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My Urohs
The first collection of poetry by a Pohnpeian poet, Emelihter Kihleng's My Urohs is described by distinguished Samoan writer and artist Albert Wendt as "refreshingly innovative and compelling, a new way of seeing ourselves in our islands, an important and influential addition to our [Pacific] literature."
- GenresPoetryAdult21st Century
61 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 9, 2018
I was quite surprised and impressed by this short set of poems/stories about life in Micronesia. It's an area of the world of know little of. The author paints a plague of social issues, the domination of the USA and islands where the traditional life has been replaced by fast food and Kool Aid.
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April 5, 2016This is a slim collection of poetry by an author from Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia. I freely admit to not being a poetry reader and therefore not the best judge of it, but my world books challenge has taken me out of my comfort zone in all kinds of ways and this book was the best option for Micronesia. I liked it best when it talked about aspects of life in Pohnpei and the author’s feelings about her country (having lived abroad but returned).
But for the most part I was underwhelmed. This is free verse without any arresting turns of phrase or particular rhythm, so I didn’t see much in it in a literary sense (though I admit to being a skeptic about free verse generally; it seems like the only thing making it “verse� rather than a few sentences or scattered phrases is the insertion of random line breaks). Also, the author uses a lot of Pohnpeian words, some of which are translated in footnotes but many of which are not, which makes it difficult for a foreign reader to fully understand what’s going on. This collection is probably best enjoyed by Micronesian readers.
But for the most part I was underwhelmed. This is free verse without any arresting turns of phrase or particular rhythm, so I didn’t see much in it in a literary sense (though I admit to being a skeptic about free verse generally; it seems like the only thing making it “verse� rather than a few sentences or scattered phrases is the insertion of random line breaks). Also, the author uses a lot of Pohnpeian words, some of which are translated in footnotes but many of which are not, which makes it difficult for a foreign reader to fully understand what’s going on. This collection is probably best enjoyed by Micronesian readers.
July 25, 2008
The best poetry collection ever! LOL
May 9, 2021
I don't really get poetry. Every now and then I read a poem that blows my mind, but this book did not contain one of those. What it did contain was insights to a woman who is half Hawaiian, half Micronesian, not really fitting in to either spaces but wanting too. And one who gave us a good insight into Micronesian life.
But poetry, for this Philistine, is not going to be a medium that ever wins me over unfortunately.
But poetry, for this Philistine, is not going to be a medium that ever wins me over unfortunately.
November 10, 2017
The first poem in the collection, "Linda Rabon Torres," addresses a woman from Guam who shot and killed a 14-year-old Chuukeseboy in her "backyard jungle" (Chuuk is another of the states in the Federated States of Micronesia; Kihleng doesn't explain what a backyard jungle is, but I take the phrase pretty much at face value); in "Destiny Fulfilled," a rumination on the poet's friend who serves in the US army and on Micronesians killed fighting American wars, Kihleng writes about Jimmy Mote, a Marshallese man who was wrongfully imprisoned when he applied for a North Dakota ID card. She mentions names and events as if assuming her readers will either be familiar with the material, or else take the time to learn on their own. This confidence, this refusal to cater any more than absolutely necessary to a non-Micronesian audience, makes the poems surprisingly good ambassadors for Micronesian and Pohnpeian culture.
If I were to criticize, my main quibble with this collection is that sometimes the poems feel like prose that's been chopped up into short lines. Some people might say that that's essentially what free verse is, but I think poetry has a certain undefinable quality that distinguishes it from prose, and that quality is lacking in some of Kihleng's pieces. "Micronesian Diasporas," while a fascinating insight into the lives of Micronesian immigrants and exiles, is particularly guilty of this. It is, as described by Mark Nowak on the book jacket, like a "Human Rights Watch labor report refashioned in free verse." I'm not sure this is a good thing.
However, Kihleng's book is an intriguing, deeply felt collection of poems. Like all the best poetry it explores questions that are at once uniquely personal and, at the same time, universal.
This review is an excerpt from a slightly longer review on my blog, .
If I were to criticize, my main quibble with this collection is that sometimes the poems feel like prose that's been chopped up into short lines. Some people might say that that's essentially what free verse is, but I think poetry has a certain undefinable quality that distinguishes it from prose, and that quality is lacking in some of Kihleng's pieces. "Micronesian Diasporas," while a fascinating insight into the lives of Micronesian immigrants and exiles, is particularly guilty of this. It is, as described by Mark Nowak on the book jacket, like a "Human Rights Watch labor report refashioned in free verse." I'm not sure this is a good thing.
