Lee Ann Roripaugh

[b:Tsunami vs. the Fukushima 50: Poems|41116682|Tsunami vs. the Fukushima 50 Poems|Lee Ann Roripaugh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539962330l/41116682._SY75_.jpg|64237137] by [a:Lee Ann Roripaugh|488071|Lee Ann Roripaugh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1216338613p2/488071.jpg] is one of two books of poetry I randomly took off the shelf in November. As it turns out, both books centered the majority of their poems around a common theme, something I show more tend to not really enjoy. In the case of this book, however, I was pleasantly surprised.

The theme here is the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant and I found many poignant poems in this volume that reminded me of Lucy Birmingham's history and narrative of the 2011 event, [b:Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster|13539076|Strong in the Rain Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster|Lucy Birmingham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1361026407l/13539076._SY75_.jpg|19101428], another book that I strongly recommend.

Roripaugh explores the disaster from many perspectives, often comparing the tsunami to an animal or personifying the tsunami. Below are some lines from the first poem in the book.

Ontology of a tsunami

awoken venom

cobra come uncharmed

glittering rush
of fanged lightning
that strikes
and strikes again

tsunami has no name

call her scalded splash
of tea jarred from
a broken cup's cracked glaze...

In a poem called Radioactive Man a middle aged man takes care of his elderly parents by moving them out of the prefecture when the reactor melts down but goes back and stays at his home to rescue and take care of animals left behind and the family home. He is not welcome outside of his home area and regularly shunned, thought reporters come to interview him occasionally. In the final stanzas of the poem he compares himself to Dr. Manhattan:

"...in the American Watchmen comics,
Dr. Manhattan was once tricked
into believing he'd given everyone
he ever loved cancer, through
exposure to his radioactive body

just the thought of this undid him,
made him feel so solitary and blue
he left the earth behind for eons,
to brood in exile on the moon."

Certainly he is referring as much to himself as he is to Dr. Manhattan.

Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. A fine little book of poetry with many heartbreaking and well written poems that only touch the surface of this disaster. show less

It feels like I've been punched in the gut. This collection peers into the lives and minds of those affected by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which led to the (preventable) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. These stories, imagined or not, remain relevant in today's climate and political landscape. I'm old enough to clearly remember when these events happened. I was about to graduate from high school, and I remember that not a lot of the adults around me cared. But they should show more have. Just as we should all care about what's happening today. show less

Beyond Heart Mountain is a beautiful collection of poems full of voice. These poems are at their absolute best when they display the two worlds and cultures close to the author's heart. Roripaugh has a wonderful grasp of language and employs it here to create a series of poems that are thought-provoking, fun, and heartbreaking. An excellent debut collection; I look forward to reading more from the author.