Columbia University's recent announcement of the Pulitzer Prize winners for 2024 revealed notable achievements in various literary categories. Among them, Brandon Som's "Tripas" emerged as the recipient of the prestigious award for poetry. Co-published by The Georgia Review and the University of Georgia Press, "Tripas" explores themes of multiculturalism and family heritage through the lens of Som's Chicana grandmother and Chinese American father and grandparents.
Released in March 2023, Som's work delves into narratives of migration, labor, and resilience, offering a nuanced perspective on the complexities of global capitalism. Stephanie Burt, in a review for the London Review of Books, commends Som's ability to intertwine diverse themes with skill and depth.
“Som’s poems refuse to confine themselves or their forms to any one thing,” Stephanie Burt, literary critic, poet and Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University, wrote in her review for the London Review of Books. “All of them enfold and link multiple topics, injustice among them. He writes, as well, to honour people who endured, who made their own way."
The acknowledgment of Som's achievement is echoed by Gerald Maa of The Georgia Review and Lisa Bayer of the University of Georgia Press, who underscore the collaborative effort behind the publication of this notable collection.
