Home
West: A Translation
Barnes and Noble
Loading Inventory...
West: A Translation in Franklin, TN
Current price: $26.00
Barnes and Noble
West: A Translation in Franklin, TN
Current price: $26.00
Loading Inventory...
Size: Paperback
National Book Award,
2023
Longlist
* "Elegiac and shot through with righteous anger, this essential collection demands a national reckoning."—
Publishers Weekly
, STARRED REVIEW
* "A must-have for libraries.” —
Booklist
, STARRED REVIEW
"A remarkable collection offering history not typically told in textbooks."—
Library Journal
Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
West: A Translation
explores what unites and divides America, drawing a powerful, necessary connection between the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In 2018, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The result is
—an unflinching hybrid collection of poems and essays that draws a powerful, necessary connection between the railroad’s completion and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). Carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station, where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained during the Chinese Exclusion Act, is a poem elegizing a detainee who committed suicide. As
West
translates this anonymous Chinese elegy character by character, what’s left is a haunting narrative distilled through the history and lens of transcontinental railroad workers, and a sweeping exploration of the railroad’s cultural impact on America. Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
explores what unites and divides America, and how our ideas about American history creep forward, even as the nation itself constantly threatens to spiral back.
is accompanied by a website (www.westtrain.org) which features video poems and encourages self-exploration of the transcontinental railroad’s history through an interactive, non-linear structure. Pairing this urgent book and innovative website, Rekdal masterfully challenges how histories themselves get written and disseminated. The result is a tour de force of resistance and resilience.
2023
Longlist
* "Elegiac and shot through with righteous anger, this essential collection demands a national reckoning."—
Publishers Weekly
, STARRED REVIEW
* "A must-have for libraries.” —
Booklist
, STARRED REVIEW
"A remarkable collection offering history not typically told in textbooks."—
Library Journal
Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
West: A Translation
explores what unites and divides America, drawing a powerful, necessary connection between the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In 2018, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The result is
—an unflinching hybrid collection of poems and essays that draws a powerful, necessary connection between the railroad’s completion and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). Carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station, where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained during the Chinese Exclusion Act, is a poem elegizing a detainee who committed suicide. As
West
translates this anonymous Chinese elegy character by character, what’s left is a haunting narrative distilled through the history and lens of transcontinental railroad workers, and a sweeping exploration of the railroad’s cultural impact on America. Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
explores what unites and divides America, and how our ideas about American history creep forward, even as the nation itself constantly threatens to spiral back.
is accompanied by a website (www.westtrain.org) which features video poems and encourages self-exploration of the transcontinental railroad’s history through an interactive, non-linear structure. Pairing this urgent book and innovative website, Rekdal masterfully challenges how histories themselves get written and disseminated. The result is a tour de force of resistance and resilience.
National Book Award,
2023
Longlist
* "Elegiac and shot through with righteous anger, this essential collection demands a national reckoning."—
Publishers Weekly
, STARRED REVIEW
* "A must-have for libraries.” —
Booklist
, STARRED REVIEW
"A remarkable collection offering history not typically told in textbooks."—
Library Journal
Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
West: A Translation
explores what unites and divides America, drawing a powerful, necessary connection between the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In 2018, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The result is
—an unflinching hybrid collection of poems and essays that draws a powerful, necessary connection between the railroad’s completion and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). Carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station, where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained during the Chinese Exclusion Act, is a poem elegizing a detainee who committed suicide. As
West
translates this anonymous Chinese elegy character by character, what’s left is a haunting narrative distilled through the history and lens of transcontinental railroad workers, and a sweeping exploration of the railroad’s cultural impact on America. Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
explores what unites and divides America, and how our ideas about American history creep forward, even as the nation itself constantly threatens to spiral back.
is accompanied by a website (www.westtrain.org) which features video poems and encourages self-exploration of the transcontinental railroad’s history through an interactive, non-linear structure. Pairing this urgent book and innovative website, Rekdal masterfully challenges how histories themselves get written and disseminated. The result is a tour de force of resistance and resilience.
2023
Longlist
* "Elegiac and shot through with righteous anger, this essential collection demands a national reckoning."—
Publishers Weekly
, STARRED REVIEW
* "A must-have for libraries.” —
Booklist
, STARRED REVIEW
"A remarkable collection offering history not typically told in textbooks."—
Library Journal
Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
West: A Translation
explores what unites and divides America, drawing a powerful, necessary connection between the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In 2018, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. The result is
—an unflinching hybrid collection of poems and essays that draws a powerful, necessary connection between the railroad’s completion and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). Carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station, where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained during the Chinese Exclusion Act, is a poem elegizing a detainee who committed suicide. As
West
translates this anonymous Chinese elegy character by character, what’s left is a haunting narrative distilled through the history and lens of transcontinental railroad workers, and a sweeping exploration of the railroad’s cultural impact on America. Punctuated by historical images and told through multiple voices, languages, literary forms and documents,
explores what unites and divides America, and how our ideas about American history creep forward, even as the nation itself constantly threatens to spiral back.
is accompanied by a website (www.westtrain.org) which features video poems and encourages self-exploration of the transcontinental railroad’s history through an interactive, non-linear structure. Pairing this urgent book and innovative website, Rekdal masterfully challenges how histories themselves get written and disseminated. The result is a tour de force of resistance and resilience.
You May Also Like
![Lost Translation / O.S.T. [Sky Blue Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]](https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227813598_p0_v3_s600x595.jpg)
More About Barnes and Noble at CoolSprings Galleria
Barnes & Noble is the world’s largest retail bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. Our Nook Digital business offers a lineup of NOOK® tablets and e-Readers and an expansive collection of digital reading content through the NOOK Store®. Barnes & Noble’s mission is to operate the best omni-channel specialty retail business in America, helping both our customers and booksellers reach their aspirations, while being a credit to the communities we serve.
1800 Galleria Blvd #1310, Franklin, TN 37067, United States
