Pebble Swing

In the way that a pebble seems to swing across the water when tossed, Isabella Wang explores the transient space between the seasons of growing up. In the opening poem of Wang’s collection, Pebble Swing, she asks, “do you know what it feels like to be swallowed by constellations?”, showing the reader an entrance into the Asian diasporic experience. As we swing through the seasons, we take in Wang’s memories as a Chinese Canadian, as simply, Canadian. With gentleness, she enforces that within the diaspora, there are thrums of the universal, from Christmas specials, pictures of Yorkshire terriers, and snow. This isn’t to say there isn’t nuance in her words. She speaks to children of immigrants, to girls, and the queer children. She embraces the intersections. Wang’s writing is adept at honing in on the specific emotion it evokes from the reader. While the four sections are derived from Wang and her experience, she calls upon the reader to do some reflection as well. Against the backdrop of an aroma of laughter and (plenty of) food, diaspora migration and presence makes history and memory, and we are all the better for it.