The Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam (Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction Ser.)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.33 (748 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0820351172 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-06-27 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
She also interrogates and interprets, from many different perspectives and points of view, the war’s damaging, long-lasting legacy. (Kirkus Reviews)This contemplative, moving meditation on the ongoing effects of war emphasizes stories of dislocation, transgenerational trauma, and the feelings of shame that permeate 'the narratives of both relocation and repatriation.' By drawing attention to the plight of all those harmed by the Vietnam Warnot just American soldiers but also 'Asian allies and foes, the children we left behind, and the refugees we took in'Rekdal deepens the understanding of the far-reaching cost of war. In beautifully rendered though unsparingly descriptive prose, Rekdal examines the larger scope o
To make sense of the shocking and baffling incidentin which a young homeless man born in Vietnam stabbed a number of white men purportedly in retribution for the warPaisley Rekdal draws on a remarkable range of material and fashions it into a compelling account of the dislocations suffered by the Vietnamese and also by American-born veterans over the past decades. The Broken Country uses a violent incident that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2012 as a springboard for examining the long-term cultural and psychological effects of the Vietnam War. She interweaves a narrative about the crime with information collected in interviews, historical examination of the arrival of Vietnamese immigrants in the 1970s, a critique of portrayals of Vietnam in American popular culture, and discussions of the psychological consequences of trauma. This work allows us to better understand transgenerational and cultural trauma and advances our still complicated struggle to comprehend the war.
Her work has been published in numerous anthologies, including Legitimate Dangers and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. She has been honored with a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and a Fulbright Fellowship to South Korea. . Paisley Rekdal is the Poet Laureate of Utah and a professor of English at the University of Utah