Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1988) Winner
Li-Young Lee
リー・ヤング・リー
Li-Young Lee
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1957-08-19 （Jakarta, Indonesia）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English, Chinese
- Religion
- Christianity
- Residence History
- Jakarta, Indonesia → Hong Kong (transit) → Japan (transit) → United States (settled)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Essayist
- Active Years
- 1986-
- Influenced By
- Li Bai (classical Chinese poet), Du Fu (classical Chinese poet), Family memory and Christian religious background
- Influenced
- Asian American poets (e.g., Marilyn Chin), Contemporary English-language lyric and meditative poetry
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pittsburgh | — | — | — | — | United States |
| University of Arizona | — | — | — | — | United States |
| State University of New York Brockport | — | — | — | — | United States |
University of Pittsburgh
Country:
United States
Developed interest in poetry while attending
University of Arizona
Country:
United States
State University of New York Brockport
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award | Rose | — | New York University | 受賞 |
| 1988 | Whiting Award | — | — | Whiting Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1990 | Lamont Poetry Selection | The City in Which I Love You | — | Academy of American Poets | 受賞 |
| 1995 | Lannan Literary Award | — | — | Lannan Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1995 | American Book Award | The Wingéd Seed: A Remembrance | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2002 | William Carlos Williams Award | Book of My Nights | — | Poetry Society / Academy-related award | 受賞 |
| 2003 | Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets | — | — | Academy of American Poets | 受賞 |
| 2024 | Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | — | — | Poetry Foundation | 受賞（生涯功労） |
| — | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 助成 |
| — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | フェローシップ |
Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award
1986
Work:
Rose
Organization:
New York University
Result:
受賞
Whiting Award
1988
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
受賞
Lamont Poetry Selection
1990
Work:
The City in Which I Love You
Organization:
Academy of American Poets
Result:
受賞
Lannan Literary Award
1995
Organization:
Lannan Foundation
Result:
受賞
American Book Award
1995
Work:
The Wingéd Seed: A Remembrance
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
William Carlos Williams Award
2002
Work:
Book of My Nights
Organization:
Poetry Society / Academy-related award
Result:
受賞
Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets
2003
Organization:
Academy of American Poets
Result:
受賞
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
2024
Organization:
Poetry Foundation
Result:
受賞（生涯功労）
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
助成
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
フェローシップ
Awards & Nominations
James Laughlin Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 37 (1990) Winner
PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1991) Winner
American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 16 (1995) Winner
Lannan Literary Awards
6 appearances
-
Edition 24 (1995) Winner
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 39 (2024) Winner
Works
Major Works
Rose
1986 Poetry collectionEarly collection of poems exploring family, memory, loss, and renewal.
familymemoryloss
The City in Which I Love You
1990 Poetry collectionOne of his notable works: lyrical poems on the city, personal love, and loss.
lovethe citylossmemory
The Wingéd Seed: A Remembrance
1995 Memoir/PoetryReminiscent work reflecting on family history, migration, and personal experience.
immigrationfamily historymemory
Book of My Nights
2001 Poetry collectionCollection addressing night, solitude, and inward reflection with a meditative tone.
solitudeintrospectionspirituality
Behind My Eyes
2008 Poetry collectionCollection of poems rooted in vision, memory, and personal experience.
memoryvisionpersonal experience
The Undressing
2018 Poetry collectionA mature collection showing deep introspection and exploration of human relationships.
introspectionrelationshipsloss and healing
The Invention of the Darling
2024 Poetry collectionRecent collection dealing with intimacy and the invention of love.
loveintimacyimagination
Bibliography
- Rose (1986)
- The City in Which I Love You (1990)
- The Wingéd Seed: A Remembrance (1995)
- Book of My Nights (2001)
- Behind My Eyes (2008)
- The Undressing (2018)
- The Invention of the Darling (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical and meditative styleconcise, image-driven languagenarrative emphasis on family history and memory
- Recurring Motifs
- familyremembrance/memoryreligion/spiritualityexile and immigration experience
Legacy
Li-Young Lee is an important voice in Asian American poetry, highly regarded for poetic explorations of family history, immigration, and spirituality. He has influenced contemporary poetry through awards, readings, and teaching.
Archives
- Poetry Foundation archives (related materials)
- University libraries and specific literary archives (possible holdings)
In Popular Culture
- In 2011, the poem "A Story" was featured in the AP English Literature and Composition free-response questions
Trivia
- His maternal great-grandfather is reported to be Yuan Shikai, China's first Republican president.
- His father served as a physician (reported) while in China and later became a minister in the United States.
- The family fled anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia (1959) and settled in the United States in 1964.
- The poem "A Story" was used on the 2011 AP English Literature exam.