Overview

On the cusp of her thirtieth birthday, Mei-Mei returns to her hometown to find it swarmed by the mysterious 17-year cicada, which last appeared when she was twelve and on the edge of adolescence. The emergences of these biblical Mid-Atlantic insects intersect with Mei-Mei's evolving understanding of an absent grandmother, a mixed-race heritage, and the long shadow of suicide, giving her the tools to connect these profound threads together. In poetry and lyric prose, Year of the Cicada delicately charts one woman's coming of age between two appearances of the heralding insect, through which the speaker navigates heavy silences, intimate moments, and the terror of uncertainty.

Full Product Details

9781938841255

Table of Contents

Reviews

""In this stunning collection which ribbons between lyrical prose and distilled poems like quiet glass bells, Mei-Mei Holland tenderly elucidates the experience of trying to find oneself within the spaces of intergenerational trauma and the power of legacy, especially while living in the liminal discomfort of mixed-race embodiment."" -Addie Tsai, author of Unwieldy Creatures ""Year of the Cicada is a gorgeous and haunting woven tapestry of poetry and prose that traces one woman's awakening to the dual legacies of absence and presence that have shaped her, and to the ways in which our bodies carry so much wisdom that with time makes itself known."" -Anne Liu Kellor, author of Heart Radical

Author Information

Mei-Mei Holland is a mixed-race Chinese-American writer from the Washington, DC area, where she grew up the middle child in a family of three sisters. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her partner and her dog, Horatio. Year of the Cicada is Mei- Mei's debut collection of poetry and prose.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available