Fatimah Asghar and Hieu Minh Nguyen on Daughter of the Mountains

Poetry and conversation at Local Economy in Oakland

Tuesday evening brings a strong literary pairing to Local Economy in Oakland, with Fatimah Asghar joined by Hieu Minh Nguyen for a conversation around Daughter of the Mountains.

Asghar’s new collection sits with exile, family history, faith, place, love, grief, and the strange ways a person tries to feel at home. The poems carry humor too, which matters. Heavy subjects land differently when there is room for breath.

Hieu Minh Nguyen is a sharp and generous voice to have in the room for this kind of talk. Expect more than a standard reading. This should feel like two poets thinking out loud together, with the audience close enough to feel part of the exchange.

Local Economy has that Oakland neighborhood feel that works well for literary nights. Small enough for focus, casual enough that you can show up as you are. If you like poetry that moves between memory, body, land, and spirit, this is a good one to put on the calendar.

The event runs from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, October 27. More details are available here.

Fatimah Asghar’s new poetry collection Daughter of the Mountains, which has been praised by BOMB, Autostraddle, Poets & Writers, among many others, begins with the question: exiled from ancestral homelands, how can one find a place for themself in the world? In meditative poems, DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAINS grapples with multiple facets of fulfillment, betrayal, love, loss, and longing, illustrating how place, lineage, and environment inform the practice of spirituality and vice versa. With wisps of humor, imagery that is as beautiful as it is startling, and powerfully disruptive formal invention, this is an intimately lyrical and explosive collection.
Asghar will be in conversation with Hieu Minh Nguyen for an unforgettable evening of poetry and community.