a very personal look in a rather unusal life of the author.

the winged seed is probably the most poetic book i have ever read. li-young lee's quiet, condensed writing style is almost sedating. he is one of the most interesting people i've met and one of the best poets i've ever read. he is what many poets strive to be.

love it as you would a sleepless nite of rain and poetry one and the same.

leaving a small imprint, claire

Lee Ao did it again! Another great yet enthralling work by Lee Ao, the best Chinese critique writer. Lee Ao does it in a serious cum humorous way, from poems to elite phrases. There isn't a boring page. If possible, get the Chinese version (for those Chinese literate). A highly recommended piece of work.

I've read the original of this book about ten times, and the more I read this book, the more thoughts and after-thoughts occur in my mind. As a Chinese born in Taiwan, This book really inspired me. Not only its depth of historical records and eloqunce of critique are unprecedented in the history of Chinese literature, but the passions, the intellectual's hope for salvation and revolutionaries' struggle to improve China expressed between the lines are set on a trageic stage in a way that is both dramatic and calm, violent and peaceful. You can see the flow of time and the continuation and history when reading this book. And that feeling, is what makes Chinese people and Chinese civilization distinctive. Li Ao is one of the most talented, humorous, arrogant, witty, insightful, and controversial liberal intellctual in the modern China. He has been imprisoned for treason(the accusation was totally groundless). He has been supressed by the maintream media in Taiwan because of his humiliating disclosure of government official's scandals.But he has won the heart of the contemporary readers through his stylish, if not flirting and combative, writings(over 15 million ords and still mounting). The Martyr'sShrine is by far his greatest achievement. He was even nominated to compete for the Nobel Prize for literature. In my opinion he absolutely deserves the prize. To understand this book requires a solid background knowledge in Chinese history and culture. I don't know if the ordinary Western readers are up to the task. However, if you really want to understand China and its struggle of modernization in the 19-20 century, this book is a good start.

Based on the history of reform movement of 1898 in China, the great thinker, historian, and writer of China, Ao Li( who lives in Taiwan) created this fiction. In the story, through the conversations and actions of the elits of Chinese intellecturalists, the author discussed the true thought and spirit of budhhism and Chinese thought of loyalty, patriatism, etc.; and expressed his idealist's thought. This is more a philosophy book and history than a novel. Six months ago when I finished reading this book in Chinese, I said it ought to have an English translation for people who don't read in Chinese. I am glad there is an English translation now.

Paper Cathedrals is beautifully printed and even more beautifully written. These poems are lyrical and idiomatic, private and universal, full of yearning and acceptance. Finally a first book that doesn't smack of workshop. The only first book I know of in which ALL of the poems have been published by our nation's top journals.

i have to rate this book with addonizio's _The Philosopher's Club_ and Kate Light's _Laws of Falling Bodies_ as my favorite first books. It's a powerful work. Most of the poems are religious/spiritual, which Creech handles with a skill you don't see anymore. even if you're like me and don't particularly enjoy religious poems, you'll like these. i wish i had more space here to go more in depth, but you have to get this book.

This is one of the most moving and beautiful books of poetry I have read in years. It is a collection of deeply felt, often spiritual--in the best sense of the word--meditations. Creech's language is lyrical, at times even ravishing but always exact. There is nothing slipshod here. It's been many years since a book of American poetry this good has been published. If you love beautifully worked language in service of truly serious and important subjects, then this is a book you will read again and again.

First of all, let me note that I read the book in Korean (the original version), so I cannot speak for the translation.

There seem to be numerous works by Western authors regarding Asian culture including that of Japan in the market today. Yet, I have never heard of any other book about Japan whicn is as discussed and read by Japanese people as this book. I am an Asian myself, so I might be a bit biased in saying the following; I find the efforts and dedication of the aforementioned Western authors very noble, yet they often do not have a clue. In many instances, they would find a Japanese trait and/or characteristic, and assume that it is an pan-asian element, or vice versa, thus failing to pinpoint the distinguishing characteristic of the culture. As German culture is very different from English, French and American, so is Japanese culture from any other asian countries. Mr. Lee, the author of this book, is a Korean professor and scholar. He brilliantly distinguishes what is Japanese from What is Asian, and distills Japanese culture into a very simple thesis. More amazingly, he does this without sacrifising depth.

He uses all aspects of his knowledge (and his knowledge is enormously expansive); he draws from Japanese language, Japanese theater, music, religion, myths, sports, history, etc. All the while, he does not sidetrack, but stays on the thesis of the book, guiding the readers with him. Whenever you think that he is done making his brilliant point, he give you another, another and another. This is a must read for anyone interested in Japan.

I could not be more impressed with a poet than I am with Li-Young Lee. He weaves a powerful spell in his poetry. Here he looks back at events of his life. He finds images of both horror and wonder. Some say this is his weakest work. I say what the reader gets here is to witness Mr. Lee's exoricism of the past. Either way, it is worth reading.

