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Hardcover , pages. Published January 17th by W. Paterson Poetry Prize To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. Apr 12, Rick rated it really liked it Shelves: Just killing time but I was so captivated that I bought the book after reading just a handful of poems.
Lee investigates language and meaning, turning words this way and that until they tell him something memorable, something not so secret or so mysterious as it first appeared. He does the same with memory and history, family and spirituality. He juxtaposes personal and political, living and dead, certainty and wonder. A boy climbs a tree to a dangerous height, observes his family through the windows of his house.
The collection is full of such magical transitions. Lee remembers this now that he is past the age of play with his sister, now that he is middle-aged and a parent himself, though this is no stated part of this poem that ends: What matters is this: Apr 01, Jessie rated it liked it Shelves: Mother is figured here, a nice complement to the figured, almost mythic father in ROSE; also LYL mines his immigrant experience here and reaches into his childhood in Indonesia, feeling the loss of it.
In this book are the simple, natural, monosyllabic images I find central to Lee, with those subtle twists, often in the verb, to defamiliarize: As in ROSE, he cycles through and focuses on a handful of resonant, multi-faced images: Oct 14, Robert Beveridge rated it liked it Shelves: Part of the reason I'm such a fan is that Lee, while embracing the poetry-as-therapy paradigm so prevalent among bad poets, but always staying on the correct line of that other paradigm so important to poets, show-don't-tell. Thus it was that I cracked this book and started reading, I was kind of shocked.
This first section crosses that line. Obliterates it, in fact. Show goes right down the tubes and tell rears its nasty head. We're playing her deluxe edition of 'Memories of the 20th Century. Just because William Carlos Williams stuck a grocery list in the middle of a poem and called it poetry doesn't mean everyone can do it.
And doesn't mean Williams should have in the first place, really. In order to get through that first section, I kept telling myself that things would eventually get better. Showing us, as opposed to just dropping things in our lap. It makes all the difference in the world. It's what makes Li-Young Lee great. Aug 12, Paul rated it it was amazing Shelves: Let's see and hear what rests and runs behind these eyes and ears.
Let's see and hear if this simple thought experiment works in and out of breath's heart and mind: In and out of my heart and mind rests and runs this breath, these analogical limited lines of thought: Li-Young Lee is for and to poetry like Hayao Miyazaki is for and to anime. I used to listen to the CD recordin Let's see and hear what rests and runs behind these eyes and ears.
I used to listen to the CD recording of Li-Young Lee's lovely, melancholy voice during my daily commute. Serenity and silence and spaciousness in the thick of tantalizing toil and traffic and trouble. My favorites include the following seven to eight poems: Perhaps, upon re-reviewing, I should give this book review an additional fifth star to complete the poet's writing life process, in order to make me, to make it whole.
Aug 17, Noah rated it it was ok.
I couldn't quite get into this collection of poems, but I wish I could. Maybe if a better reader took me through a few of these I'd enjoy it more. As it was, I did like a few lines, like this one, from "In His Own Shadow," because I like the idea that not recognizing another master than Death is just a lack of sight: His body throws two shadows: One onto the table and the piece of paper before him, and one onto his mind. The other keeps him from recognizing another master than Death. Maybe it was a forbidden language. Or maybe there was too much screaming and weeping and the noise of guns in the streets.
The kingdom of heaven is good. But heaven on earth is better. But living is better. Alone in your favorite chair with a book you enjoy is fine. But spooning is even better. Mar 05, Steven rated it really liked it. In his fourth collection, Li-Young Lee again expertly explores issues of mortality and the spirit, writing meditative verses that are grounded in natural imagery. With each collection, Lee has deftly explored the line between the metaphysical and the physical worlds, placing the human directly in between the two, as "a blossom mortally wounded on its stem" 71 , always trying to traverse the knowledge of our own mortality, and to delineate between what is temporal and what is eternal in this lif In his fourth collection, Li-Young Lee again expertly explores issues of mortality and the spirit, writing meditative verses that are grounded in natural imagery.