However, Kihleng's book is an intriguing, deeply felt collection of poems. Like all the best poetry it explores questions that are at once uniquely personal and, at the same time, universal.
This review is an excerpt from a slightly longer review on my blog, .
February 20, 2024
[Recensione del 2014]
Ed eccoci al primo libro brutto dell’anno. Intendo, brutto davvero, non bruttino o così così. Prima o poi questo momento sarebbe dovuto arrivare.
Leggere libri da tutti gli stati del mondo può riservare molte sorprese. Alcune belle, altre brutte, come in questo caso. Non si può mai sapere.
Questa è una raccolta di poesie, la prima raccolta di poesie in inglese da un’autrice micronesiana. È stata molto elogiata da altri scrittori e dai critici, perciò mi aspettavo qualcosa di meglio. Invece è illeggibile, anche nel senso letterale del termine, in quanto molte frasi sono in pohnpeiano, la lingua madre di Kihleng. Certo, in nota c’� la traduzione in inglese, ma si perde il filo della poesia e tutto il gusto decade, se mai ce ne fosse stato.
Kihleng parla della diaspora micronesiana, della vita delle donne micronesiane a Pohnpei, la sua terra. Potrebbe anche essere interessante, ma invece non lo è. È una scrittura noiosa e per nulla poetica, mi dà la sensazione di andare a capo per produrre poesia, senza una vera attenzione al metro o alla musicalità del verso. Poi magari sbaglio, io com’� noto di poesia non ne capisco niente.
Comunque è stato interessante aprire una finestra su una delle letterature meno note al mondo. E a proposito di Micronesia, se avete suggerimenti su Palau non esitate, mi sta dando dei grossi problemi.
Ed eccoci al primo libro brutto dell’anno. Intendo, brutto davvero, non bruttino o così così. Prima o poi questo momento sarebbe dovuto arrivare.
Leggere libri da tutti gli stati del mondo può riservare molte sorprese. Alcune belle, altre brutte, come in questo caso. Non si può mai sapere.
Questa è una raccolta di poesie, la prima raccolta di poesie in inglese da un’autrice micronesiana. È stata molto elogiata da altri scrittori e dai critici, perciò mi aspettavo qualcosa di meglio. Invece è illeggibile, anche nel senso letterale del termine, in quanto molte frasi sono in pohnpeiano, la lingua madre di Kihleng. Certo, in nota c’� la traduzione in inglese, ma si perde il filo della poesia e tutto il gusto decade, se mai ce ne fosse stato.
Kihleng parla della diaspora micronesiana, della vita delle donne micronesiane a Pohnpei, la sua terra. Potrebbe anche essere interessante, ma invece non lo è. È una scrittura noiosa e per nulla poetica, mi dà la sensazione di andare a capo per produrre poesia, senza una vera attenzione al metro o alla musicalità del verso. Poi magari sbaglio, io com’� noto di poesia non ne capisco niente.
Comunque è stato interessante aprire una finestra su una delle letterature meno note al mondo. E a proposito di Micronesia, se avete suggerimenti su Palau non esitate, mi sta dando dei grossi problemi.
July 18, 2020
Istintivamente dare un voto più basso forse, ma non so se scendere troppo. Sento che mi mancano i riferimenti culturali � al di là della lingua � per capire a fondo.
Forse nel mio stereotipo culturale mentale mi aspettavo di più una cosa "hula, palme e noci di cocco", stupidamente, invece mi ha sorpreso la politica in questa breve raccolta di poesie. Si apre con una accusa profonda a una donna che ha ucciso un ragazzino a fucilate, per capirci.
Vorrei saperne di più per capirla meglio.
Forse nel mio stereotipo culturale mentale mi aspettavo di più una cosa "hula, palme e noci di cocco", stupidamente, invece mi ha sorpreso la politica in questa breve raccolta di poesie. Si apre con una accusa profonda a una donna che ha ucciso un ragazzino a fucilate, per capirci.
Vorrei saperne di più per capirla meglio.
February 21, 2022
You know, I’m starting to think poetry just isn’t my thing
September 27, 2021
Not the most finely wrought poems but intrinsically interesting for the setting and perspective.
March 30, 2021
I think this was a very interesting collection. A lot of the poems were almost short stories or small snapshots at life, and I feel I learnt things about the Federated States of Micronesia from these poems, which is an achievement considering how short they are. For instance, I never knew about the connection between the Federated States of Micronesia and America, that many people live or work or have connections to Hawaii especially. In the poem “Destiny Fulfilled?� it covers how people from the various islands joined the US Armed Forces and its “War on Terror� in Afghanistan and Iraq. I also liked how it gets its title from a Destiny’s Child album and uses lyrics from the song “Soldier� to show the differences between pop culture and actual war.
