19 pages • 38 minutes read
Joseph O. LegaspiThe Red Sweater
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Feasting” by Joseph O. Legaspi (2017)
As in “The Red Sweater,” Legaspi uses sensory details to create a vivid picture. This poem is set in the Philippines at a roadside feast of jackfruit. Engaging with a similar theme of foreignness and belonging, the poem ends with the poet recognizing that the country of his birth may be foreign to him now, “but I’m not foreign to it” (Line 16).
“Those Winter Sundays“ by Robert Hayden (1966)
The speaker in Hayden’s poem looks back at the work his father did to support his family. As an adult he finally recognizes the early morning labor and understands what his childhood self could not: “love’s austere and lonely offices” (Line 14). Though the speaker in “The Red Sweater” is quite aware of his mother’s work in the moment, the poems share a focus on parents and their hard work, survival, and love.
“The Gift“ by Li-Young Lee (1986)
Li-Young Lee was one of the Asian American poets who inspired Legaspi. This poem explores the bonds of family—the love between father and son expressed through an act of caretaking and kindness—and how that love echoes in his married life. Like “The Red Sweater” it is lyrical, personal, and alive with detail.
“Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper“ by Martín Espada (1993)
Similar to Legaspi, Martín Espada looks at an everyday object and reveals the cost of the labor behind it. The speaker in Espada’s poem shares his teenaged experience working at a printing plant making legal pads and collecting paper cuts. In his law school years, he sees the people behind the papers and the needs of those the law should serve.
“My Mother’s Suitors“ by Joseph O. Legaspi (2017)
This poem showcases Legaspi’s use of setting details, strong characterization, and focus on identity. His mother inspired both poems. In “The Red Sweater” the speaker sees his mother in the sweater she worked so hard to buy. In “My Mother’s Suitors” his mother is depicted very differently as she shares a truth with her son: she has fallen out of love with his father. She remembers past suitors, past dreams, and the speaker wonders at “what sustains a person, / what we live on” (Lines 23-24).
Further Literary Resources
“Asian American Poetry in the First Decade of the 2000s“ by Timothy Yu (2011)
This article from Contemporary Literature surveys the development of Asian American poetry, placing it in historical and cultural context. It identifies trends in style, technique, and theme. Though Legaspi’s poetry is not examined, his work with Kundiman is mentioned, and the article provides relevant context.
Filipino Studies: Palimpsests of Nation and Diaspora by Martin F. Manalansan and Augusto Espiritu (2016)
This collection of essays, written by an international group of scholars in the social sciences and humanities, explores different facets of Filipino Studies. The multi-disciplinary work examines issues of colonialism, globalization, and history—all of which are useful for establishing context. The section “Pinoy Posteriority” mentions Legaspi as part of the “larger field of contemporary queer diasporic Filipino literature.”
“A Poet’s Musings“ by Joseph O. Legaspi (April 2013)
Legaspi shares some thoughts about poetry and being a poet in Poets & Writers. The overarching question he explores is “Am I poet enough?” Legaspi contrasts the vision of poetry as something rarefied and overly precious to something that can be more personal and lived. He asserts that both are romantic, but one is easier to live with.
Listen to Poem
On his podcast The Tick, Oziel Zarate reads the poem “The Red Sweater” and provides a brief analysis.