With each collection, Lee has deftly explored the line between the metaphysical and the physical worlds, placing the human directly in between the two, as "a blossom mortally wounded on its stem" 71 , always trying to traverse the knowledge of our own mortality, and to delineate between what is temporal and what is eternal in this life.
Lee's gift is that he finds the joy in this struggle, and here, in the final section of book, even enters a more domestic world, with poems striking sparks from the banal details of a long-term relationship, with a partner and a home. With the exception of "Virtues of the Boring Husband" , most of the longer poems lose momentum because of Lee's dense, heavy lines, but they are all well worth wading through to get the gems, such as "To Life" 56 , a worthy compliment to one of his best poems from his last book "Book of My Nights" , "One Heart.
Jul 26, Helen Chung rated it really liked it. Li-Young Lee's poems are thoughtfully written and immersed in biblical language and story. The poet was born in Indonesia to Chinese parents, and the family fled to escape anti-Chinese sentiment, settling in the U. Lee's father became a Presbyterian minister. Here is a paragraph lifted from the Poetry Foundation blog's bio on the poet: Oct 26, Ginna marked it as to-read Shelves: Jeff Oliver posted this poem along with the AK lit happenings calendar.
In the meantime, my wife and I make the bed. Holding opposite edges of the sheet, we raise it, billowing, then pull it tight, measuring by eye as it falls into alignment between us. We tug, fold, tuck.
Behind My Eyes: Poems and millions of other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Behind My Eyes: Poems Paperback – July 6, This item:Behind My Eyes: Poems by Li-Young Lee Paperback $ In Li-Young Lee's Behind My Eyes, hieroglyphs collide head-on with the fire's nest,” setting the stage for an elegant collection of poems (89).
One day, all we guard will be surrendered. So often, fear has led me to abandon what I know I must relinquish in time.
Jan 04, John Struloeff rated it really liked it. I enjoy Li-Young's poetry. He has a controlled, steady, mystical voice -- in person and on the page. I heard him read a number of these poems when he was at Stanford.
Jan 04, John Struloeff rated it really liked it. And if you meet someone in your adopted country and think you see in the other's face an open sky, some promise of a new beginning, it probably means you're standing too far. The wind whistles my stress away. Still haven't listened to the audio, but he's a great public reader so I'm looking forward to it. I also watched, as the wind teased The trees that held the leaves- Each decaying As they rise They bend forward like, golden fields of days Like sun-beaten blades of grass, Their giant broken bodies Like stones So still, That at times, unfortunate seconds Drifting past Quietly, wander Too long In the sadness, Then crash Violently, In the silence. The only place I became disarmed after this first negative impression was in a poem called, "Virtues of the Boring Husband.
Breath in, breath out. You can't do both at once -- it's a steady swing, back and forth, controlled, meditative. Sometimes certain poems or lines are confusing -- a bit too abstract and mystical -- but when he's good, he's good. I find myself r I enjoy Li-Young's poetry. I find myself returning to some of the poems, or some lines, wanting to re-read them and hear the wonderful music in them. For example, in a poem about his mother, he writes, " I recommend all of his books. I don't know that this is his best, but it's still worth a look or several more.
Sep 12, Tracy O rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I start to roll my eyes in consulting conversations when someone uses the phrase "robust resources" or in design discussions when someone refers to the "integrity of the materials," or in poetry articles when I see the term "spaciousness". These phrases must have meant something real when they were fresh, but they are such cliches I have to shy away from using them.
But, spaciousness is the best description for this poetry. I had more room in my head after I read the book. Beautiful rhythm and l I start to roll my eyes in consulting conversations when someone uses the phrase "robust resources" or in design discussions when someone refers to the "integrity of the materials," or in poetry articles when I see the term "spaciousness". Beautiful rhythm and language, and affecting ideas. This is much more metaphysical than his other stuff which I'm not normally into, and it's still sinking in, but I loved it. Still haven't listened to the audio, but he's a great public reader so I'm looking forward to it.
Feb 19, Jennifer Collins rated it it was amazing Shelves: Lee's poems are consistently stunning, pulling together careful observation, powerful language, and graceful moments in any given line and stanza. Falling into his work is something like journeying into another space and another mind, his poems are each, from beginning to end, so carefully constructed.
