The Burden of Being Burmese

This new collection by Burmese poet Ko Ko Thett is of poetry written directly in English. While this may at first seem like a less-than-obvious choice, possibly locking the poet off from a more immediate and natural audience, poetry readers in Asia are not unfamiliar with poets whose first language may be other than English – Chinese, say – yet who write poetry in English. The result is not always entirely felicitous, but the process can also throw up innovative and creative language as well as new voices, subjects and imagery.