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Summary
Summary
[Ahmad's] "introduction is fiery and charismatic... This book encompasses the diversity of experience, with beautiful variations and stories that bicker back and forth." --Parul Sehgal, The New York Times
The first global anthology of migration literature featuring works by Mohsin Hamid, Zadie Smith, Marjane Satrapi, Salman Rushdie, and Warsan Shire, with a foreword by Edwidge Danticat, author of Everything Inside
A Penguin Classic
Every year, three to four million people move to a new country. From war refugees to corporate expats, migrants constantly reshape their places of origin and arrival. This selection of works collected together for the first time brings together the most compelling literary depictions of migration.
Organized in four parts (Departures, Arrivals, Generations, and Returns), The Penguin Book of Migration Literature conveys the intricacy of worldwide migration patterns, the diversity of immigrant experiences, and the commonalities among many of those diverse experiences. Ranging widely across the eighteenth through twenty-first centuries, across every continent of the earth, and across multiple literary genres, the anthology gives readers an understanding of our rapidly changing world, through the eyes of those at the center of that change. With thirty carefully selected poems, short stories, and excerpts spanning three hundred years and twenty-five countries, the collection brings together luminaries, emerging writers, and others who have earned a wide following in their home countries but have been less recognized in the Anglophone world. Editor of the volume Dohra Ahmad provides a contextual introduction, notes, and suggestions for further exploration.
Author Notes
Dohra Ahmad is professor of English at St. John's University. She is the author of Landscapes of Hope: Anti-Colonial Utopianism in America (2009) and editor of Rotten English: A Literary Anthology (2007).
Edwidge Danticat is the author of several books, including Breath, Eyes, Memory , an Oprah Book Club selection; Krik? Krak! ; a National Book Award finalist, The Farming of Bones ; The Dew Breaker ; Create Dangerously ; Claire of the Sea Light ; and the forthcoming Everything Inside . She is also the editor of The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States , The Best American Essays 2011 , Haiti Noir , and Haiti Noir 2 . Her memoir, Brother, I'm Dying , was a 2007 finalist for the National Book Award and a 2008 winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. She is a 2009 MacArthur fellow.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
In an era in which immigrants are increasingly demonized, Penguin assembles a well-curated collection of literature about the migration experience.Edited by Ahmad (English/St. John's Univ.; Landscapes of Hope: Anti-Colonial Utopianism in America, 2009, etc.) and featuring an eloquent introduction by MacArthur fellow Edwidge Danticat (The Art of Death, 2017, etc.), this compact but eye-opening book provides a sampling of literature, memoirs, and other writings about the experience of being an immigrant. To that end, the collection is arranged in a sequence that mimics what immigrants go through, starting with a section about "Departures," followed by "Arrivals," "Generations," and a single entry for "Returns," penned by Egyptian migrant Pauline Kaldas called, fittingly, "A Conversation." The breadth of Ahmad's selections is impressive given that she doesn't have a ton of space with which to work. "Departures" includes poetry from West Africa as well as more traditional and familiar entries from such authors as Salman Rushdie ("Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies") and a selection from Mohsin Hamid's bestselling novel How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. The "Returns" section is equally diverse and includes poetry from Jamaican Claude McKay, a selection from the late E.R. Braithwaite's classic novel To Sir, With Love, and the celebrated writer and illustrator Marjane Satrapi's poignant graphic memoir Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. Finally, in "Generations," Ahmad presents poetry from Native American author Joseph Bruchac, two selections by David Dabydeen, and an excerpt from Zadie Smith's White Teeth. Given the breadth and depth of the genre, this is a first-rate starting point for exploring migration literature and is almost certain to be taught in schools in the near future. Don't miss the "Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing" at the back of the text, which is also excellently curated. The book also includes work by Olaudah Equiano, Eva Hoffman, Dinaw Mengestu, and Hanif Kureishi. A welcome, pocket-sized introduction to migration literature. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This timely, yet not political collection offers glimpses into experiences connected with global migration through the eyes of those who braved the journey. Divided into four sections around the themes of departures, arrivals, generations, and returns, it includes poems, short stories, and nonfiction, all of which trace a path traveled from one country to another. The array of 33 writers includes some well-known, such as Edwidge Danticat (who presents the foreword), Zadie Smith, Mohsin Hamid, Marjane Satrapi, and Salman Rushdie, along with rising stars who will be new to most readers, thereby providing a smorgasbord of perspectives and literary styles. Editor Ahmad's thoughtfully built anthology covers the span of 300 years and 30 countries, and readers will find satisfaction whether they read it section by section, or by randomly choosing selections as the mood strikes. Ahmad's introduction explains the concepts and reasons behind the structure of the book, information about the authors is also provided, as well as lots of suggestions for further reading and viewing.--Stacey Hayman Copyright 2010 Booklist