Becoming Ghost Poetry
Becoming Ghost Poetry by Cathy Linh Che is a sophomore poetry collection published by Simon and Schuster on April 29, 2025. This 128-page work explores themes of familial estrangement, the Vietnam War, and the cultural impact of Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now. Through a blend of persona and speculation, Che documents her parents’ experiences as refugees and their roles as extras in the film, highlighting their complex narratives.
Readers will find that this collection employs the golden shovel form to elevate Vietnamese voices, shifting them from the margins to a more central position in storytelling. The poems delve into the speaker’s disownment and the intricacies of using familial subjects in poetry, raising important questions about forgiveness and the challenges of sharing personal histories with a wider audience. This edition invites reflection on the intersections of personal and cultural identity within the context of literature and poetry.
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Longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award for Poetry
Ms. Magazine’s Best Poetry of 2024 and 2025
The long-awaited sophomore poetry collection by award-winning writer Cathy Linh Che, on familial estrangement, the Vietnam War, and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.
The follow-up to her acclaimed poetry debut Split, Becoming Ghost documents Cathy Linh Che’s parents’ experiences as refugees who escaped the Vietnam War and then were cast as extras in Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now, placing them at the margins of their own story. The poetry collection uses persona, speculation, and the golden shovel form as a means of moving Vietnamese voices from the periphery to the center. The speaker’s disownment raises questions about the challenges of using parents as poetic subjects, telling familial stories to a broader public, and the meaning of forgiveness.
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