In Hong Kong, Dr. Lee became a hugely successful evangelist and the head of a million-dollar business. However, in the words of Lee, \u201cHe was driven almost solely by emotion and at one point got into an argument with somebody and simply left Hong Kong. We just left it all and came to America.\u201d After a short stint as the greeter for the China exhibit at the Seattle World\u2019s Fair, the family moved to Pittsburgh where Dr. Lee attended seminary. After graduation, Dr. Lee became a Presbyterian minister at a very small church in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. Though read to frequently by his father, Li-Young Lee did not begin to write himself until he came to the University of Pittsburgh. There, under the guidance of Gerald Stern, he realized his passion, not just for hearing but also for creating poetry. Currently, he lives in Chicago and is one of the few full-time poets in the United States.<\/p>\n
Lee\u2019s Poetry<\/h3>\n![\"rose\"](\"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/postcolonialstudies\/files\/2014\/06\/Rose-1-198x300.jpeg\")
<\/a>Rose, 1986<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWith such a background, it will come as no surprise that Lee\u2019s poetry talks of \u00a0exile, the Bible, and, most especially, the combined strength and tenderness of his father as some of its many themes. He also often uses the language of poems to create an atmosphere of silence, an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the classic Chinese poets Li Bo and Tu Fu. This may occur in part because of his own silence as a young child \u2014 it was not until the age of three that he suddenly began to speak in full sentences. Later, upon his arrival in America, he returned to silence. Feeling ashamed of his inability to speak English, he spent years playing only with other foreign children; though he could not speak their languages<\/a> either, they shared the common bond from shame of speech. A poem that exemplifies this silence while displaying his father\u2019s mixture of tenderness and austerity is \u201cEarly in the Morning\u201d from Lee\u2019s first book\u00a0Rose<\/em>.\u00a0 The last two verses are as follows:<\/p>\nMy mother combs,
\npulls her hair back
\ntight, rolls it
\naround two fingers, pins it
\nin a bun to the back of her head.
\nFor half a hundred years she has done this.
\nMy father likes to see it like this.
\nHe says it is kempt.<\/p>\n
But I know
\nit is because of the way
\nmy mother\u2019s hair falls
\nwhen she pulls the pins out.
\nEasily, like the curtains
\nwhen they untie them in the evening.<\/p>\n
An Abbreviated History of China in the Early Twentieth Century<\/h3>\n
In the beginning of the twentieth century, through the influence of new industrial centers and an influx of Western missionaries, China began to feel some unrest. There was a growing awareness of the modernization occurring in the Western world and a desire for a reassertion of China\u2019s national identity.\u00a0The Qing\u00a0dynasty fell, leaving several strong forces battling with each other. The one that provided the intellectual force for the revolution wanted more individualism, Western intellectualism, and an increased emphasis on science and technology. However, these intellectuals were mainly centered around the large cities and ports of China and were not trusted by the people living in the country. It was therefore mainly warlords, like Lee\u2019s maternal grandfather, who from 1912 to 1949 inherited most of the power and ruled by force as \u201cchauvinistic nationalists.\u201d Some modernization did occur, but to a large extent the old order of patron-client relationships had broken down without leaving a new order to replace them. Because of this, the farmers and other country people were hugely exploited. (See Hegemony in Gramsci<\/a>)<\/p>\n
<\/a>With such a background, it will come as no surprise that Lee\u2019s poetry talks of \u00a0exile, the Bible, and, most especially, the combined strength and tenderness of his father as some of its many themes. He also often uses the language of poems to create an atmosphere of silence, an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the classic Chinese poets Li Bo and Tu Fu. This may occur in part because of his own silence as a young child \u2014 it was not until the age of three that he suddenly began to speak in full sentences. Later, upon his arrival in America, he returned to silence. Feeling ashamed of his inability to speak English, he spent years playing only with other foreign children; though he could not speak their languages<\/a> either, they shared the common bond from shame of speech. A poem that exemplifies this silence while displaying his father\u2019s mixture of tenderness and austerity is \u201cEarly in the Morning\u201d from Lee\u2019s first book\u00a0Rose<\/em>.\u00a0 The last two verses are as follows:<\/p>\n My mother combs, But I know In the beginning of the twentieth century, through the influence of new industrial centers and an influx of Western missionaries, China began to feel some unrest. There was a growing awareness of the modernization occurring in the Western world and a desire for a reassertion of China\u2019s national identity.\u00a0The Qing\u00a0dynasty fell, leaving several strong forces battling with each other. The one that provided the intellectual force for the revolution wanted more individualism, Western intellectualism, and an increased emphasis on science and technology. However, these intellectuals were mainly centered around the large cities and ports of China and were not trusted by the people living in the country. It was therefore mainly warlords, like Lee\u2019s maternal grandfather, who from 1912 to 1949 inherited most of the power and ruled by force as \u201cchauvinistic nationalists.\u201d Some modernization did occur, but to a large extent the old order of patron-client relationships had broken down without leaving a new order to replace them. Because of this, the farmers and other country people were hugely exploited. (See Hegemony in Gramsci<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\npulls her hair back
\ntight, rolls it
\naround two fingers, pins it
\nin a bun to the back of her head.
\nFor half a hundred years she has done this.
\nMy father likes to see it like this.
\nHe says it is kempt.<\/p>\n
\nit is because of the way
\nmy mother\u2019s hair falls
\nwhen she pulls the pins out.
\nEasily, like the curtains
\nwhen they untie them in the evening.<\/p>\nAn Abbreviated History of China in the Early Twentieth Century<\/h3>\n