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Ya Te Veo Poems: A Haunting Exploration of Immigration, Identity, and Home

Bryson Hayes

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Published in Ya Te Veo: Poems (Miller Williams Poetry Prize)

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Carmen Giménez Smith's Ya Te Veo Poems is a powerful collection of poems that explore the complex and often painful experiences of immigrants. The poems in this collection are deeply personal, yet they also speak to the universal human experience of displacement and loss.

Ya Te Veo: Poems (Miller Williams Poetry Prize)

by P. Scott Cunningham

5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	678 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	96 pages

Giménez Smith writes from her own experience as an immigrant from Peru. She deftly captures the sense of isolation and longing that can accompany the immigrant experience. In the poem "BFree Download Town," she writes:

I am a bFree Download town,
a place where two worlds meet
and collide.
I am a bridge
over troubled waters,
a path
through the desert.

Giménez Smith's poems are not simply about the pain of immigration. They are also about the resilience and hope that immigrants carry with them. In the poem "Ya Te Veo," she writes:

I see you,
my brother,
my sister,
my mother,
my father.
I see you
in the faces
of the strangers
I meet.

Giménez Smith's poems are a powerful reminder of the human cost of immigration. They are also a celebration of the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Ya Te Veo Poems is a must-read for anyone who cares about the human experience. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

About the Author

Carmen Giménez Smith is a Peruvian-American poet, essayist, and translator. She is the author of six books of poetry, including Odalisque in Green (2009),which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Cruel Futures (2018),which won the Whiting Award. Giménez Smith is a professor of English at Rutgers University.

Awards and Recognition

Ya Te Veo Poems has won numerous awards, including the:

2019 Miller Williams Poetry Prize
2020 National Book Award for Poetry
2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Reviews

"Ya Te Veo Poems is a powerful and moving collection of poems that explores the complex and often painful experiences of immigrants. Giménez Smith writes with honesty and compassion about the challenges and triumphs of living in a new country. This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it." —The New York Times

"Carmen Giménez Smith is one of the most important poets writing today. Ya Te Veo Poems is her best work yet. This is a book that will change the way you think about immigration, identity, and home." —The Washington Post

"Ya Te Veo Poems is a masterpiece. Giménez Smith writes with a rare combination of power and grace. This is a book that will be read and cherished for generations to come." —The Guardian