Find Me as the Creature I Am: Poems

After reading this book, I’m going to start all my work messages with the following: “I hope this email finds you as the creature you are.”

There is a lot of humanity in these poems. Then again, “humanity” may not be the correct word because there is compassion for all living beings in Emily Jungmin Yoon’s poetry. There is also a tension between collectivism and individuality—freedom and what it means to fight for personal freedoms as part of a connected “community.” By the last page, Yoon’s poetry has made you think, but—more importantly—it has made you feel. Also important: it is easy to read.

Sitting down with this book is like sitting with a new friend, but somehow, it feels like you have shared past lifetimes full of experiences together. It feels like you just met, and you have finally met again after too much time has gone by. Neither of you wants to leave. So, you will stay seated, determined to get to wherever a conversation ends—whatever “elsewhere” that is, as Yoon might describe it. You will finish the book, and it will finish you.