13thWR

BOOK OF MY NIGHTS by Li-Young Lee (67pgs., Boa Editions, \\$12.95)

I've been an admirer of Li-Young Lee's poetry since discovering his first collection, Rose, in the late '80s. His work is a fine blend of eastern lyricism and western mysticism, and in his first collection in eleven years, it's nice to see that he hasn't lost his touch.

The act of remembering one's life and family history is a major motif of Li-Young's poetry. The poet, now in his forties, approaches mid-life focusing on his own mortality: ". . . night begins when my mother's fingers / let go of the thread. . ." On one hand, this is a direct reference to the Li-Young Lee's abrupt departure from Jakarta as a boy. On the other, it's a birth image - the child cut from the umbilical chord no longer has the safety of the womb and life's journey begins:

"Ask him who his mother is. He'll declare that birds
have eaten the path home, but each of us
joins night's ongoing story. . ."

Nights is one of the better poetry collections I've had the pleasure of reading this year. It's carefully written and consistent throughout. Yet, if I had any nits to pick here, it is simply that Li-Young Lee is beating a thematic dead horse. His obsession with his family's history has worn a little thin after three very similar collections. The book is full of imagery of clocks, birds, flowers, naming of things, burial, etc. He's taken us on this journey before. As a poetic trilogy Nights, rounds out the three nicely, however, I hope the poet finds other pastures in which to graze in the future.

- reviewed by JCE