I liked how the poet had footnotes in the poems, explaining a word or phrase that was in a different language, or adding context when a poem is inspired by real events. I believe Pohpeian is the language used throughout the collection, with many of the poems being in a combination of English and Pohpeian. Some are like a dialogue between two characters and there’s the English translation after each phrase, while in others it’s just the odd word or line that’s not in English.
The poems in My Urohs are about the people, the culture, the food, and the connections and differences between people who live on different islands in the Federated States of Micronesia and their different languages, stories and culture. It’s an interesting little collection and a great insight into a place I’d only ever heard of and knew nothing about.
I liked how the poet had footnotes in the poems, explaining a word or phrase that was in a different language, or adding context when a poem is inspired by real events. I believe Pohpeian is the language used throughout the collection, with many of the poems being in a combination of English and Pohpeian. Some are like a dialogue between two characters and there’s the English translation after each phrase, while in others it’s just the odd word or line that’s not in English.
The poems in My Urohs are about the people, the culture, the food, and the connections and differences between people who live on different islands in the Federated States of Micronesia and their different languages, stories and culture. It’s an interesting little collection and a great insight into a place I’d only ever heard of and knew nothing about.
October 26, 2012
This is my book from Micronesia* for the challenge. It is apparently the first collection of poetry by a Pohnpeian poet. I have to admit, I didn’t pick it up with a great deal of enthusiasm; my main reaction when it arrived in the post was oh well, at least it’s short. Because picking books for this exercise is always a bit of a lottery, but the smaller the country, the worse the odds. And the track record for slim volumes of poetry is not great either.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. The poems have the local focus suggested by the title — an urohs is a Pohnpeian skirt decorated in appliqué — but it’s a contemporary version of it, with Facebook and ramen and Destiny’s Child as well as breadfruit and paramount chiefs. It’s built up with simple effective details and the English is interspersed with phrases of Pohnpeian, some of it footnoted and some of it not. The poems touch in various ways on the issues of globalisation, identity, modernity and so on, but usually without being too heavy-handed.
I don’t want to oversell it — it’s good rather than amazing — but I did genuinely enjoy it and in the end would have been happy for it to be longer.
* Strictly speaking, the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, which I just find confusing because it makes me think of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. The poems have the local focus suggested by the title — an urohs is a Pohnpeian skirt decorated in appliqué — but it’s a contemporary version of it, with Facebook and ramen and Destiny’s Child as well as breadfruit and paramount chiefs. It’s built up with simple effective details and the English is interspersed with phrases of Pohnpeian, some of it footnoted and some of it not. The poems touch in various ways on the issues of globalisation, identity, modernity and so on, but usually without being too heavy-handed.
I don’t want to oversell it — it’s good rather than amazing — but I did genuinely enjoy it and in the end would have been happy for it to be longer.
* Strictly speaking, the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, which I just find confusing because it makes me think of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
March 16, 2018
“we have to go call a taxi
the light by the store isn’t working
the night is black
the moon is dark tonight
I follow her scent
she knows the way
into and over the rocks
around the betel nut and coconut palms
you just arrived from Hawai‘i
and here you are walking around in the dark
she laughs currents that echo
our voices flow down the river
through the mango leaves
over to Pohn Paip and up to Pohn Pwet
I follow her short, plump figure
the glimmer of the flowers on her mwumwu
her breath
the night air, clean
when we reach the road
I look up at Saladak stars
(“I follow her�)
the light by the store isn’t working
the night is black
the moon is dark tonight
I follow her scent
she knows the way
into and over the rocks
around the betel nut and coconut palms
you just arrived from Hawai‘i
and here you are walking around in the dark
she laughs currents that echo
our voices flow down the river
through the mango leaves
over to Pohn Paip and up to Pohn Pwet
I follow her short, plump figure
the glimmer of the flowers on her mwumwu
her breath
the night air, clean
when we reach the road
I look up at Saladak stars
(“I follow her�)
February 20, 2025
Three and a half stars, rounding up to four. I've had this on my to-read list for a while, and now that I have access to a university library again I'm starting to make some headway on that list. During my last university residency, in 2023, the uni in question didn't have this book so I was super pleased to find that Otago did!
