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Rita Wong has a striking way with the English language, and her poems deal with themes of environmentalism, capitalism, colonialism, and diaspora identity. Unfortunately, they struck me as somewhat preachy, which I found annoying when I agree with the message and even more annoying when I don't entirely. I decided to bail when I realized I could be listening to Vienna Teng's music instead, for a similar message without the irritation.

This book has finally clarified for me why poetry so often makes me feel inadequate, like I'm not smart enough to read it. By its nature, poetry is full of allusion and in conversation with whatever the poet has been reading, and if you don't recognize those things, especially if you don't read much poetry, you never have a chance to understand.

Forage by Rita Wong is a great poetry collection that addresses some of the massive environmental damage that corporations have done. She has an incredible gift for word play, so even when I wasn't absorbed in an individual poem, I still found myself admiring her turns of phrase. Recommended!