Breaking News: Announcing Paisley Rekdal’s latest book, “The Broken Country.”
A popular contributor to Broad Street Magazine has published an AWP Award — winning book about the legacy of the Vietnam War in American crime, immigration, and worldwide culture. Paisley will appear at the Chautauqua Institution in August—see details below (including information about the venerable Institution itself).
“A poignant, relevant synthesis of cultural studies and true-crime drama.” — Kirkus Reviews
One of our most widely beloved contributors, prolific poet and nonfiction writer Paisley Rekdal, has not only published another book (and a great one!) but also scheduled a remarkable event at the Chautauqua Institution for this August-–one of no doubt *broad* appeal.
That book is The Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam. It is the winner of the AWP Nonfiction Award–-one of the highest honors bestowed by the Associated Writers and Writing Programs, an organization crucial to poets and writers in the U.S. and beyond. The book itself is published by the prestigious University of Georgia Press.
Kirkus Reviews has called Paisley’s latest “a compact, thoughtful debut [in the genre of cultural studies] addressing violence, immigrant identity, and the long shadow of the Vietnam War. . . . A poignant, relevant synthesis of cultural studies and true-crime drama.”
More about the Book
P aisley describes The Broken Country as a “book-length essay on cultural trauma and the inter-generational legacies of war.” Her website elaborates on the circumstances that prompted her to write:
“In 2012, a young Vietnamese man named Kiet Thanh Ly walked into a downtown Salt Lake City megastore, purchased a knife, and began stabbing white male passersby in the parking lot, purportedly in revenge for the war in Vietnam: a war that, due to Ly’s age, he never immediately experienced.
“The Broken Country explores how Ly’s case may be at the heart of a larger discussion of war’s trauma, historical memory, cultural assimilation, and identity: issues that refugees and veterans alike must face when repatriating after war. Through investigative reporting, cultural criticism, oral history and personal reflection, The Broken Country considers the sheer number of people psychologically wounded by violence.
“In Ly’s tragic story, we might find the fascinating, if controversial, beginnings of a new kind of war memorial: one that draws together the testimony and trauma of war’s less visible victims.”
*******************************************************************
S o whatever your summer plans may be, we urge you to pick up a copy of The Broken Country.
If you can’t buy the book locally, where you might do your country and your favorite bookseller — and perhaps Literature itself — the most good, may we suggest IndieBound or Amazon?
*******************************************************************
F or immediate gratification, we invite you to Paisley’s absorbing, often shocking essay “The Lives of Strangers,” available online. It’s a true tale of marriage, betrayal, and murder in Salt Lake City, which we were proud to feature in our inaugural print issue, “Dangerous Territory” (now sold out, so don’t even try asking for one).
Paisley’s memoir-essay is in conversation with a stunning image, Buddy Patrol, by master painter Josh George.
Find out a little more about Paisley, her life, and her career by clicking on this brief article from our website.
****************************************************************
Herewith is basic information about the Chautauqua event. Please click on the link below to learn more and to secure tickets … then read further to find out more about the Institution sponsoring Paisley’s event and so many more:
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, AT 3:30 p.m.
Paisley Rekdal, author, “The Broken Country.”
Location: The Hall of Philosophy.
****************************************************************
I f you’re curious about Chautauqua itself, that most venerable and vital southern New York institution that has brought cultural events to people of all interests and levels of education since 1874, connect on Facebook or their website.
A calendar of events for 2018 follows the photographs and links.
Chautauqua’s calendar of events for 2018 can be found by clicking here.
*******************************************************************
Many congratulations to Paisley, her publishers, and the readers who have been looking forward to this important book!
******************************************************************
Like what you’ve read here? Then please remember to press the Medium’s hand — perhaps many times — to show your approval and to help other readers find this piece. And please follow Broad Street on Facebook and our website.
sc