It's a very interesting linguistic mix. The first collection of poetry published in English by a Pohnpeian poet, it still includes a lot of the Pohnpeian language - and over 70 footnotes explaining various terms. This was useful; I want to read more poetry that mashes up language like this but given my own inability to speak anything other than English and some very poor French my options are limited. Books like this increase accessibility and I'm glad to have them.
A lot of the poetry here is related to displacement and colonialism, with stories of Micronesians going to work in other countries or waging war for other countries or losing elements of their own culture - the "Urohs" of the titles is a traditional Pohnpeian skirt worn by women - or reclaiming it. One of the poems, "She Needs an Urohs", for example, is about buying one of the skirts for a young relative who prefers more modern clothes. There's a sense of homecoming and appreciation here that I liked very much, with sporadic entertaining asides.
I'll have to check the library and see if Kihleng has written any other books. I'd like to read them.
It's a very interesting linguistic mix. The first collection of poetry published in English by a Pohnpeian poet, it still includes a lot of the Pohnpeian language - and over 70 footnotes explaining various terms. This was useful; I want to read more poetry that mashes up language like this but given my own inability to speak anything other than English and some very poor French my options are limited. Books like this increase accessibility and I'm glad to have them.
A lot of the poetry here is related to displacement and colonialism, with stories of Micronesians going to work in other countries or waging war for other countries or losing elements of their own culture - the "Urohs" of the titles is a traditional Pohnpeian skirt worn by women - or reclaiming it. One of the poems, "She Needs an Urohs", for example, is about buying one of the skirts for a young relative who prefers more modern clothes. There's a sense of homecoming and appreciation here that I liked very much, with sporadic entertaining asides.
I'll have to check the library and see if Kihleng has written any other books. I'd like to read them.
January 7, 2022
The colonization of Pacific Islands has left irreversible changes on language and culture of Pohnpei people in Micronesia. Through the first explorers� invasions to modern tourism, the landscape and identity are the subject to constant changes and modifications. The battle between the westernized lifestyle and heritage cultivation is strongly visible in, for instance, “Like the Island.� The collection of poems is strong, vibrant, and brave treating the matters from perspective of likio “outsie� and Sapw Sarawi “spiritual powers� (Kihleng 2008 61). The first one is reflected through the metaphor of neglectable homicide of Chuukese child by a women in 2006 where the politicization of the poetry raises anger and frustration. On the other hand, the “Untitled� tells a touching story of relationship between the granddaughter who takes care of her grandfather in the hospital:
“my hands rubbing p from under his heel
up to his toes, neglected for so long
brown, dry flakes fall off his foot
on to my urohs
and on to the tile floor in room 208
tears for the hplesness I feel
when we’re together�
Kihleng, E. (2008). My Urohs. Kahuaomānoa Press
“my hands rubbing p from under his heel
up to his toes, neglected for so long
brown, dry flakes fall off his foot
on to my urohs
and on to the tile floor in room 208
tears for the hplesness I feel
when we’re together�
Kihleng, E. (2008). My Urohs. Kahuaomānoa Press
August 23, 2023
I love the aspects of Pohnpeian culture that is woven into the poems, utilizing the language and history of the author. It felt like a look into a culture I really never knew about before. Despite not having known, some parts and poems felt all too familiar.
Particularly parts about the gradual colonization of their people, the mistreatment of elders beyond their culture, wanting to know what life was like before times changed, urohs which reminded me a lot like ribbon skirts in my own culture, and a matrilineal line. This all felt familar to me being Indigenous to Turtle Island, where there is a lot of similarities as I just laid out. I didn’t need to be Pohnpeian to know and understand some aspects of these poems and I think most people could find something familiar in them.
My only reason for not ranking higher is some parts seeming unclear on who they are about, who is meant to be “talking�, etc. I just felt lost at times. I also wasn’t sure what points they were trying to make, particularly when it comes to the use of AAVE and the poem about AIDs.
Overall I think the poems are well written with nice rhythm and are great for an introduction into their culture.
Particularly parts about the gradual colonization of their people, the mistreatment of elders beyond their culture, wanting to know what life was like before times changed, urohs which reminded me a lot like ribbon skirts in my own culture, and a matrilineal line. This all felt familar to me being Indigenous to Turtle Island, where there is a lot of similarities as I just laid out. I didn’t need to be Pohnpeian to know and understand some aspects of these poems and I think most people could find something familiar in them.
My only reason for not ranking higher is some parts seeming unclear on who they are about, who is meant to be “talking�, etc. I just felt lost at times. I also wasn’t sure what points they were trying to make, particularly when it comes to the use of AAVE and the poem about AIDs.
