Ink Knows No Borders

Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience

Contributors to Ink Knows No Borders:

ELIZABETH ACEVEDO | SAMIRA AHMED | KAVEH AKBAR | EAVAN BOLAND | CHEN CHEN | SAFIA ELHILLO | MARTÍN ESPADA | CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ | JOSEPH O. LEGASPI | ADA LIMÓN | EMTITHAL MAHMOUD | BAO PHI | ALBERTO RÍOS | ERIKA L. SÁNCHEZ | GARY SOTO | CHRYSANTHEMUM TRAN | OCEAN VUONG | JAVIER ZAMORA . . . and many others.

This collection of sixty-four poems by poets who come from all over the world shares the experience of first- and second-generation young adult immigrants and refugees. Whether it’s cultural and language differences, homesickness, social exclusion, racism, stereotyping, or questions of identity, the Dreamers, immigrants, and refugee poets included here encourage readers to honor their roots as well as explore new paths, offering empathy and hope. Many of the struggles described are faced by young people everywhere: isolation, self-doubt, confusion, and emotional dislocation. But also joy, discovery, safety, and family. This is a hopeful, beautiful, and meaningful book for any reader.
Editors’ Note 
Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond

Foreword
Javier Zamora

Departure: July 30, 1984 
Joseph O. Legaspi

Immigrant 
Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

First Light 
Chen Chen

Origin / Adoption 
Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello

Dear America 
Sholeh Wolpé

Second Attempt Crossing 
Javier Zamora

Bent to the Earth 
Blas Manuel De Luna

A Hymn to Childhood 
Li-Young Lee

Immigrant Aria 
Rajiv Mohabir

On Being American
Samira Ahmed

Oklahoma 
Hala Alyan

On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance
Aimee Nezhukumatathil

The Break-In 
Hafizah Geter

#Sanctuary 
JoAnn Balingit

Extended Stay America 
Janine Joseph

Choi Jeong Min
Franny Choi

Muslim Girlhood
Leila Chatti

Fluency 
Michelle Brittan Rosado

Master Film 
Solmaz Sharif

The Key 
Ladan Osman

Ode to the Heart 
Ellen Bass

The Sign in My Father’s Hands 
Martín Espada

History Lesson 
Jeff Coomer

My Father Takes to the Road 
Jeff Tagami

My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears 
Mohja Kahf

Frank’s Nursery and Crafts 
Bao Phi

In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes 
Eduardo C. Corral

Learning to Pray 
Kaveh Akbar

Naturalization 
Jenny Xie

East Mountain View
Paul Tran

Acolyte 
Tarfia Faizullah

Tater Tot Hot-Dish 
Hieu Minh Nguyen

Pronounced 
Carlos Andrés Gómez

Off-Island Chamorros 
Craig Santos Perez

A New National Anthem
Ada Limón

Portrait of Isako in Wartime 
Mia Ayumi Malhotra

Domesticity 
Kristin Chang

The Poet at Fifteen 
Erika L. Sánchez

Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong 
Ocean Vuong

ode to the first white girl i ever loved 
José Olivarez

Talks about Race 
Mahtem Shiferraw

Mama 
Emtithal Mahmoud

Split 
Cathy Linh Che

When the Man at the Party Said He Wanted to Own a Filipino 
Marianne Chan

Ode to Enclaves 
Chrysanthemum Tran

Ethnic Studies 
Terisa Siagatonu

The Day I Realized We Were Black 
Yesenia Montilla

quaking conversation 
Lenelle Moïse

Atlantis 
Elizabeth Acevedo

The Border: A Double Sonnet 
Alberto Ríos

Las Casas Across Nations 
Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs

Mexicans Begin Jogging 
Gary Soto

Field Guide Ending in a Deportation 
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

I Used to Be Much Much Darker 
Francisco X. Alarcón

A Habitable Grief 
Eavan Boland

Return
Gala Mukomolova

Adrift 
Alice Tao

Author’s Prayer
Ilya Kaminsky

Game Of Thrones
Fatimah Asghar

Oh, Daughter
Monica Sok

Refugees
Brian Bilston

Home
Safiya Sinclair

Undocumented Joy
Yosimar Reyes

self-portrait with no flag
Safia Elhillo

Afterword
Emtithal Mahmoud

Acknowledgments
Biographies 
Permissions 
Index

Educator Guide for Ink Knows No Borders

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

Contributors to Ink Knows No Borders:

ELIZABETH ACEVEDO | SAMIRA AHMED | KAVEH AKBAR | EAVAN BOLAND | CHEN CHEN | SAFIA ELHILLO | MARTÍN ESPADA | CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ | JOSEPH O. LEGASPI | ADA LIMÓN | EMTITHAL MAHMOUD | BAO PHI | ALBERTO RÍOS | ERIKA L. SÁNCHEZ | GARY SOTO | CHRYSANTHEMUM TRAN | OCEAN VUONG | JAVIER ZAMORA . . . and many others.

