Books

“In the first poem of Han’s debut collection, My Dear Yeast, the child who would become the poet observes a wheelbarrow making its way through a drought-ridden town with its “mound of skin and bones,” the bodies of children. It is a wheelbarrow, she will recognize with bracing, moving insight, that is “rusty and laden / with the world.” Han’s poems, as diverse in their formal embodiments as in their languages—English, Swahili, Korean—unfold a twenty-first century coming of age story that spans cultures, geographies, personal and historical traumas. Hyo-In, the poet’s Korean name, means “wisdom from dawn;” Melanie, the poet’s English name, means “dark.” In My Dear Yeast the reader finds poems that range stirringly across this most multifarious and widest of contraries.”

“The multilingual realities of Melanie Hyo-In Han’s images from Korea(n diaspora), Africa(n scenes), and “The West,” invites us to belong, but also acknowledge that her being and existence resist too much familiarity. Her kaleidoscopic humanity is foreign and familiar, impossible to replicate, which leaves us yearning for the satisfaction of fitting in society (as if it were one) or in our own bodies (in plural because we have many). Her poems long for water, roots, or family, or life, or love, or home, or a house, or beauty, or a body, or belongingness, or (in)visibility, or all them because they can all be paradoxically the same. They address family, friends, foes, sanity, sexuality, solitude, community, company, calm. The multifaceted life of a TCK can be uncanny even for those of us who are TCKs.”

“Melanie Hyo-In Han’s debut My Dear Yeast muses on the speaker’s experiences as a “TCK” a Third Culture Kid’s life making sense of her positionality as she lives across the world. From East Africa to Korea to the United States, the speaker journeys through language and poetic forms to provide rich material as evidence of living with complicated relationships to the land and to the various selves she embodies. Grown from her chapbook Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips this volume represents a debut with heart and wisdom learned through the rawness of exposing one’s interiority.”

“Incorporating an interesting variety of forms, this collection of poems combines the simplicity of plain-spoken description with powerful imagery to recount searing experiences as a third culture kid. In “Drought, 1999,” where the lines depicting a wheelbarrow “carrying/ out a mound/ of skin and bones / children /who at least no longer felt” are heart-rending, we are reminded that the end of the 20th century was not the same for everyone. Again referencing “the memories I blocked out/ of the many droughts,” the poem titled “But this is a pain I enjoy” describes the pleasures of a hot bath; contrasted with the struggles around both fire and water, it makes a remarkable impression. In “and you told me,” the poet’s unapologetic anger against all-too-common cultural condescension is affecting. The culturally-rich ebb and flow move and educate the reader throughout the collection.”

“If you enjoyed “Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips,” you will enjoy this immensely engaging and moving collection. Melanie Han wows again with turns of phrase that delight and ignite emotion. I always enjoy reading from this prolific writer and highly recommend this collection to anyone trying to find their identity in the foray we call life.”

“Han’s collection weaves a thread of diaspora and the resulting internal and external struggles, creating an intricate tapestry of the cognitive dissonance felt by anyone who aims to honor both past and present. Han’s artful collection presents poetry in a multitude of forms that embrace the nuances of language and sound. She explores the intersection of culture and identity with unrivaled honesty. In the poem “traditions”, Han writes, “but i know all too well that tradition speaks louder/than common sense.” Her poetry reminds us of what we all feel but cannot put into words.”

“In Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips, Melanie Hyo-In Han asks what it means to be an outsider to both language and place while returning the reader-cum-witness to the house of poetry. In plain language Han’s poems pack and unpack the tender complications of the speaker’s puzzling through national belongings whether in Korea, Tanzania, or the United States. The migrating body thrives in rainy seasons, in heartbreak, in alienation, all while baring the intimacy of presence and poetic line.”

“Melanie Hyo-In Han’s Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips is an intimate collection of riveting poems. Han explores what it means to grow up as an outsider amongst outsiders in drought stricken Tanzania. Han’s poems stretch across time, space, and the page as each poem considers itself in experimental form. Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips interrupts language as we know to deliver unflinching images with a melancholic tone that leave the reader both clutched and quenched.”

“This stunning and moving chapbook puts a map in your hands as you travel from Morogoro to Marrakech, from Korea to Kenya, retracing your steps back home. Melanie Hyo-In Han’s mastery of imagery and form demonstrates a playfulness with memory without shying away from the heaviness that often comes along for the ride. Each poem offers an invitation to explore family and place with an elegant assuredness, a tender guide. Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips not only asks, “Can I Roll, Slice, Stack Memories?” but also, “at what cost?””

“Melanie’s chapbook touched my heart profoundly, a beautiful collection of poetry interweaving identity, multiculturalism, diversity, racism, interconnectivity, and the lack thereof. Her book takes me on a trip to South Korea, Tanzania, and the United States. As a global citizen, I find a reflection of my struggles and experiences mirrored in this collection, as will anyone who has struggled with issues of identity and otherness.”