And yet, they seem effortless, and they are readable and engaging. Few poems in this collection are not stand-outs, and in most collections, any of these poems would leap from the pages and demand Lee's poems are consistently stunning, pulling together careful observation, powerful language, and graceful moments in any given line and stanza. Few poems in this collection are not stand-outs, and in most collections, any of these poems would leap from the pages and demand attention and re-reading.
Simply, Lee's work is powerful and forever worth reading, forever worth sharing. Jun 08, Hayley rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Lovers of contemporary poetry, any readers. I can't think of many other words that come to mind when I read this besides "moved," "Rivers," and "memory. What I mean to say is that Lee's poetry not only brings the past alive in each poem, but in the reader as well. I definitely plan to read more. Apr 15, Kevin Fanning rated it it was amazing Shelves: A poem is such a tiny thing that strives to contain the entire universe. If one poem hit the target, that would be enough for a lifetime.
So it's astonishing how perfect and lovely and stunning fulfilling so many of these poems are. I don't know how Li-Young Lee is able to connect so completely with life on such a deep emotional level, but I'm thankful that he's doing it. His early stuff was so good, and he's just getting better and better.
I got this from the library but A poem is such a tiny thing that strives to contain the entire universe. I got this from the library but I'm definitely buying at least one copy. Mar 21, Meg rated it it was amazing. All of Time began when you first answered to the names you mother and father gave you. Soon, those names will travel with the leaves. Then, you an trade places with the wind. Then you'll remember your life as a book of candles, each page read by the light of its own burning. Some books demand this.
It is always relevant, always raw, always tender.
Jan 02, Kirsten Kinnell rated it really liked it Shelves: I loved this-- just not quite as much as Book of My Nights. It traces a wider arc stylistically, sometimes more ephemeral sometimes more lucidly narrative. I like both extremes, but the swinging between them caused the collection itself to seem less centered. Nevertheless, Lee's themes of his childhood immigration to the States and the tangible yet mysteriously just-out-of-sight, nearly tidal, influence of God and his parents-- these themes come more sharply into focus in this collection.
Doves, water, sister, mother, father, apples, light, dark crawl as words bigger than life through the poems tying them together, knotting into your mind. Jul 03, Gary McDowell rated it liked it Shelves: It's good, but it's nowhere near "acceptable. Some brilliant poems here, but overall I was unimpressed. Behind My Eyes only on low-confidence days. Aug 02, Cathryn Cofell rated it liked it. While for me, not as powerful as his earlier books, getting to hear him read those poems trumps every other book I own ie; all of them. Now, if I can just figure out how to teleport his body to the passenger seat of my car for the full 3-d experience!
Aug 25, Xiaowei rated it really liked it. Since each collection is a labor of love, there have been significant gaps of time between each book of poetry. The first was published in , the second, The City in Which I Love You , was published four years later in , and the third, Book of My Nights , was not published until Over the years, he has gained a rather large readership.
In addition to his reputation as a fine poet, he published a powerful memoir, The Winged Seed: A Remembrance , in The memoir touches on what life was like for the Lee family in Indonesia, the years they spent in one place after another, and the struggles they had in adjusting to life in a small town in Pennsylvania.
The family endured every hardship with love and perseverance. The past has so many metaphysical and magical layers. For Lee, it was necessary for him to expose what lives in memory, what festers in the past. He knew that he had to use the tools of the poet in order to become the master of his collective past. Over the years, he has learned that it is a never-ending process.
As soon as one layer is exposed, it is discovered that there is so much more that needs to be faced. Larger-than-life, he was a physician in China, a political prisoner in Indonesia, an evangelical minister in Hong Kong, andeventuallya minister in a Pennsylvania Presbyterian church. The struggle to survive as an outcast, refugee Chinese immigrant was always paramount. There was no way to escape oneself.
The poet son has learned this, realizing that it is best to confront his identity. In most of what Lee has written, he revisits the bonds that hold a family together, the love that helps members of a family to survive against terrible trials, and the way that memory connects people to the past and to one another.