A Story : A poem by Li-young Lee with music by Hikari Oe

A poem by Li-Young Lee, from The City in Which I Love You (1990);
The background score is from Music of Hikari Oe, Vol. 1: Pied Piper, for flute & piano

"Lee's poems bear the influence of his Chinese masters in their plain-spoken simplicity and strength. As Stern, his early mentor, comments, Lee's work is characterised by "a willingness to let the sublime enter his field of concentration and take over, a devotion to language, a belief in holiness." His is also a highly sensual voice that uses the encounter with the physical world as a gateway to profound meditations on loss and love. His skilful use of repetition is a means of organising his poems, despite their lack of conventional form. Lee also uses silence in his poems, the spaces between stanzas furthering the argument as each thought unfolds. This is apparent in his reading style which makes the most of these pauses. In its quiet, deliberate progress, Lee's delivery allows the listener to take in the philosophical investigations of his work. It's a reading style which, along with the generous explanations of his poems, invites the reader into a quiet intimacy with the poet."
from : http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=8970

Interview & Poetry readings :
http://www.lannan.org/lf/rc/event/li-young-lee/

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• poetry
• li-young lee
• chinese poetry

[SiouxzieKins]

After reading about Hikari Oe's will to live and his amazing talents for music, the poem is absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing this with the community.