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Merit and Grace
The poem cycle Merit and Grace reflects on the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, in which the Court held that all children in the United States have a constitutional right to access free public education regardless of immigration status. Merit and Grace explores the stories of the people involved and the issues about immigration, education, and political will implicated by the case. The poems consider the truths revealed by Plyler about our values and our ideas of justice, and how these shape our choices about who we should care for and why.
Sunlight
Sunlight, the debut poetry collection from Barbara Chung, illuminates the joy of being alive even in a deeply troubled world. It reveals the magic in life’s day-to-day moments, whether tending a garden, sharing food with friends, or caring for beloved dogs. The poems move delicately and gracefully between the ordinary and the transcendent, tracing the ways they are bound together. In doing so, Sunlight celebrates beauty in life as a worthy end for its own sake and as a means of survival, perseverance, and transformation.
About Barbara
Barbara Chung is a writer, poet, and naturalist. She is the author of Merit and Grace, a poem cycle reflecting on the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, and the poetry collection Sunlight. Along with writing, she tends her garden, a certified wildlife habitat. Barbara holds an A.B. in English from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School of Management, and is a J.D. candidate at Santa Clara University School of Law.
