By Belana Beeck
If you’re looking for a charming read about identity, self-discovery, and life, be sure to pick up Shelley Wong’s debut poetry collection, As She Appears. While it shows us all the realities and gray mundanities of everyday life, it also gives readers hope and a smile. As the title suggests, this poetry collection contains the journey of a woman. The beauty of this collection is that it is relatable in many ways, reaching the hearts of its readers.
I particularly liked the connection to nature and the ocean throughout the collection. These metaphors are conveyed in the poem, “Department of the Interior,” when Wong writes, “The tide calls the water / of the body. Fire Island spans 32 miles / & is drifting west.” Here Wong alludes to a never-ending floating sensation; life becoming constant, dizzying moments blurred together: “My mind floats out to water / & I am living through this world once.” Many of her poems mention the sea and ships floating. This leads me to imagine the idea of constant motion, traveling through life.
Comprised of thirty-eight poems, this collection offers many different types of poems, ranging from traditional, to block poems, and fun spacing. These poems are divided into five sections, three including nine poems, the fourth including ten, and the last only having a single poem. This creates an intriguing book overall. We see a fun spacing technique in “Exit Strategist” when Wong writes, “A quarrel in white. / In noir low light, the women / don’t know who to turn to. Veil of splitting leaves.” This poem creates a lasting impression because you can choose to read it side to side or up and down. It ends with the words “I walk the plank, I’m off / this ship –.” Not only does this tie into the ocean theme but the way it ends with an em dash gives the illusion that the voice jumped without thinking twice.
As mentioned above, this collection of poems is about love and life, while also mentioning nature, identity, and art. More specifically, it touches on themes such as life paths, moving forward, letting go, fairy tales (such as Alice in Wonderland), art, and romance. Wong does an excellent job in creating a well-rounded book that has topics that everyone can relate to.
Themes of identity are brought up in “All Beyoncés & Lucy Lius” when the speaker writes about their heritage:
I am four generations
Deep / in America / dial up
There is also mention of French culture through the use of imagery in museums filled with art and French words such as “noir” (black), and the explanation of gendered nouns within the French language when she writes “in French, the ocean is masculine, the sea feminine.”
Colors are also used throughout the collection to add symbols and express meaning. It is conveyed in the poem “Women After Midnight” when the speaker says:
The red minute hand insists we sleep
or commit to our rendezvous. On a deserted street
The color red is also mentioned in “Invitation with Three Colors”: “It’s come to this: / I want the arrow / between us. / My dear, what do you know of blood? / I forget – / & don’t dream” (43). In this case the color is represented with the word blood which also ties into identity, family history and self-discovery.
Mentioning identity through the use of generations, French culture, and colors adds to the complexity of humans, making them much more than just black and white: everyone has history and stories that made them whom they are today.
This collection also includes a clear fascination with art and Frida Kahlo, whom the speaker views as a powerful and inspirational woman. She is first mentioned in “Dear Frida,” “Epithalamium to Frida Kahlo,” and “Invitation with Dirty Hands as Frida Kahlo.” Due to Kahlo being known for her inner strength and courage, it’s no surprise that this famous artist inspires Wong as she explores the aftermath of a relationship and comes into her own again.
I highly enjoyed Wong’s collection. I related to it and thought it had the perfect amount of reflection and hope to keep me interested and inspired. It made me reflect on my own life journey as a woman. And I really appreciated the touches of nature in each poem, as it continues a long tradition of artists’ fascination and exploration of the natural world, thus adding Wong to a larger canon of poets.
As She Appears is available from Alexander Book Co, Barnes & Noble, Blue Cypress Books, Bookshop, Eso Won Books, and Kinokuniya.
Belana Beeck is a prose and poetry writer, interested in fantasy, historical, and contemporary fiction. She is also eager to showcase her Latinx culture through her work. She is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in creative writing from Chapman University.