#yanyi

[litandlifequotes]

Far in the past and far in the future were those numinous and echoing stars 

"Landscape with a Hundred Turns" by Yanyi

[protectyouropacities]

“Aubade (In Names)” — Yanyi

Bright One and Dear One My Blue After Storms

My Ocean of Long Hums My Wandering Door

My This One My Gone One My Lingering For

My Light One My Long One My Morning of More

[litandlifequotes]

I am a beast of two worlds

"The End of Another Year" by Yanyi

[othellho]

"Eurydice at the Mouth", Yanyi

[chateauofmymind]

– yanyi, from dream of the divided field

[runningfromadream]

All my life, I believed I was the cruel one. I couldn’t say what I believed. I lived it.

Yanyi

[smokefalls]

Title: Dream of the Divided Field Author: Yanyi Publication Year: 2022 Publisher: One World Genre: poetry, queer lit

There were a lot of ephemerally beautiful moments in these poems, especially how Yanyi crafted multiple meanings out of the central theme of this collection: transition. It’s the transitioning of the body, of place, of time. Transition is never easy or smooth, and Yanyi draws attention to the violence—however subtle—while in transition. As a result, grief is tinged throughout this collection, as Yanyi grapples with the disconnect he feels from his body, “loved” ones (I write “loved” as opposed to loved, knowing that it’s complicated), and more.

I did feel that a number of poems were a bit too sparse for my taste, and I found myself wanting a little more than what was given. Of course, like all collections, there will be poems that work better than others, but I felt it was rather unbalanced in this collection, with the fifth part being significantly stronger than the other four parts combined. However, this is really a matter of personal taste and preference.

Some favorites: “Taking Care,” “Leaving the House,” “Eurydice at the Mouth,” “Home for the Holidays” (in Part IV), “Ambulance! Ambulance!,” “Lengthening, Rites,” “The End of Another Year,” and “Aubade”

Content Warning: medical content, grief, references to death

[smokefalls]

There is nothing quite as lovely as after the winter solstice, the days getting longer, and the sun of spring wrapping a glove over the room. The room which is sometimes a kitchen, a classroom, a place to sleep. I can’t stop singing praises of this daily peace, this wash of visibility.

Yanyi, "Lengthening, Rites" from Dream of the Divided Field