{"product_id":"so-stranger-1","title":"So, Stranger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eTopaz Winters, 2022\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTopaz Winters' third poetry collection spans three countries \u0026amp; three generations. In a far-reaching \u0026amp; deftly-woven series of ars poeticas, Winters questions the boundary between the things we inherit \u0026amp; those we owe, stands at the grave of the American dream, \u0026amp; unspools the enormous grace \u0026amp; guilt of being loved. \u003cem\u003eSo, Stranger\u003c\/em\u003e stands as a fixed mark between the shifting histories \u0026amp; futures of being a daughter, being an artist, \u0026amp; being an immigrant. If its reader begins as a stranger, they end as part of a lineage: one both of grief \u0026amp; glory, of distance \u0026amp; arrival.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAwards\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/buttonpoetry.com\/product-tag\/short-form-contest-winner\/\"\u003eWINNER of the Button Poetry Short Form Contest\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePraise for Topaz Winters\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003eTopaz Winters' \u003cem\u003eSo, Stranger\u003c\/em\u003e is gorgeous. It's a book filled with heart and possibility toward the future, while questioning the past and the present. The speaker navigates the knots of an immigrant family, love, pain, American ignorance, and existentialism. Every poem brims with the possibility of language and skillful and surprising aphorism, such as: 'Make no mistake: this is not\/a story about fear, it is a story about what happens when we\/grow tired of\/being afraid\" and \"I'm beginning to understand why, even in\/sleep, all hospital parking lots remain full of hope.' I find myself nodding in recognition, but new recognition with each surprising line. Winters is the real thing--spilling with talent. I look forward to all she will make and do in the future. — Victoria Chang, author of \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/956\/9781556595745\"\u003eObit\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003eWinters challenges the familiar narrative of the American dream and the immigrant experience—'America says I am disappointed in you \u0026amp; I say join the damn club.' \u003cem\u003eSo, Stranger\u003c\/em\u003e is a close study on departure and arrival, to and from countries, bodies, and loves. — Diannely Antigua, author of \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/956\/9781936919642\"\u003eUgly Music\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003eI entered this book wanting to find a world and Winters gave me dozens. Each poem is so full it feels like its own planet. — Paige Lewis, author of \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/956\/9781946448446\"\u003eSpace Struck\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003eIn the beginning, science tells us, the four fundamental forces of the universe were one—a single force encompassing all possible energies. Reading Topaz Winters' poems, I was reminded of this fact—in her work, heritage and politics, intelligence and ardor fuse in an intensity both incandescent and compelling. Sparks fly, while a human hand reaches for another. A dazzling and a deeply moving collection. — Monica Youn, author of \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/956\/9781555977504\"\u003eBlackacre\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e","brand":"Button Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43275927912499,"sku":"978-1-63834-024-9","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0606\/0752\/9011\/files\/d92a682e-Winters-SS-Cover-with-badge.png?v=1744752042","url":"https:\/\/buttonbookstore.com\/products\/so-stranger-1","provider":"Button Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}