asianamlitfans | Sawako Nakayasu's So We Have Been Given Time Or

I skimmed Sawako Nakayasu's book of poems So We Have Been Given Time Or.

I came across the book in the library while browsing the shelves for contemporary poetry. And. Um. I really don't get the book at all. In terms of how words are laid out on the page, there's a play with playscript conventions. The left column has all-caps words like DIRECTIONS, CHARACTERS, and TIME, and following a colon, there are lines of verse that seem to be built on word associations.

Some links:

UPenn Sound Archive with some readings by Nakayasu of another of her books of poetry.

Three poems by Nakayasu at Reading Between A&B.

An interview with Nakayasu at Chicago Postmodern Poetry.

If anyone can explain this to me, I'd love you forever!