Lee's second collection of poems is different from his other collections. the poems are longer and centered around his personal history more than the other two. This collection isn't as strong as his first _Rose_ or latest _Book of My Nights_ but still is a strong collection.

ok. where do i start?

i love it. i mean, i think i may have liked Rose better, and Winged Seed was good (rather densely packed in history) but there's something about an author's first book that makes you stop in the middle of reading, look up, and suddenly feel overwhelmingly in awe.

the way i feel about the book has to do with my being asian american i suppose. works by asian americans aren't as abundant as other people's, so i guess i devour books of this type because of their rarity and in this case, quality as well.

i guess i'm not feeling too eloquent right now but what i'm trying to say is that Lee conveys his messages of joy and sorrow (corny, i know) in a beautiful and personal manner and he deserves to be recognized as a prominent author of not only his labeled "asian american" genre but of ALL literature (which he's pretty much accomplished by now)

This is the first collection of one of contemporary poetry's great poets, Li-Young Lee. He does not disappoint. The poems have great images and a wonderful use of language. There are some beautiful passages in this collection. The rose is prominent throughout (and the long poem in the second section is about roses) both in the traditional meaning, but more in a different way to look at it. The other prominent figure is the father. The collection seems to be working through the myth, the reality of the hero-figure that is the father. Great work here that you can return to time and again and find something new.

Mr Lee is one of my favorite poets, period. The Rose is a wonderful collection, and I think I like it a tiny bit better than The City In Which I Loved You. The way that Mr. Lee captures love & longing, subtle forms of love, nuances of parental relationships, and the physical world is amazing.

The first time I read 'Persimmons' it was in a Pushcart Prize Anthology, and I had never seen anything by Lee. It was years ago, and with no access to a printer or computer (stuck on holiday) I hand wrote at least 5 copies to immediately put in the mail to friends because I loved the poem so. Every poet resonates differently, it happens that Mr. Lee echoes some voice that I really understand and appreciate. If you love words, and how they can move together into something magical, he is one to read.

I wanted to include an excerpt, but I'm not sure that's right. Do a web-search on him if you want to see what sort of writing style it is. It's difficult to take a stanza out of context, and it's too hard to pick one. :)

p.s. If you happen to agree with my taste, and you don't know about The Weight of Oranges by Anne Michaels, that's another rewarding read.

Like a child who possesses a sensual, adult relationship with the world, Li-Young Lee radiates with an open gentleness and delicate sensitivity that seems, at times, almost too fragile to allow him to walk the streets alone. Nothing escapes his keen eye and, as he so poignantly illustrates, the greatest art is all around us, in glimpses that, when combined with memory, produce a renewal of the spirit. Lee's poetry results in a clarification or awakening of feelings that summon the reader's desire to examine his or her feelings, and by examining them, express them. Thus, by reaching into our own self-awareness, we are able to seek redemption. We forgive ourselves. Li-Young Lee is at the leading edge of what is good about contemporary, American poetry. After devouring all his works, my only complaint is that there is too little of it. More, please.

"Book of My Nights" is a collection of poems by Li-Young Lee. This book is part of the American Poets Continuum series. There is a melancholy feel overall to this book. This tone is established in the first poem, "Pillow," which mentions "discarded wings, lost shoes, a broken alphabet."

A number of poems deal with death or other forms of loss. As a whole, the book is dominated by references to family members and relationships. The most memorable of these family poems is "The Hammock," a poem that spans three generations; in this poem the speaker notes that he lives his life between "my mother's hopes" and "my child's wishes."

The poem which made the biggest impact on me was "A Table in the Wilderness," which is about the construction of ideographic characters from pictographic elements. Lee's thoughtful voice is quiet, but on occasion intriguing.

While we may never feel the rush we felt discovering Lee in _Rose_, _Book of My Nights_ is easily his second best book, surpassing the imagery and emotional depth of _The City in Which I Love You_. Of course, you'd have to be crazy not to own all three!

If you've never read Lee and are considering picking up this book, by all means do so. This is heart/gut wrenching poetry at its original best. This is poetry which makes poets think, "I wish I wrote that".

Pick up this book and prepare to revel in several readings of it. Li-young Lee is a poet of profound force not so concerned with the effect of a poem as with its "center" as he would call it. In his past collections he has dealt with the theme of the literal father--knowing and finding him in the present self, and most of all, remembering him--and with the more mythical/religious father. It is this more abstract father that Lee looks to more and more especially in this, his third collection of verse. He asks questions of himself, the father, his family and the world at large in his poetry as when in "Hurry toward Beginning" his closing lines quietly ask, "The fruit of listening, what's that?" His poetry seems to have listened to all of our most secret needs for centuries. Lee also seeks memory's essence perhaps putting forth that in the act of remembering and writing it down we inevitably must refigure it somehow. It is the spirit that connects us, "sown in the air, realized in a body uttering/windows, growing rafters, couching seeds." Lee also sees the body, perhaps the poet too, as a vessel for all memory. Though doubt weighs in greatly throughout _Book of My Nights_ Li-young Lee comes to some new understanding and awareness of the self not as apparent in his earlier works. The last poem in the book is titled "Out of Hiding," and in many of the other poems we follow Lee on his journey to reconcile the divided sides of the self to reach, "that ancient sorrow between his hips,/his body's ripe listening/the planet knowing itself at last." Li-young Lee's _Book of My Nights_ are essentials for anyone concerned with the art of memory, the spirit that poetry can embody and around which it must revolve, and the fruits of one poet's productive insomnia.