This collection of sixty-four poems by poets who come from all over the world shares the experience of first- and second-generation young adult immigrants and refugees. Whether it’s cultural and language differences, homesickness, social exclusion, racism, stereotyping, or questions of identity, the Dreamers, immigrants, and refugee poets included here encourage readers to honor their roots as well as explore new paths, offering empathy and hope. Many of the struggles described are faced by young people everywhere: isolation, self-doubt, confusion, and emotional dislocation. But also joy, discovery, safety, and family. This is a hopeful, beautiful, and meaningful book for any reader.

Table of Contents

Editors’ Note 
Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond

Foreword
Javier Zamora

Departure: July 30, 1984 
Joseph O. Legaspi

Immigrant 
Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

First Light 
Chen Chen

Origin / Adoption 
Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello

Dear America 
Sholeh Wolpé

Second Attempt Crossing 
Javier Zamora

Bent to the Earth 
Blas Manuel De Luna

A Hymn to Childhood 
Li-Young Lee

Immigrant Aria 
Rajiv Mohabir

On Being American
Samira Ahmed

Oklahoma 
Hala Alyan

On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance
Aimee Nezhukumatathil

The Break-In 
Hafizah Geter

#Sanctuary 
JoAnn Balingit

Extended Stay America 
Janine Joseph

Choi Jeong Min
Franny Choi

Muslim Girlhood
Leila Chatti

Fluency 
Michelle Brittan Rosado

Master Film 
Solmaz Sharif

The Key 
Ladan Osman

Ode to the Heart 
Ellen Bass

The Sign in My Father’s Hands 
Martín Espada

History Lesson 
Jeff Coomer

My Father Takes to the Road 
Jeff Tagami

My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears 
Mohja Kahf

Frank’s Nursery and Crafts 
Bao Phi

In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes 
Eduardo C. Corral

Learning to Pray 
Kaveh Akbar

Naturalization 
Jenny Xie

East Mountain View
Paul Tran

Acolyte 
Tarfia Faizullah

Tater Tot Hot-Dish 
Hieu Minh Nguyen

Pronounced 
Carlos Andrés Gómez

Off-Island Chamorros 
Craig Santos Perez

A New National Anthem
Ada Limón

Portrait of Isako in Wartime 
Mia Ayumi Malhotra

Domesticity 
Kristin Chang

The Poet at Fifteen 
Erika L. Sánchez

Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong 
Ocean Vuong

ode to the first white girl i ever loved 
José Olivarez

Talks about Race 
Mahtem Shiferraw

Mama 
Emtithal Mahmoud

Split 
Cathy Linh Che

When the Man at the Party Said He Wanted to Own a Filipino 
Marianne Chan

Ode to Enclaves 
Chrysanthemum Tran

Ethnic Studies 
Terisa Siagatonu

The Day I Realized We Were Black 
Yesenia Montilla

quaking conversation 
Lenelle Moïse

Atlantis 
Elizabeth Acevedo

The Border: A Double Sonnet 
Alberto Ríos

Las Casas Across Nations 
Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs

Mexicans Begin Jogging 
Gary Soto

Field Guide Ending in a Deportation 
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

I Used to Be Much Much Darker 
Francisco X. Alarcón

A Habitable Grief 
Eavan Boland

Return
Gala Mukomolova

Adrift 
Alice Tao

Author’s Prayer
Ilya Kaminsky

Game Of Thrones
Fatimah Asghar

Oh, Daughter
Monica Sok

Refugees
Brian Bilston

Home
Safiya Sinclair

Undocumented Joy
Yosimar Reyes

self-portrait with no flag
Safia Elhillo

Afterword
Emtithal Mahmoud

Acknowledgments
Biographies 
Permissions 
Index

Guides

Educator Guide for Ink Knows No Borders

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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