Ed Bok Lee

This was an impulse purchase from Coffee House Press when I was ordering :Unbearable Splendor. But as soon as I flipped through it I knew I was going to be deeply into this.

With the themes of science, mitochondria, heredity, evolution, emigration, governments, and tyranny, this was really truly and deeply aligned with my interests. The author's parents emigrated from what is now North & South Korea, and a number of the poems reflect on that region's troubled past, but this collection lays bare the sins of America's past (and present) as well, addresses the troubling patterns of the human condition that pop up again and again, here, there, and everywhere.

But this is a collection of duality, and it is infused with hope and wonder as well. I marked down so many poems as favorites.

I really loved this.… (more)

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greeniezona | 1 other review | May 11, 2023 |

Mitochondrial Night by Ed Bok Lee

Ed Bok Lee is a 2nd generation Korean American living and teaching in the Minneapolis area. His first collection of poetry won the 2012 American Book Award; and he has been awarded other prizes.

His poetry in this collection is wonderfully varied in subject, flexible and creative; and he seems to enjoy the use of style and form. It makes this a terrific volume to explore, whether it’s a first read or the twenty-first I'm off to find his previous collections.

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avaland | 1 other review | Apr 19, 2022 |