My Name is Immigrant

Book excerpt: "Wang Ping's remarkable history has taken her from farm worker during the Cultural Revolution to an international reputation as a teacher and writer. In her spare time, she climbs mountains and rows the Mississippi. Her energy and courage are both legendary. Internationally acclaimed writer and poet Wang Ping's timely new book of poetry, My Name Is Immigrant is a song for the plight and pride of immigrants around the globe, including the U.S., China, Syria, Honduras, Guatemala, Nepal, Tibet and other places. 'Shortly after arriving in the U.S., ' writes Wang, 'I walked into the wrong class, which turned out to be a creative writing workshop taught by a poet. I decided to stay in the course and wrote my first poem there. It was about my experience in New York as an immigrant. It got published, then selected by the Best American Poetry. I went on to write more immigrant stories about people from around the world, as I discovered we are one giant village of immigration, and as the topic has grown in importance.'"--Publisher's website