WATCH: Cynthia Dewi Oka and Jenny Zhang on Writing and Honoring the Unassimilable

Indonesian American poet Cynthia Dewi Oka joins Greenlight virtually to share her third collection of poems. Fire Is Not a Country renders a multivocal lyric portrait of Oka’s family that dives into the implications of being variously parents, children, workers, and unwanted human beings under the savage reign of global capitalism and resurgent nativism. In a voice that wrestles with multiple histories and temporalities, Oka’s poems track how the energies of migration, exploitation, patriarchal violation, and political repression shape and spar with familial love and obligation. For Greenlight’s first poetry event of 2022, we are delighted to welcome Oka in conversation with acclaimed poet and fiction writer Jenny Zhang (Sour Heart) for a conversation on craft, legacy, and writing to honor the unassimilable.

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Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a literary destination. Greenlight has continued to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic with a diverse array of virtual events, and has been inspired by the movements for racial justice across the country to engage in the work of becoming a more anti-racist company. Learn more at greenlightbookstore.com or check them out @greenlightbklyn.