East and West

Publication Instance Details #926

Publication Overview

Translation	Is Multilingual	Explicit Irish Context?	Ekphrasis	Has Paratext?	Reference to News, Media or Technology
No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

Details

Human Rights Issues	War HR & Colonisation/Colonial Legacies HR & Weapons of Mass Destruction (incl. nuclear)
War / Genocide Referenced	War: Second World War
Irish Context	Emigration (from Ireland) Other
Languages	English
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	In this poem, the speaker describes her connection to a Japanese women, nicknamed 'Yum-Yum.' There are references to life in America for emigrant communities, including Asian, Jewish, and Irish communities. British colonialism is mentioned - this is notable, since it is mentioned in conjunction with Hong Kong. Most significantly, the poem describes aspects of World War II, and the divisions between East and West: the splitting of the atom, leading to the creation of the nuclear bomb; Emperor Hirohito; the bombing of Pearl Harbour; the Memorial Day services in the US for those young men who came back in body bags. The conclusion of the poem appears to hint at how the speaker of the poem and Yum-Yum, her friend, 'did what they could' to bridge the gap between 'East and West'.