Piece Comment

Review of Trading One Tongue for the Other


Malaya Timawa Dima'api creates a poetic masterpiece in Trading One Tongue for the Other. Through this carefully crafted poem, he conveys the struggles of growing up using different languages in different cultures. His artistic and simplistic verse gracefully captures the raw emotion he experienced as a child while growing up in a mix of cultural differences. He explores the power of language along with the challenges it creates when culture is compromised in a time of change. Dima'api's strong voice clearly and rhythmically aids the effortless flow which creates uniformity throughout the solemn piece.