The Blending of Prose and Poetry in Janice Mirikitani's Spoils of War

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The Blending of Prose and Poetry in Janice Mirikitani's Spoils of War

The experiences of being a Japanese-American woman serve as an important inspiration for author and poet Janice Mirikitani in her story "Spoils of War." Through the weaving together of poetry and prose, she details the struggles for self-understanding that often come with being both a descendant of an Asian culture and a female. "I write about these things," Mirikitani says of her style, "because I think it is healthy to express these thoughts or these feelings of violence and rage in words . . ." (Carabí 70). She conveys her strain against stereotypes of race and gender, as well as her difficulty grappling with her past, through the autobiographical figure Hatsuko. The majority of the story consists of prose, with the incorporation of poetry occurring only at the climax of her character's development. In "Spoils of War," prose is used to tell the story of Hatsuko and the family that shaped her, whereas the use of poetry reveals Hatsuko's thoughts, doubts, fears, and ultimately her strengths as a woman of Japanese descent attempting to break free of the labels of sex and origin.

Although Mirikitani uses prose to tell the greater part of Hatsuko's narrative, her treatment of this genre easily allows for the incorporation of poetry. The transition between these literary styles is not at all surprising or abrupt to the reader, but rather makes sense given the experiences of the character. By switching between Hatsuko's past recollections and her present search for self-actualization, Mirikitani's prose creates a broken and almost schizophrenic effect in her tale. She often uses short, fragmented sentences and switches frequently between stories. The additi...

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...-68). Knowing that Mirikitani experienced exactly what she writes about makes Hatsuko's struggle very real. Through her varied use of poetry and prose, Janice Mirikitani inspires the readers of "Spoils of War" with the strength that one woman can gain for herself through examining and following the desires of her heart.

Works Cited

Carabí, Angels. "Janice Mirikitani." Truthtellers of the Times: Interviews with Contemporary Women Poets. Ed. Janet Palmer Mullaney. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1998. 66-74.

Leitner-Rudolph, Miryam. Janice Mirikitani and Her Work. Austrian Studies in English 88. Wien: Braumüller, 2001.

Mirikitani, Janice. "Prisons of Silence." Shedding Silence. Berkeley: Celestrial Arts, 1987. 5-9.

Mirikitani, Janice. "Spoils of War." Asian American Literature. Ed. Shawn Wong. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1996. 186-201.

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