Review (PDF)

My Urohs

The first collection of poetry by a Pohnpeian poet, Emelihter Kihleng's My Urohs is described by distinguished Samoan writer and artist Albert Wendt as "refreshingly innovative and compelling, a new way of seeing ourselves in our islands, an important and influential addition to our [Pacific] literature."

Paperback: 72 pages

Publisher: Kahuaomanoa Press (April 17, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0979378834

ISBN-13: 978-0979378836

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.2 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,120,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #47 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > Australia & Oceania

I’m rating this only because it's required for a review. It could as easily have been 3 stars.This is a slim collection of poetry by an author from Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia. I freely admit to not being a poetry reader and therefore not the best judge of it, but my world books challenge has taken me out of my comfort zone in all kinds of ways and this book was the best option for Micronesia. I liked it best when it talked about aspects of life in Pohnpei and the author’s feelings about her country (having lived abroad but returned).But for the most part I was underwhelmed. This is free verse without any arresting turns of phrase or particular rhythm, so I didn’t see much in it in a literary sense (though I admit to being a skeptic about free verse generally; it seems like the only thing making it “verse” rather than a few sentences or scattered phrases is the insertion of random line breaks). Also, the author uses a lot of Pohnpeian words, some of which are translated in footnotes but many of which are not, which makes it difficult for a foreign reader to fully understand what’s going on. This collection is probably best enjoyed by Micronesian readers.

I was more than pleasantly surprised, I was amazed by the depth and the emotions I found in her work, as well as some "telling" native feelings. And it's also nice to know what a Urohs is, and what she means by it.I purchased the book without great expectations, but hoping to learn a little about the islanders of Pohnpei, because I have a granddaughter, Nicole, a recent college grad magna cum laude, who is leaving late this month to give the next 2 years of her life teaching native Pohnpeian high school children under the sponsorship of the JVCs. So, yes, I was more than pleasantly surprised with the book and recommend you buy it, for the poetry is far beyond my expectations, and I'm used to reading good poetry - my late wife, Helen Sherry (M) was an accomplished, well published haiku poet.Mike M

A great buy / read!

My Urohs