Every Single Bird Rising

by Xiaoly Li

Xiaoly Li’s EVERY SINGLE BIRD RISING is a breathtaking journey through decades-long life and cultural experiences. This poetry collection paints a vivid picture of hope, strength, and survival against all odds, as Li takes readers from the depths of China’s Labor Farm, Cultural Revolution, and Reeducation to walks in Central Park and pandemic backyard birthday parties. With a lyrical voice and evocative imagery, Li offers a rare glimpse into the heart of the immigrant experience, weaving personal reflections with historical perspectives to create a tapestry of life’s rich cultural strands. Li’s poems are a testament to the enduring power of nature, carrying the weight of history with grace and wisdom. This extraordinary book is a celebration of the beauty and wonder of life, transforming even suffering into a source of awe and inspiration. The book is also a reminder of the interconnectedness of all things.

Genres: Poetry

92 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2023

About the author

Xiaoly Li is a poet and photographer in Massachusetts. Her poetry collection, Every Single Bird Rising (previously called Across the Pacific), was published by Future Cycle Press in April 2023. This collection was a finalist for the Zone 3 Press Book Award and a semi-finalist for the Trio House Press Book Award and the 2022 Laura Boss Poetry Foundation Narrative Poetry Award. She received an Artist Fellowship Grant in Poetry (2022) and a Cultural Sector Recovery Grant for Individuals (2023) from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her poetry has been featured or anthologized in Spillway, American Journal of Poetry, Salamander, Atlanta Review, Chautauqua, Rhino, Cold Mountain Review, J Journal, Verse Daily, etc. She has been nominated for Best New Poets, twice for a Pushcart Prize, three times for Best of the Net. She lives in Massachusetts. Her photography has been shown and sold in galleries in Boston. Xiaoly received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and her Master’s in computer science and engineering from Tsinghua University in China.

Reviews

[Alarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get invited to too many poetry Zooms to watch them all, but I’m very glad I heard about this one. I’ve enjoyed many forms of Chinese art, including poetry, since I was a teen, and the teaser about what to expect caught my attention. The book moves between the trials of Xiaoly Li’s childhood during the Cultural Revolution, when she was forced to live in hardship and do manual labor rather than follow her dream of being an academic and author. Section One, “Much Unsaid,” reveals some of the hardships faced in China. In Section Two, “These Shades of Green,” she finds solace in her new home, “a continent of robins!” Then she adds,

“Only yesterday, my mother
told the nanny to hide
my baby, so that I would
not hesitate to leave.”

I don’t read a lot of nature poetry, but enjoyed the serenity of this poet’s impressions when she heads off on nature walks with her camera. The tone reminds me of ancient Chinese poetry I first discovered in high school.

Considering all she had to sacrifice to find her new life (she does go back on visits), “Poetry in a Second Language” especially moved me. I marked this passage to savor.

“This is your counter-revolution. You are safe now.

Poetry is about truth and beauty. Truth is beauty.

Sometimes your grammar is not right, but sometimes the unusual
usage of language is very fresh and good.

You must be both smart and crazy to write good poetry….”

[FutureCycle Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are the publisher, so all of our authors get five stars from us.


Excerpts:


REEDUCATION

We climb up a hill,
carry small shovels,
dig pigweeds, thorn weeds,
and little hogweeds
filling one small basket for food.
We cut tender willow flowers
and leaves for salads.

We swing sickles, raze bushes,
carry them on our backs
to the village as firewood.

We set a trap using a wok
in front of the chicken coop.
A cat falls to our prayer for meat.
The boys clean and cut the cat;
we stir-fry. Dozen of us,
a few bites each, not enough.

In the night, I dream three red dates,
shining and big.
Bit by bit, I savor one.
Chewy, sweet, and earthy.
I save the other two for the morning.

At the first ray of dawn
I get up, searching
for those two dates.
I regret not eating them all
in my one sweet dream.


MY FIRST DAY IN AMERICA

I step forward
to stand on a bridge arced
across this small stream.

The sun hangs high.
The wind so lazy it stops.

No one walks on these streets.
I hardly hear cars pass by.

To study abroad, a dream of distance.
My first flight has reached so far—
a continent of robins!

Only yesterday, my mother
told the nanny to hide
my baby, so that I would
not hesitate to leave.

In slow water, I see my face
twitched into a mosaic.
A leaf falls in,
blood red.

[Judi Dettorre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry. Enjoyed her use of imagery and such an unique way of seeing nature