Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Poet Li-Young Lee on His Family's Escape from Mao's China

Lee has written two volumes of poetry, Rose and The City in Which I Love You. He's won many awards for his work, including the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. He's just completed a memoir about his family's refugee experience in America, The Winged Seed. Lee was born in Indonesia; his parents were from China, where his father had been private physician to Mao. After escaping Southeast Asia, the family ended up in a small town in Pennsylvania, where his father headed an all-white Presbyterian church.

15:38
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on March 8, 1995

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 8, 1995: Interview with Masha Gessen; Interview with Li-Young Lee; Review of soundtrack albums for the films "The Jerky Boys," "Boys on the Side," and "Pret-a-Porter…
Queue
23:03

Bringing Women Russian Writers to the Fore

Soviet-born journalist Masha Gessen has just edited a new collection of post-Soviet fiction by women, called "Half A Revolution." She says that most of the writers in the collection belong to the "mute generation" that came of age under Brezhnev. Gessen immigrated to the U.S. in 1981 when she was 14 to be with her parents. She's been an editor, primarily in gay and lesbian press, and was international editor at The Advocate. Gessen has since repatriated to Russia.

Interview

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
11:34

Li-Young Lee Discusses His Childhood and Poetry.

Poet Li-Young Lee. He was born into a family of political refugees from China. They traveled throughout Asia for years to escape persecution. In the mid-60's his family moved to Pennsylvania. Lee's poems reflect his struggle with his Chinese heritage - a heritage to which he is bound but in which he never lived. His poems also reflect Lee's attempt to come to terms with the powerful and mythic figure of his father, who was alternately imprisoned and revered for his beliefs.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

In pursuit of 'Instagram face,' are we losing the imperfections that make us human?

Jia Tolentino is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the bestselling author of the essay collection "Trick Mirror." Seven years ago, she coined the phrase Instagram face, capturing the beauty ideal of the social media era. Her new essay asks what that face has become.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

52:30

Broadway legend André De Shields helps bring 'Hadestown' to the big screen

De Shields made his Broadway debut in the 1975 original production of The Wiz. He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in Hadestown and co-stars in the new film of last year's London revival.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

42:18

Harriet Clark's novel 'The Hill' draws on her 37 years visiting her mom in prison

Clark was a baby in 1981 when her mother, a member of a radical left-wing group, acted as a getaway driver in the robbery of a Brink's truck. Her new novel is based on the years that followed.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue