Disorient Ballroom, Poems by George Uba

In Disorient Ballroom, George Uba invites the reader into a world at once familiar yet strange: the Asian American experience rendered through narrative lyrics, family history, and myth, a multi-layered story that, while (as its ironic title states) disorienting, is also as beautiful and intricate as any dance.

Sample Poems by George Uba

“These are poems about the disorienting nature of desire. We are all on a dance floor, waltzing into the messiness of love, alienation, disappointments, disappointments, moments of exultation and despair. All told from a mature Asian American man’s unique subject position—and spun around clear, musical, and elegant tones.”—Marilyn Chin

“These poems bear witness to the history of Japanese America and the personal odyssey of a singular soul. Like the old Chinese poets, Uba’s voice possesses an emotional openness and largesse of spirit, a hard-earned wisdom. Through the traumas of race, family, and mortality, Uba takes the suffering of others seriously. There are scars here, and injustices, but also irony and a wry detachment. The result is a book of edgy memories, grace, and buoyancy, a rare gift.”—David Mura

George Uba was born in Chicago, Illinois. A literary critic, writer, and professor, he currently serves as chair of the English Department at California State University, Northridge. He has been an amateur international-style ballroom dancer for eight years.

ISBN 1932339183, 136 pages

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