Author: Claire Meuschke Publisher: Noemi Press (2020) The book loosely navigates the archived immigration trial of Hong On, a biracial Alaska Native-Chinese man, in 1912 on Angel Island, CA, during the Chinese Exclusion Act. Hong On was born in San Francisco, CA, in 1895 and was orphaned shortly after. The concepts of U.S. government-designated recreational spaces, genocide, and intergenerational trauma are examined by Hong On's granddaughter, the author, who sees imperialistic residue in product, place, and color naming. At the core of this book is the speaker's Alaska Native great grandmother who is named "Unknown: Indian" on Hong On's birth certificate. "Claire Meuschke takes us back to the immigration trial of her grandfather Hong On, more than a century ago. The violent, racially motivated forces behind US colonialism burn through these poems, showing how Manifest Destiny has resulted in a people and land still vibrating with trauma. “what about immobilizing guilt / organized resistance / the land not wanting you?” Here is a poet doing the real work to examine not only where we have been, but how to save ourselves from further destruction. This is a book I want everyone to put inside our lives, and to do so right now!" –CAConrad
