Julia's Poetry

Widely known, her poetry has been published in journals, magazines, and books. The very first book of poetry she wrote, Homecoming, was published in 1984, and later expanded in 1996. Her poetry has always incorporated simplicity and descriptive, clear language and wording. The themes of her poetry range from love, domestic life, and work. Yet, her childhood stills plays a major role in her work. The Other Side, her second book, written in 1995, includes descriptive poems on her childhood and of the memories she has traced back to her immigration that influenced her life and who she became because of her lifestyle. Her stories of the culture differences she experienced also transition into her essay book, Something to Declare, which was written in 1998. Over the years, she wrote a third collection of poetry, a number of children books, and also fifteen separate stories. All of these were drawn off of her lifetime's experiences.

All in all, my favorite poem of hers is Queens, out of the five I read, which were: Queens, Housekeeping Cages, Dusting, Ironing Their Clothes, and First Muse. This poem caught my attention. It included very vivid, descriptive words. Also, I love the fact that it really draws the reader into a story that talks about her early life--it gives us a background of a child's perspective on Queens. Moreover, it describes a very sad story about discrimination. This poem teaches a lesson about the issue at hand and also provides another perspective.

A link to her poem Queens can be found at this link: https://creatureteacher.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/queens-1963/