It is very common in the United States when meeting a new person to ask them “Where are you from originally?” In her poem “Peaches,” Adrienne Su, a Chinese American who grew up in the state of Georgia, sheds light on the complexity of answering that question when you are both “stranger and native.” This poem reflects upon the complex identities many Americans grapple with—a critical factor to consider as our nation continues to evolve into a twenty-first-century American community characterized by wide diversity.

Su, Adrienne. Peaches. American Academy of Poets (Published in Poem-a-Day on October 23, 2015). https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/peaches

For more information on the published version, visit American Academy of Poet's Website. Audio of Peaches read by Adrienne Su is also available at this link. Peaches has also been published as: Su, Adrienne. Peaches. In Border Lines: Poems of Migration , edited by Mihaela Moscaliuc and Michael Waters, 169-170. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2020. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624067/border-lines-by-edited-by-mihaela-moscaliuc-and-michael-waters/9781101908242 Su, Adrienne. Peaches. In The Best American Poetry, 2016, edited by Edward Hirsch, 138-139. New York: Scribner Poetry, 2016.

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