Overall I think the poems are well written with nice rhythm and are great for an introduction into their culture.
April 26, 2023
The themes covered varied around identity, Americanisation, decolonisation, intangible heritage (especially food and the title-giving uroh clothing), and social criticism (AIDS crisis, war, minimum wage). Even though there were footnotes, I lacked context to some nuances of the poems due to the use of untranslated Pohnpeian phrases. The free verse also rendered the poetry quite chunky, which I personally don’t enjoy much.
However, I really enjoyed these two parts:
� “you think you’re so educated but haven’t a clue about what it means to be colonised when was the last time you planted something in the ground and felt like a real man? when was the last time you listened to the silence?�
� “this one time I saw him on the roadside he had just returned from his land shirt off, sweat shiny on his chest like coconut oil he was carrying a machete and a very orange papaya if he was a woman, he'd have been perfect for Gauguin�
However, I really enjoyed these two parts:
� “you think you’re so educated but haven’t a clue about what it means to be colonised when was the last time you planted something in the ground and felt like a real man? when was the last time you listened to the silence?�
� “this one time I saw him on the roadside he had just returned from his land shirt off, sweat shiny on his chest like coconut oil he was carrying a machete and a very orange papaya if he was a woman, he'd have been perfect for Gauguin�
January 4, 2021
I ordered this book because I lived as an American expat on the author's home island for five years. These poems were not the usual academic dullness I expected. Instead, the author presents the reader with a unique poetic vision of real life on the island -- the good with the bad, and the comic.
Unfortunately a book such as this really has appeal only to those who have experienced the author's home culture. What a shame that niche audience is so small. I hope the literature classes and the colleges of her home island and Guam include this book in their teaching curriculum.
And I hope the author is continuing to write.
Unfortunately a book such as this really has appeal only to those who have experienced the author's home culture. What a shame that niche audience is so small. I hope the literature classes and the colleges of her home island and Guam include this book in their teaching curriculum.
And I hope the author is continuing to write.
May 15, 2022
Rounded up from 3.5 stars
I had a hard time connecting with many of these poems. It could have been the style (a little too "free verse"), they didn't feel like poems - a little more like chopped up paragraphs. I found myself reading most of the poems twice, once before the footnotes and once after. And yet, some still had me feeling lost.
Some of the poems were quite lovely, but as a whole the collection wasn't to my taste.
I had a hard time connecting with many of these poems. It could have been the style (a little too "free verse"), they didn't feel like poems - a little more like chopped up paragraphs. I found myself reading most of the poems twice, once before the footnotes and once after. And yet, some still had me feeling lost.
Some of the poems were quite lovely, but as a whole the collection wasn't to my taste.
March 28, 2024
Unique, interesting insight into Micronesian culture! It is all written in free verse - which I often have mixed feelings about - and uses a lot of Pohnpeian words without translation notes, but I enjoyed this snapshot of life in Micronesia and the author’s emotions toward her culture, country, & identity!
July 28, 2019
I tell him how I wish I could time travel
go back and see the world from his childhood...
what did the island look like before motor boats? ...
but then, I don't want to go back
like he can
and be forced to remember
what is gone
- from "Ong Pahpa" (p. 59-60)
go back and see the world from his childhood...
what did the island look like before motor boats? ...
but then, I don't want to go back
like he can
and be forced to remember
what is gone
- from "Ong Pahpa" (p. 59-60)
May 21, 2017
It's a beautiful collection. Always very cool and important to see poets speaking for and from regions without a lot of poetic representation.
April 28, 2018
Reading the world in books: Micronesia.
Weird poems.
Weird poems.
February 4, 2023
A lovely book of poetry
June 21, 2023
Felt clunky sometimes, but overall it was quite good. Pacific Islander poetry seems to hit different.
July 10, 2023
This is an important collection of poetry providing a rarely published and widely distributed viewpoint. It is important that the voices and culture of Pacific Islanders be heard.
May 2, 2025
Poemas muito afinados com a questão pós-colonial, com um alto teor de autocrítica e de crítica ao sistema colonial. Muito bom.
April 13, 2024
a lot about the influence of the USA and particularly the pull(/push) of Hawaii which was really interesting. In fact it was all very interesting as I know absolutely nothing about Micronesia. The poetry read really well and I liked the heavy use of her native language.
February 2, 2013
Short read but this collection of poetry is on point! I'm Micronesian myself and I relate to these short poems in so many ways.
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