In this Book
- All That Divides Us: Poems
- Book
- 2003
- Published by: Utah State University Press
- Series: Swenson Poetry Award
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
summary
Although the poems in this collection are not narrative, they do present a narrative, gradually unspooling the tale of the poet's rebel aunt, who left the family "to marry a Chinaman" in the 1930s. It's an old story, full of poignancy, mystery, family pride, and doubt. When the aunt returns to die, the poet, now grown, discovers in herself the need to reclaim the connections that her family had severed. She travels to China several times—to learn. Gradually, through wide-eyed insightful poems, we see the poet rebuild with her Chinese cousins a sense of generation, family, and humanity—bridging over all that divides us. Elinor Benedict has also received the Mademoiselle Fiction Prize, a Michigan Council for the Arts Award, and an Editor's Grant from the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines (CLMP). She earned an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College and her work has also appeared in various literary journals and in five chapbooks.
Table of Contents

- ONE: Begin the Ceremony
- TWO: Strangers and Kin
- PAPER FLOWERS
- p. 11
- TWO WOMEN LEAVING BEIJING
- pp. 14-15
- IMMOLATION OF A STRANGER
- pp. 16-17
- CITY OF DUST AND WATER
- pp. 19-20
- THE GUEST CHAIR AT NANKAI UNIVERSITY
- pp. 21-22
- CHINAVISION
- pp. 23-24
- STORYTELLER
- p. 25
- THREE: In the Company of Magpies
- THE CHINESE ART & CULTURE TOUR
- pp. 29-33
- GHOST CITY
- pp. 35-36
- THE TRUTH ABOUT HISTORY
- pp. 37-38
- HOW TO CHANGE A COUNTRY
- pp. 39-40
- YIN AND YANG
- p. 41
- MR. YUAN’ S TWO JOYS
- pp. 42-43
- CHINESE PUZZLE
- p. 44
- PEACE ROAD KINDERGARTEN
- pp. 46-47
- TIGER HILL
- p. 48
- FOUR: Looking for Grace
- WHERE IT HURTS
- p. 53
- DEEP ENOUGH TO GO HOME
- pp. 54-55
- SCARRED BAGGAGE
- pp. 56-57
- MISSING IN CHINA
- p. 61
- FOR THOSE WHO DREAM OF CRANES
- pp. 62-63
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- pp. 64-65
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- p. 66
Additional Information
ISBN
9780874213331
Related ISBN(s)
9780874214062
MARC Record
OCLC
51978103
Pages
79
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
Yes
Creative Commons
CC-BY-NC-ND
Copyright
2000