A Review of Travis Chi Wing Lau's What's Left Is Tender

In his new book of poetry, What’s Left is Tender, Travis Chi Wing Lau documents the numerous faces of tenderness as it intersects with disability, queerness, and culture. Lau traces the experiences of complex love, despite enduring violence that is both malicious and perpetrated in the name of protection. Love permeates this collection as Lau reveals the ways we can become tender despite violence, and the ways we can honor those who have passed by telling their stories.

Almost immediately, he declares, “my subject will be its own apology / to write of deformity with beauty.” Utilizing unconventional and innovative forms, he outlines the often opposing clinical and intimate realities of disability. Lau represents interruptions by pain through the use of slash marks, playing with form to visually communicate the ceaseless presence of pain. This can be seen in the prose poem, “Ars Poetica,” where he muses, “is the advantage deformity / that many out of tenderness / tried to correct / as errors of nature / despite what I could not conceal.”

Lau’s skillful use of form is also present in “Interpretation of Results,” where he formats the poem as test results, and inserts, through footnotes, inner dialogue laden with ableism. For instance, a footnote to “History: Back Pain for Many Years” reads “Great, a complainer.” Here, Lau not only reveals the pervasive ableist attitude disabled people frequently face but also blurs the line between spoken and unspoken ableism, brilliantly reflecting how these beliefs are both externally enforced and internally accepted.

Lau’s formal experimentation creates a widely varying body of work that celebrates poetic tradition and disabled innovation. His unique approach to form mirrors the innovation disabled people must employ in order to survive in an ableist world. By rejecting rigid, abled forms in favor of inventing his own, he has provided a deeply nuanced response to a lifetime of ableism.

The stories that he recounts as tribute to his family members, and the deeply personal stories he shares of his own experiences each land differently, due to how he chooses to structure them, both on their own, and in relation to one another. The culmination of all of this is a rich amalgamation that does not allow for the poet to be boxed in, dismissed, or neatly labeled. That is perhaps one of the most compelling parts of this collection—it pushes back against the instinct to force marginalized writers into boxes that are viewed by some as convenient or easily digested. With tender nuance, Travis Chi Wing Lau tells a story that is both intimately his and relatable to many who occupy marginalized identities.

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Emily is a queer disabled writer and educator from the Boston area. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in English from Bridgewater State University. She believes in the power of advocacy, and showing up authentically in all areas of life. In her free time, she enjoys reading literature and raging against the patriarchy.