With seriocomic tone, these elliptical lyrics reveal illusions and
exclusions at the heart of America's global narrative of economic
"progress," and the attendant loss of cultural identity and memory. At
the same time, Matadora challenges traditional Fillipina gender norms,
beginning with the title which feminizes a word and profession
traditionally masculine.
New York (Sweet and Sour Sauce)
I (Asian girl) was eating pasta with a dancer (Asian girl) last night
in front of the Asian-American tirade. She quoted a book of 144,000
blank pages and she said, sometimes do you feel crazy? I was biting off
my chicken. I said let's go through an exercise.
Someone is sleeping very peacefully in a bed next to you. Who is this
person?
A sculptor (from LA he said just visiting) listened to us. He said I'm
working on a 50 ft. bamboo thing. He said you should come by.
"Early in Sarah Gambito's book, we learn that 'You cannot be in two
places at once.' In fact, the personality presented in these poems (they
are personal poems; that is to say, they have their own unique and
consistent personality) seems to have come from Elsewhere, on the way to
Everywhere."--Keith Waldrop
Sarah Gambito holds degrees from The University of Virginia and The
Creative Writing Program at Brown University. Her poems have appeared in
such journals as The Iowa Review, The Antioch Review, The New
Republic, Quarterly West and Fence.
