Alien Daughters Walk into the Sun

5 x 8 in, 20 b&w illus., 408 pages

English language

Published Nov. 21, 2023 by Semiotexte/Smart Art.

ISBN:: 978-1-63590-193-1

(1 review)

Compiled as a field guide, travelogue, essay collection, and weather report, Alien Daughters Walk into the Sun traces Jackie Wang's trajectory from hard femme to Harvard, from dumpster dives and highway bike rides to dropping out of an MFA program, becoming a National Book Award finalist, and writing her trenchant book Carceral Capitalism. Alien Daughters charts the dream-seeking misadventures of an “odd girl” from Florida who emerged from punk houses and early Tumblr to become the powerful writer she is today. Anarchic and beautifully personal, Alien Daughters is a strange intellectual autobiography that demonstrates Wang's singular self-education: an early life lived where every day and every written word began like the Tarot's Fool, with a leap of faith.

1 edition

christa reviewed Alien Daughters Walk into the Sun by Jackie Wang

for the millennial alien daughters

5 stars

I really loved this. I had read Jackie Wang's Carceral Capitalism a few years ago, but hadn't read any of her more personal writing. This had an extremely nostalgic mix of places and phases of life that are familiar (early 2010s punk houses, bike tours, zines, queer feminist spaces) - kept wondering how narrowly we missed each other and what overlaps I'd find if I looked -, and I think was beautifully written. Fittingly, has a very Semiotext(e) feel that I find comfortable.

Sometimes essay collections take me a bit to get through since they can feel disjointed—like I constantly need to get momentum after an essay ends. This was laid out more chronologically as she moved through the world, so it felt like chapters of a life where common characters would reappear in latter works. Also avoided feeling repetitive, or like you were getting the same material reworked. Anyway, …

I really loved this. I had read Jackie Wang's Carceral Capitalism a few years ago, but hadn't read any of her more personal writing. This had an extremely nostalgic mix of places and phases of life that are familiar (early 2010s punk houses, bike tours, zines, queer feminist spaces) - kept wondering how narrowly we missed each other and what overlaps I'd find if I looked -, and I think was beautifully written. Fittingly, has a very Semiotext(e) feel that I find comfortable.

Sometimes essay collections take me a bit to get through since they can feel disjointed—like I constantly need to get momentum after an essay ends. This was laid out more chronologically as she moved through the world, so it felt like chapters of a life where common characters would reappear in latter works. Also avoided feeling repetitive, or like you were getting the same material reworked. Anyway, if any of this appeals to you I'd recommend it!