way classic for me

Carmen

Joyce

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY WINNER OF THE A. POULIN, JR. POETRY PRIZE A LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF 2017 SELECTION: POETRY & LITERATURE ON NPR BOOKS'S LIST OF "POETRY TO PAY ATTENTION TO: 2017'S BEST VERSE" A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 2017 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE SELECTION In this ferocious and tender debut, Chen Chen investigates inherited forms of love and family—the strained relationship between a mother and son, the cost of necessary goodbyes—all from Asian American, immigrant, and queer perspectives. Holding all accountable, this collection fully embraces the loss, grief, and abundant joy that come with charting one's own path in identity, life, and love.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities

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