Abecedarian: On Purchasing and Receiving Genetic Information from Two Commercial DNA Companies

This twenty-six line alphabetically organized (abecedarian) poem employs image-rich metaphors circling around themes of colonization creating diaspora, disconnected self image, and fragmenting familial connections over time. Korean American poet Yung Shin uses phrases like “ethnographic afterlife,” “genealogical disruption’s (in)ability,” and “sweet peace of the unborn” to convey messages relating to her line of heritage and the demarcations of life, death, and legacy that define it. She touches on concepts ranging from genes to curses to the Neanderthal Valley, all emphasizing tension between past and future, stringing the present along in perpetual liminality. A sorrowful, thought-provoking poem that embraces uncertainty, Yung Shin’s work is packed to the brim with meaning, where every word counts. This poem would be useful in an anthropologically focused health class because it could broaden perspectives of how interwoven our stories are with our ancestors, as well as a genetics course. In the midst of being taught highly factual information, a short reading reflection assignment on something so ambiguous could be not only a refreshing change of pace, but a moment of inspiration.

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