Summary

In “Open the Door,” home on break “from the University of Florida in Gainesville,” Rajiv sat with his grandmother Aji in his “parents’ house in Chuluota” (3). He recorded their conversation. He was eager to preserve Aji’s poetry and songs. Ever since leaving Guyana, Rajiv’s parents had cast off their language and tradition, adopting “those of the English and Americans” instead (4). Rajiv, however, “wanted to know more” about his past (4). Aji’s songs helped him “piece [his] own broken self together” (4).

In “Home: Prolepsis,” Rajiv describes what home is like. It often feels like “A shut door” (8, 9).

In “Aji Recording: Bibah Kare,” Aji “grew up in New Amsterdam, Guyana” (10). The day before Rajiv’s brother Emile’s wedding, she recalled episodes from her past. Emile’s wedding “would be performed by a Lutheran pastor” (11). Rajiv’s family had...