A Portrait of the Self as a Nation: New and Selected Poems

Marilyn Chin

W.W. Norton & Company, 2018

Agent: Sandra Dijkstra

A rich, illuminating compilation of selected and new poems from Marilyn Chin, one of our most celebrated poets.

Spanning thirty years of dazzling work—from luminous early love lyrics to often-anthologized Asian American identity anthems, from political and subversive hybrid forms to feminist manifestos—A Portrait of the Self as Nation is a selection from one of America’s most original and vital voices. Direct and sometimes confrontational, Marilyn Chin’s forceful approach to her signature themes of cultural assimilation, feminism, and identity is necessary and stylistically masterful.

Accolades:

•Selected as a Top 10 Pick for the PW Fall Poetry Preview for 2018

•Featured in Women's Voices For Change

Reviews:
"Bold and unapologetic, the work shows why [Marilyn Chin] has been a prominent voice in American poetry over the last three decades — and how she has evolved as a literary activist. Ranging from clear, radiant lyrics to experimental, subversive pieces, A Portrait of the Self as a Nation  illustrates 'that this wild-girl poet is engaged in perpetual renewal and that there is more raucous work to come.'"
Washington Post

“This gathering of selected and new poems introduces readers to the many truths of Chin, which are as vast and contradictory as you might expect a poet’s self portrait to be. . . . If the intensity of her newer work is any indication, readers won't see Chin resting on her laurels any time soon.”
Booklist