2 Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
The City in Which I Love You, and, most notably, Book of My Nights. Again, what
may be most interesting here is the evolution from book to book.RESOURCES
Primary Works
Tina Chang, “The Totality of Causes: Li-Young Lee and Tina Chang in Con-
versation” (2007) http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19802
[accessed 24 November 2009].
Interview in which Lee discusses poetry as a political act or a companion act to
political activism. Lee and Chang also discuss Book of My Nights, the physical
decline of Lee’s parents, religion, and Lee’s views of poetry as meditation.
Earl G. Ingersoll, Breaking the Alabaster Jar: Conversations with Li-Young Lee
(Rochester, N.Y.: BOA, 2006).
A collection of interviews spanning the period from the beginning of Lee’s
career through the publication of his poetry collection Book of My Nights. The
interviews explore the poet’s Chinese heritage, immigration to the United States,
writing practices, literary influences, education, and views on religion. This book
also includes a notable interview with Bill Moyers from The Language of Life: A
Festival of Poets.
James Kyung-Jin Lee, “Li-Young Lee,” in Words Matter: Conversations with
Asian American Writers (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2000), pp.
270–280.
Interview in which Lee discusses his craft and challenges faced while writing.
Bill Moyers, The Power of the Word: Ancestral and Voices of Memory (Alexandria,
Va.: PBS Video, 1989).
Video series featuring Lee speaking about and reading his poetry. He also dis-
cusses his struggle with his Chinese cultural heritage. (Other poets featured are
Garrett Kaoru Hongo, Mary Tall-Mountain, and Joy Harjo.)
Criticism
David Baker, “Culture, Inclusion, Craft,” Poetry, 158 ( June 1991): 158–175.
A review of The City in Which I Love You that claims Lee’s poetry combines both
personal and cultural or political ambitions. Baker also reflects on the achieve-
ments and limitations of the poet’s lyric and meditative voice.
King-Kok Cheung, “Art, Spirituality, and the Ethic of Care: Alternative Mascu-
linities in Chinese American Literature,” in Masculinity Studies and Femi-
nist Theory: New Directions, edited by Judith Kegan Gardiner (New York:
Columbia University Press, 2002), pp. 261–289.
Article discussing Lee’s representation of “alternative masculinities” in his
depiction of Ba, his father, in The Winged Seed. Cheung discusses Lee specifi-
cally on pages 271–276; her ideas might be applied to a reading of the poems
in Rose.