Li-Young Lee
Li-Young Lee is a Chinese American poet born on August 19, 1957, in Jakarta, Indonesia. His family, exiles from Communist China, settled in the United States in 1964, which profoundly influenced Lee's writing and shaped his identity. His poetry often reflects themes of immigration, family, and the complexities of living as an outsider in a new culture. Lee's debut collection, *Rose*, published in 1986, garnered attention for its poignant exploration of personal and universal themes, particularly the sense of alienation he experienced. Over the years, he has published several acclaimed works, including *The City in Which I Love You*, *Book of My Nights*, and *The Undressing*, each delving deeper into his inner life, spirituality, and relationships. In recognition of his contributions to literature, Lee has received numerous accolades, including the Aiken Taylor Award for lifetime achievement in poetry in 2022 and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2024. He is also noted for his role as a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Oregon, where he shares his insights with aspiring writers. Lee's work is characterized by its lyrical quality and deep emotional resonance, reflecting both the grief and joy that come with his unique experiences.
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Subject Terms
Li-Young Lee
- Born: August 19, 1957
- Birthplace: Jakarta, Indonesia
Author Profile
Poet. When Li-Young Lee’s first poetry collection, Rose (1986), was published, its Chinese American author had lived in the United States for twenty-two of his twenty-nine years. The poet’s immigrant experience, his strong sense of family life, and his recollections of a boyhood spent in Asia have provided a background to his writing.
Lee was born in Jakarta; his Chinese parents were exiles from Communist China. They traveled until their arrival in Pittsburgh in 1964. The sense of being an alien, not a native to the place where one lives, strongly permeates Lee’s poetry and gives an edge to his carefully crafted lines. There is also a touch of sadness in his poetry. The abyss lurks everywhere, and his personae must be circumspect with their words and actions since they, unlike a native, can take nothing for granted in their host culture. Looking at his sister, the speaker in “My Sleeping Loved Ones” warns, “And don’t mistake my stillness / for awe. / It’s just that I don’t want to waken her.”
Faced with a new language after arriving in the United States, Lee became fascinated with the sound of words, an experience related in “Persimmons.” Here, a teacher slaps the boy “for not knowing the difference / between persimmon and precision.” After college courses at three American universities, Lee focused on his writing. Lee published his second collection, The City in Which I Love You, in 1990 and began to receive numerous awards.
Lee has always insisted that his writing searches for universal themes, and the close connection of his work to his life cannot be discounted. His father, for example, appears in many poems. Lee offers a factual yet poetic account of his young life in The Winged Seed (1995).
Lee's next collection of poems, Book of My Nights (2001), is more self-reflective than his previous volumes, as he analyzes his inward life more than issues such as family and culture that informed his previous collections. In Lee's words, Behind My Eyes (2008) is "clearer" than Book of My Nights; in it, he returns to topics such as immigration and family. Lee’s poetry and prose reveal a writer who appreciates his close family and strives to put into words the grief and the joy of a life always lived in an alien place. Lee's fifth book of poetry, The Undressing (2018), meditates on the nature of reality, explores God, and discusses love.
In 2024, Lee published his sixth poetry collection, The Invention of the Darling: Poems. These poems explore several themes, including love, spirituality, and relationships. Lee has received several prestigious awards, fellowships, and grants throughout his career. Lee received the Aiken Taylor Award for lifetime achievement in poetry in 2022. In 2024, the Poetry Foundation awarded Lee the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for his lifetime achievements. Lee continued to appear at speaking arrangements, served as a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Oregon, and contributed to various publications including The New Yorker.
Bibliography
Berk, L. Rev. of The City in Which I Love You, by Li-Young Lee. Choice, vol. 28, 1991, p. 1640.
Chiasson, Dan. "'The Undressing;' Poetry of Passion Laid Bare." The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2018, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/the-undressing-poetry-of-passion-laid-bare. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Engles, Tim. "Lee’s 'Persimmons.'" Explicator, vol. 54, 1996, pp. 191–192. doi.org/10.1080/00144940.1996.9934112. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.
Force, Chris. "Li-Young Lee on the Importance of Poetic Form and Void." Sixtysix Magazine, 9 Aug. 2024, sixtysixmag.com/li-young-lee. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Greenbaum, Jessica. Rev. of Rose, by Li-Young Lee. The Nation, 7 Oct. 1991.
Hesford, Walter A. "The City in Which I Love You: Li-Young Lee’s Excellent Song." Christianity and Literature, vol. 46, no. 1, 1996, pp. 37–60. doi.org/10.1177/01483331960460. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.
Huang, Guiyou. The Columbia Guide to Asian American Literature since 1945. Columbia UP, 2006.
Ingersoll, Earl G. Breaking the Alabaster Jar: Conversations with Li-Young Lee. BOA, 2006.
Lee, James Kyung-Jin, and Li-Young Lee. "Li-Young Lee." In Words Matter: Conversations with Asian American Writers, edited by King-Kok Cheung, University of Hawai'i Press, 2000, pp. 270-80
"Li-Young Lee." Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/li-young-lee. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
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Marshall, Todd. "To Witness the Invisible." Kenyon Review, vol. 22, no. 1, winter 2000, pp. 129–147. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=2765568&site=ehost-live. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Moyers, Bill, et al. "Li-Young Lee." In The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets. Doubleday, 1995.
Muske, Carol. Rev. of The City in Which I Love You, by Li-Young Lee. New York Times Book Review, 27 Jan. 1991, www.nytimes.com/1991/01/27/books/sons-lovers-immigrant-souls.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.
Pence, Amy. "Poems from God: A Conversation with Li-Young Lee." Poets and Writers, vol. 29, 2001, pp. 22–27.
Slowick, Mary. "Beyond Lot’s Wife: The Immigration Poems of Marilyn Chin, Garrett Hongo, Li-Young Lee, and David Mura." MELUS, vol. 25, no. 3, 2000, pp. 221–242, doi.org/10.2307/468244. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.
Waniek, Marylin. Rev. of The City in Which I Love You, by Li-Young Lee. Kenyon Review, vol. 13, 1991, p. 214.
Xu, Wenying. Historical Dictionary of Asian American Literature and Theater. Scarecrow, 2012.
Zhou, Xiaojing. "Inheritance and Invention in Li-Young Lee’s Poetry." MELUS, vol. 21, no. 1, 1996, pp. 113–132, doi.org/10.2307/467810. Accessed 25 Apr. 2023.