Staying Still by Hieu Minh Nguyen ~ a Review

by MK French

Staying Still is a poetry collection involving loneliness, desire, and longing. They address rejection, grief, fractured family dynamics, and searching for a place to belong. Hieu Minh Nguyen is part of the Vietnamese diaspora, which is also reflected in the poems.

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September 2026; Tin House; 978-1638934707
ebook, print (112 pages); poetry

Poems are in free verse, beginning with traveling and feeling like an outsider. There's such a sense of loneliness even when with other people, when family can't accept parts of you that are different. He says "I go looking for things/ I haven't lost yet" and it hits me like a sucker punch. The concern about intimacy, beauty, and fitting in is easy to feel and recognize, though there's no easy answer for it. The situations reflect the life he's lived, and meaning will come with analysis and pondering what you can take from it.

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Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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