{"product_id":"west-paisley-rekdal-9781556596568","title":"West: A Translation","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eNational Book Award, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e2023 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglist \u003c\/b\u003e* \"Elegiac and shot through with righteous anger, this essential collection demands a national reckoning.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, STARRED REVIEW* \"A must-have for libraries.\" --\u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e, STARRED REVIEW\"A remarkable collection offering history not typically told in textbooks.\"--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePunctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents, \u003ci\u003eWest: A Translation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eexplores what unites and divides America, drawing a powerful, necessary connection between the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act.In 2018, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The result is \u003ci\u003eWest: A Translation\u003c\/i\u003e--an unflinching hybrid collection of poems and essays that draws a powerful, necessary connection between the railroad's completion and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). Carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station, where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained during the Chinese Exclusion Act, is a poem elegizing a detainee who committed suicide. As \u003ci\u003eWest\u003c\/i\u003e translates this anonymous Chinese elegy character by character, what's left is a haunting narrative distilled through the history and lens of transcontinental railroad workers, and a sweeping exploration of the railroad's cultural impact on America. Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents, \u003ci\u003eWest \u003c\/i\u003eexplores what unites and divides America, and how our ideas about American history creep forward, even as the nation itself constantly threatens to spiral back.\u003ci\u003eWest\u003c\/i\u003e is accompanied by a website (www.westtrain.org) which features video poems and encourages self-exploration of the transcontinental railroad's history through an interactive, non-linear structure. Pairing this urgent book and innovative website, Rekdal masterfully challenges how histories themselves get written and disseminated. The result is a tour de force of resistance and resilience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Paisley Rekdal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1556596561\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781556596568\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Copper Canyon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/02\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.88lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 7.40w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e National Book Awards - Nominee\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2023 pg. 108\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2023 pg. 11\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/22\/2023","brand":"Paisley Rekdal","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44076273533183,"sku":"9781556596568","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_2ff797f7-4063-4dd0-a884-97a239facb66.jpg?v=1685464091","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/west-paisley-rekdal-9781556596568","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}