WHY IS THE EDGE ALWAYS WINDY?

by Mộng-Lan

Poetry. Asian Studies. Poet and visual artist Mong-Lan's debut collection, Song of the Cicadas, won the 2000 Juniper Prize. This new collection of poetry moves from Saigon to New York to Paris, capturing the windy strangeness of the modern world and those that inhabit it. A former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, Mong-Lan is currently the inaugural poet in residence at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Genres: Poetry

86 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Mong-Lan, poet, novelist, essayist, former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, a Fulbright Scholar, winner of a Pushcart Prize, the Juniper Prize, the Great Lakes Colleges Association’s New Writers Awards for Poetry, is the author of seven books and three chapbooks, the most recent of which is the full length collection, Dusk Aflame: poems & art, and the chapbook, Tone of Water in a Half-Filled Glass. Other books include One Thousand Minds Brimming; Song of the Cicadas; Why is the Edge Always Windy?, Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art; Tango, Tangueando: Poemas & Dibujos (the bilingual Spanish-English edition); Love Poem to Tofu & Other Poems (poetry & calligraphic art, chapbook); Love Poem to Ginger & Other Poems: poetry & paintings (chapbook); Force of the Heart: Tango, Art. Mong-Lan’s poetry has been nationally and internationally anthologized to include being in Best American Poetry; The Pushcart Book of Poetry: Best Poems from 30 Years of the Pushcart Prize; Asian American Poetry: the Next Generation; Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond (Norton); and has appeared in journals such Kenyon Review, The Iowa Review, and North American Review.

Mong-Lan, recipient of the University of Arizona Graduate College Fellowship and the Dean's Master of Fine Arts Fellowship, took her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona, Tucson. A former university professor, she has taught at the University of Maryland in Tokyo, Stanford University and the University of Arizona.

Also a dancer, visual artist (painter, photographer), musician, composer and singer, she left her native Viet Nam on the last day of the evacuation of Sai Gon. 

Mong-Lan has read and performed her poetry and music on many stages, to include at universities, schools, libraries, bars, and cabarets, across the U.S. and internationally, such as at Harvard University, Stanford University, in poetry festivals and academic presentations in Bali; Indonesia; Germany; Japan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Argentina, to name a few. 
Visit: https://www.monglan.com

Reviews

[Jordan S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mong-Lan takes us on a world tour with her poetry, quick and profound observations, of the extraordinary and the mundane. Poems about 9-11, New York City, Vietnam, life in Asia, travels in Europe, all form the thread of her lyricism. She proves to be accessible, although at times taking on experimental forms and voices. A great poet! Her masterly drawings are also included in the book.

[Morgan T · Rating 5 out of 5]

"what are ten or a hundred years
the blink
the wait"

Such gems are found throughout Mong-Lan's Why is the Edge Always Windy? And much more. She invites us to answer this question, the title question.

"The hand a passport of the somnambulant"
Not only does Mong-Lan write about worldly affairs, places, cities, generations, geological events, but she also invites us to question the deeper issues of life. All the while doing so in a poetry that is fresh, completely contemporary, with a voice and style that is completely her own.
Also included are her drawings which add a magical touch to this lovely book.