I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
The Immigrant’s Lament by Mois Benarroch is a poetry collection released by Moben Publishing. Included in this collection are several short poems—one or two pages long—such as “The Transsexual’s Lament.” These short poems are framed by two longer works: the title poem, “The Immigrant’s Lament,” and “Self portrait of the poet in a family mirror.”
Benarroch’s poetry runs commentary on a few core topics, namely love, writing, a sense of belonging, generational differences, and the realities of diaspora. With a voice that is both cynical and profound and a bittersweet sense of humor, Benarroch gives insight into new experiences while keeping his poems accessible for both uninformed readers and those who know …show more content…
The poems explore both the good and the bad of its topics: how people can be rich in their homelands and then dirt poor in new countries, love which blossoms and then withers away, a writer who wants to write but wonders what the point is, and so on. I felt for people whom I will never fully understand, i.e. Israeli immigrants, in “The Immigrant’s Lament” but also saw a reflection of myself in the writer at the center of “Self portrait of the poet in a family mirror.” With the latter poem I was particularly impressed with Benarroch’s ability to say exactly what I go through every single day but am unable to express. Not everyone understands the issues behind a writer’s self-esteem and desire to belong and be isolated at the same time, but this poet captures them …show more content…
On the one hand, it draws attention to the unfortunate way in which people’s perceptions clash with transsexual people’s identities. On the other hand, lines such as “what kind of woman am I / if I can't give birth to another woman?” cast shadow on the poem’s depiction of these individuals. I suppose you could argue that Benarroch is merely demonstrating the complex emotions experienced by people in these situations, but the poem also reinforces the traditional concepts of gender and gender identity.
In “Self portrait of the poet in a family mirror,” while discussing how the writer had his son vaccinated, the narrator states that “he didn't know at the time about the corruption, / and the lies behind vaccinations.” Given the tone of the entire poem, Benarroch may have been trying to make a point about the idiocy of the increasingly-popular—but nonetheless misinformed—belief that vaccines are bad for children. Even so, I have a hard time accepting these lines because, no matter the intent, they may be interpreted as perpetuating a belief that was long ago proven false and could endanger future
The Immigrant’s Lament by Mois Benarroch is a poetry collection released by Moben Publishing. Included in this collection are several short poems—one or two pages long—such as “The Transsexual’s Lament.” These short poems are framed by two longer works: the title poem, “The Immigrant’s Lament,” and “Self portrait of the poet in a family mirror.”
Benarroch’s poetry runs commentary on a few core topics, namely love, writing, a sense of belonging, generational differences, and the realities of diaspora. With a voice that is both cynical and profound and a bittersweet sense of humor, Benarroch gives insight into new experiences while keeping his poems accessible for both uninformed readers and those who know …show more content…
The poems explore both the good and the bad of its topics: how people can be rich in their homelands and then dirt poor in new countries, love which blossoms and then withers away, a writer who wants to write but wonders what the point is, and so on. I felt for people whom I will never fully understand, i.e. Israeli immigrants, in “The Immigrant’s Lament” but also saw a reflection of myself in the writer at the center of “Self portrait of the poet in a family mirror.” With the latter poem I was particularly impressed with Benarroch’s ability to say exactly what I go through every single day but am unable to express. Not everyone understands the issues behind a writer’s self-esteem and desire to belong and be isolated at the same time, but this poet captures them …show more content…
On the one hand, it draws attention to the unfortunate way in which people’s perceptions clash with transsexual people’s identities. On the other hand, lines such as “what kind of woman am I / if I can't give birth to another woman?” cast shadow on the poem’s depiction of these individuals. I suppose you could argue that Benarroch is merely demonstrating the complex emotions experienced by people in these situations, but the poem also reinforces the traditional concepts of gender and gender identity.
In “Self portrait of the poet in a family mirror,” while discussing how the writer had his son vaccinated, the narrator states that “he didn't know at the time about the corruption, / and the lies behind vaccinations.” Given the tone of the entire poem, Benarroch may have been trying to make a point about the idiocy of the increasingly-popular—but nonetheless misinformed—belief that vaccines are bad for children. Even so, I have a hard time accepting these lines because, no matter the intent, they may be interpreted as perpetuating a belief that was long ago proven false and could endanger future