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Crossing the Snow Bridge
The manananggal, a supernatural character in Filipino folklore, flies at night seeking prey, her winged upper torso casting shadows from the moonlit sky while the lower part of her body waits patiently below. In this fascinating new collection, Crossing the Snow Bridge, Fatima Lim-Wilson explores the similarly split experience of the immigrant in the United States.
An inhabitant of this country for five years, Lim-Wilson's legal status is that of "resident alien," a disturbing but apt description given the clash of cultures the immigrant encounters daily. Although she still dreams in her native Tagalog, Lim-Wilson writes in her borrowed language, and it is through attempting to understand the cleaving of her own tongue that she works to redefine her place and that of other immigrants here.
How can memories of green mangoes, miniature fish, and the landscape of seven thousand islands fit in with, let alone contribute to, a North American cultural identity? Yet a great part of that cultural identity is built upon the immigrant experience. In telling stories of the Philippines and of the United States, these poems build a metaphorical bridge over which we can cross between cultures.
An inhabitant of this country for five years, Lim-Wilson's legal status is that of "resident alien," a disturbing but apt description given the clash of cultures the immigrant encounters daily. Although she still dreams in her native Tagalog, Lim-Wilson writes in her borrowed language, and it is through attempting to understand the cleaving of her own tongue that she works to redefine her place and that of other immigrants here.
How can memories of green mangoes, miniature fish, and the landscape of seven thousand islands fit in with, let alone contribute to, a North American cultural identity? Yet a great part of that cultural identity is built upon the immigrant experience. In telling stories of the Philippines and of the United States, these poems build a metaphorical bridge over which we can cross between cultures.
- GenresPoetry
120 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 1995
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Fatima Lim-Wilson
2 booksDr. Lim-Wilson received her BA in English degree (cum laude) from the Jesuit-run institution, Ateneo de Manila University, her MA in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and her PhD in English from the University of Denver.
She is the author of two award-winning collections of poetry, Wandering Roots/From the Hothouse and Crossing the Snow Bridge. Her short stories, plays, and book reviews have been published in scholarly and literary journals. She has studied in several countries as the recipient of scholarships from Oxford University, University of Vienna, University of Oslo, University College-Dublin, International Christian University (Japan), Yeats International Summer School (Ireland, Uppsala University (Sweden), Breadloaf Writers Conference (Middlebury College, Vermont), and Duke University's Writers Workshop (North Carolina).
Her poetry has won several awards such as the Pushcart Prize, the Philippine National Book Award, the Colorado Book Authors Prize, the Ohio State University Press Award, the Montalvo Poetry Prize, and the Seattle Arts Commission Grant for Resident Artists. She recently received a grant from APUS for research work in the Philippines.
She served as a Confidential Assistant in the Office of the President of the Philippines in the administration of Corazon Aquino. Professor Lim-Wilson has taught a variety of courses specializing in English Literature and Composition, Creative Writing, World Literature, Professional Writing, and Business Communication in several universities and colleges, both on campus and online, for over a decade.
She is the author of two award-winning collections of poetry, Wandering Roots/From the Hothouse and Crossing the Snow Bridge. Her short stories, plays, and book reviews have been published in scholarly and literary journals. She has studied in several countries as the recipient of scholarships from Oxford University, University of Vienna, University of Oslo, University College-Dublin, International Christian University (Japan), Yeats International Summer School (Ireland, Uppsala University (Sweden), Breadloaf Writers Conference (Middlebury College, Vermont), and Duke University's Writers Workshop (North Carolina).
Her poetry has won several awards such as the Pushcart Prize, the Philippine National Book Award, the Colorado Book Authors Prize, the Ohio State University Press Award, the Montalvo Poetry Prize, and the Seattle Arts Commission Grant for Resident Artists. She recently received a grant from APUS for research work in the Philippines.
She served as a Confidential Assistant in the Office of the President of the Philippines in the administration of Corazon Aquino. Professor Lim-Wilson has taught a variety of courses specializing in English Literature and Composition, Creative Writing, World Literature, Professional Writing, and Business Communication in several universities and colleges, both on campus and online, for over a decade.
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