“Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry
The intersection of migrant and queer experiences constitutes one of the core motifs of The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak (2021), the debut poetry collection by Grace Lau, a Chinese Canadian poet. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, Lau provides an insight into her experiences as...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institute of English Studies
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=613890 |
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| author | Joanna Antoniak |
| author_facet | Joanna Antoniak |
| author_sort | Joanna Antoniak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The intersection of migrant and queer experiences constitutes one of the core motifs of The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak (2021), the debut poetry collection by Grace Lau, a Chinese Canadian poet. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, Lau provides an insight into her experiences as both a Canadian and a Chinese immigrant, a lesbian and a failed model child, an aficionado of traditional Chinese culture and an enthusiast of contemporary Western popular culture. The mosaic of experiences illustrates the complexity and intricacy of the author’s identity/ies. Through the analysis of three poems (“The Levity,” “The Lies That Bind,” and “My Grief Is a Winter”), supported with references to the theoretical works on Asian North American writing and queer Asian migrant experience, the article discusses Lau’s depictions of queerness and her experiences as a Chinese immigrant in relation to the Canadian LGBTQ+ community, white queer liberalism, and internal politics of the Chinese diaspora. It proposes to see Lau’s poetry as an example of biomythography, a form of autobiographical writing showcasing how encounters with different communities shape the subject. In the process of disentangling her complex ties with the Chinese diaspora, the white Canadian LGBTQ+ community and her own family, Lau reveals the impact of her interactions with those different groups as she can finally express her identity as a queer Chinese Canadian. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea4619988d0548a78ee5fa084388ff38 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0860-5734 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Institute of English Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea4619988d0548a78ee5fa084388ff382025-08-20T02:43:00ZengInstitute of English StudiesAnglica. An International Journal of English Studies0860-57342023-09-013218710810.7311/0860-5734.32.1.06“Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s PoetryJoanna Antoniak0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1011-7865Nicolaus Copernicus University in ToruńThe intersection of migrant and queer experiences constitutes one of the core motifs of The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak (2021), the debut poetry collection by Grace Lau, a Chinese Canadian poet. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, Lau provides an insight into her experiences as both a Canadian and a Chinese immigrant, a lesbian and a failed model child, an aficionado of traditional Chinese culture and an enthusiast of contemporary Western popular culture. The mosaic of experiences illustrates the complexity and intricacy of the author’s identity/ies. Through the analysis of three poems (“The Levity,” “The Lies That Bind,” and “My Grief Is a Winter”), supported with references to the theoretical works on Asian North American writing and queer Asian migrant experience, the article discusses Lau’s depictions of queerness and her experiences as a Chinese immigrant in relation to the Canadian LGBTQ+ community, white queer liberalism, and internal politics of the Chinese diaspora. It proposes to see Lau’s poetry as an example of biomythography, a form of autobiographical writing showcasing how encounters with different communities shape the subject. In the process of disentangling her complex ties with the Chinese diaspora, the white Canadian LGBTQ+ community and her own family, Lau reveals the impact of her interactions with those different groups as she can finally express her identity as a queer Chinese Canadian.https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=613890chinese canadian poetryqueernessgrace laudiasporic queer experiencediasporic literatureasian canadian literature |
| spellingShingle | Joanna Antoniak “Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies chinese canadian poetry queerness grace lau diasporic queer experience diasporic literature asian canadian literature |
| title | “Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry |
| title_full | “Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry |
| title_fullStr | “Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry |
| title_short | “Fearing your own queer self”: Depictions of Diasporic Queer Experience in Grace Lau’s Poetry |
| title_sort | fearing your own queer self depictions of diasporic queer experience in grace lau s poetry |
| topic | chinese canadian poetry queerness grace lau diasporic queer experience diasporic literature asian canadian literature |
| url | https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=613890 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joannaantoniak fearingyourownqueerselfdepictionsofdiasporicqueerexperienceingracelauspoetry |