Picture Bride (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Cathy Song
- First Published: 1980
- Type of Work: Meditation
- Genres: Free verse, Poetry, Meditation
- Subjects: Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Sex or sexuality, Gender roles, Nineteenth century, New York City, Art or artists, Marriage, Manners or customs, Immigration or emigration, Feminism, Women’s issues, Creative process, Grandparents or grandchildren, Painting or painters, Photography or photographers, Childbirth, Weddings, Asian Americans, Korea or Koreans
The Poem
“Picture Bride” is the title poem of Korean American writer Cathy Song’s first book, one that earned the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize in 1982 for its Hawaii-born author. It is a meditative poem in thirty-four lines of free verse.
To present-day Euramerican readers, the title may conjure up the vision of a stereotypically picture-perfect bride decked out with veil, lace, and train. If so, this vision would contrast ironically with the historical Asian American reality of the term. The title refers to a matchmaking practice common among many Asians...
[The entire page is 2024 words long]
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