Persimmons

“Thoughts on a Still Night“ by Li Bai (744-756)

Li Bai is a prominent figure in Tang Dynasty poetry, and is likely the most internationally regarded Chinese poet. Lee’s engagement with Tang Dynasty poetry most certainly included Li Bai’s works, and “Thoughts on a Still Night” showcases the period’s influence on Lee’s poetry well, featuring feelings of displacement, nostalgia, and the mutability of definitional boundaries. Also noteworthy is the shared use of the moon as a beauty symbol.

“Blackberrying“ by Sylvia Plath (1971)

Lee’s Western influences most obviously include the mid-20th century American confessional tradition, which places an emphasis on private experiences, and often conflates the poet and the poem’s speaker. “Persimmons” and “Blackberrying” both foreground the experience of picking fruit as a way of tackling feelings of isolation and disconnection.

“The Gift“ by Li-Young Lee (1986)

“The Gift” is another one of Li-Young Lee’s most famous poems. Published in the collection Rose, “The Gift” also connects the poet-speaker’s father with the lasting importance of memory. Unlike the elderly, blind father in “Persimmons,” the young father of “The Gift” is a competent caretaker extracting a splinter from the seven-year-old speaker while implanting an indelible sense of love.

“Essay on Craft“ by Ocean Vuong (2017)

Eminent contemporary Asian-American poet Ocean Vuong is two generations younger than Lee. Comparing the styles and themes of Lee’s “Persimmons” with Vuong’s Ars Poetica poem (or poem about writing poetry) showcases the diversity and breath of contemporary Asian-American poetry. Both poets describe language as an agent of isolation.