We Grow Old

by Yu-Han Chao

Yu-Han Chao writes with delicacy and power. Her poems speak on many levels about life, relationships and personal nightmares. Her work flows from a mix of traditional Chinese culture, contemporary Taiwan and post-modern America. The resulting poems contain beauty and often wisdom. Many are worth reading over and over again.—Joe Farley

68 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2008

About the author

Yu-Han Chao was born and grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. She received her MFA from Penn State, taught at UC Merced, and is a newly minted Registered Nurse. The Backwaters Press (an imprint of University of Nebraska Press) published her poetry book, We Grow Old, in 2008. Dancing Girl Press, Imaginary Friend Press, Another New Calligraphy, and BOAAT Press published her chapbooks. Red Hen Press published her short story collection, Sex & Taipei City, in April 2019. She blogs about writing and nursing at www.yuhanchao.com

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. My first 1-star review.

Let me start by saying that I really enjoy Chinese poetry in general. I lived in Beijing for a while and my fiance lived in Shanghai for 2 years (she's fluent in Mandarin). We have calligraphy art of Chinese poetry on our walls. This isn't to say I'm an expert at all (the art was hers and she knows much more about it than I), but I do really, really enjoy it. It was one of the primary reasons I loved The Story of the Stone (one of the volumes was almost entirely poetry!).

We're getting married in a few weeks and wanted a Chinese love poem read in translation. I saw this book on Amazon, with it's glowing reviews, and bought it immediately, excited to find many gems from which to choose.

However, instead of the style of poetry I'm accustomed to, this book is simply a collection of single paragraph, whimsical thoughts. It's as if the author wrote down every random thought that went through her mind for a month, including recollection of the past, and collected them into paragraphs. And not very interesting paragraphs at that.

I believe there is a kernel of something here that could become wonderful, but it needs curation and work. Most authors would consider this collection the ideas that they're scribbling down to then process and marinated on and turn into something. Perhaps the rawness of the memories and thoughts is the purpose, and this is completely intentional, but if that's the case then, at the very least, it's not my style. Given the other great reviews, perhaps it's a matter of taste. But I didn't like it at all.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of prose-poetry with meditations on aging, family and love highlighted by bittersweet and humorous moments. Yu-han Chao has a fascination with her elders, and many of these short pieces weave a tender narrative about a variety of "old loves"—the low but strong fires of a long marriage, or the passion between a young woman and her much older lover. The best of these pieces tell short stories with the wisdom of a koan, presenting the complexity and contradiction of life in poetic and sensual moments: the sweet, warm taste of a stolen egg, the spicy bitterness of kimchi eaten out of spite, or a yao-tze eaten in shame. Chao lives in many worlds at once--China, Taiwan and the United States; the known past and the uncertain future--but the wisdom of these short works transcends time and place. This is a fine first collection that benefits from repeated readings.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of prose poems that are truly poetry. See my review in upcoming issue of Redactions journal of poetry and poetics.

[Ashley Lim Fang Ru · Rating 4 out of 5]

To my little astonishment, its not quite a profound book. The author does not display superb writing, but it leaves me with a tough of purity & authenticity.