What a privilege to introduce an original poem from acclaimed nonfiction writer Kim Sunée. Her command of narrative of course is enviable. Indeed, the reader witnesses the narrator’s relationship with language metamorphose as Sunée delves into the complexities of memory, identity, and navigating multilingual spaces. Yet what is so compelling about this piece is Sunée’s ability to use form, style, and performative language to tell part of the story. The page becomes a canvas, a visual field. She creates a visceral and embodied experience for the reader. In doing so, she reveals writing as a practice of cultivating understanding through a shared experience in language and the imagination.
Kim Sunée is the author of the bestselling memoir, Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home, which has been translated into Hebrew, Korean, and Chinese. Sunée is a former magazine food editor and the author of two cookbooks, including Everyday Korean with co-author Seung-Hee Lee. She is currently pursuing an MFA in poetry through the Bennington Writing Seminars.