Monsoon Daughter

by Mandy Moe Pwint Tu

Wade through the waters that have cascaded out of Mandy Moe Pwint Tu’s debut chapbook, Monsoon Daughter. A love letter to the poet’s home country of Myanmar, mixes with condemnation of the ensuing military coup. It also explores family and how their memories refuse to be washed away with the tide.

Genres: Poetry

33 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2022

Reviews

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems was beautiful. I picked up this book off my bookshelf not knowing it was about the author’s grief. Grief of a country that no longer exists, grief of aging parents, grief of a dying parent, grief of a childhood gone, and grief of losing oneself amidst all of this. It was extremely moving and personal, and felt as if the author was laying her soul bare to the reader. 5/5 would recommend.

[Edna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Mandy Moe Pwint Tu's poetry and her debut chapbook is an amazing collection that reflects her range and talents. She speaks in her own specificities while dissecting the complicated narratives of family, home, and longing with an unflinching exploration of her truth. She somehow managed to wring every last drop of emotion from my fragile little heart and transform it into some kind of understanding and healing. Also, note to my daddy issues buddies: this chapbook will wreck you beyond comprehension. Get some tea and tissues because it's a wild ride.

Each poem in this collection tells a different story: an exercise of grief, a shifting recognition of love, a constant search for belonging, and much more. At Sixty, My Mother explores experiences that affect generations past our own. The cohesive imagery between her mother's hair and the ocean immerses us in the currents of its story and how the ocean shaped her mother and how it will in turn shape her own self. Yuzana for the Monsoon, features her own poetical form (the Yuzana) that utilizes a zig-zag rhyme and leaves us standing heavy in the middle of a haunting monsoon. In Coming Home, she writes about the deep love she holds for her city that is seemingly unreciprocated - a home that is in crisis, a home that is no longer the same, a longing for home when home is always at a distance from the self and when the self is always at a distance from home.

I enjoyed all the poems in this collection, but some that really stuck with me are Fitting, Almond Cake, and Afterlife - just thinking about them makes me want to cry all over again! Monsoon Daughter Tries Narrative Therapy is also a must-read, encompassing the chapbook's intense themes in a single eight-page poem. What is amazing about Mandy Moe Pwint Tu's poetry is not only her mastery of language and form, but also her ability to truly capture the complexities of the human experience and the labyrinth of our relationships. Her poems juxtapose the beautiful, the haunting, the nostalgic, the forgotten - she transports us to golden, glimmering Yangon and snow-struct Switzerland, weathers hearts through sobering monsoons and shuddering snows, and takes us along with her as she learns and unlearns and learns again.

"We imagine tragedy in the classroom
But the verandas are not the heights of coconut trees
And survival is not all that we know."

[Anne Greenawalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially liked "Monsoon Daughter Tries Narrative Therapy" -- the multi-page narrative poem. I'm a sucker for a good story, even in poetry.

[Brooke Belcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inviting collection of poetry. The stories are raw and allow the reader to see the intimate childhood stories of the author reflected through her adult experiences, including allusions to the current state of her home country and how that has impacted her. A true look into someone else’s soul, beautifully done.

[Nitya Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond gorgeous and intimate poetry.

[Wisconsin Alumni]

Mandy Moe Pwint Tu MFA’24
Author

[Jonathan Koven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soulful poems about family, childhood, memory, reconciliation. A lovely tribute to the author's home country, Myanmar, while condemning the military regime. A great read.