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truebookaddict's review
5.0
Septuagenarian is a poetic memoir. Born to a mixed race mother and a Chinese father, Quan Lee's collection of poems describe her experiences of the expectation to pass as white (as her mother did before her), her father's abandonment, motherhood, racism, the pandemic, and growing old.
I love poetry because, not only does it give insight into the poet, I also catch glimpses of myself, or aspects of my life and loved ones among the verses. I couldn't help thinking of my mom who is now also a septuagenarian. The words really resonated with me.
I found so many beautiful words as I read. This verse from "Night Tremors" made me think of children who do not have easy lives:
The weight a child wears
bears so much room for sadness.
"What Preceded Today," a poem about the Black experience:
You know you don't love the me that is defiant,
that is angry
that needs to know what preceded me, that
needs to know
what separates me, that separates us, that needs to
understand...
These lines from "I Didn't Need to Save the World" spoke to me of the realization that things happen for a reason, whether we believe this because we believe in God, or because we believe in fate, as I do. The words hit home.
Whatever road I would have taken would
have ended
at the same destination
Because it's story. And story ends where it begins.
These lines from "Love Is What Happens" remind me of the rhetoric during the pandemic "you wear masks, stay in lock down, social distance because you are afraid." Powerful.
I hear fearful I see me brave.
We know who will die next. Are we ready to end the pandemic
of hate your neighbor, hate the person that isn't you?
This...what could be a better explanation of love? From "And When I Die":
We surge together what is broken
for another glimpse of love.
Perhaps, the heart
broken is what saves us;
perhaps, if we love for only one day
it's enough.
At the end of the collection, Quan Lee talks about the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. It's her explanation of how she made sense of the things going on in the world, and what was on her mind during the pandemic. At least, that is my interpretation. It's brilliant. Here's an excerpt from "Writing Exercise":
I discovered within my memoir of verse that I was saying more than I had said, that for me the
personal continues to be political, and all things are temporary. The memory of what has preceded
me implodes and love is my act of survival.
"Love is my act of survival." Let that sink in. Wow.
Amazing, amazing collection. This is one I'll be coming back to again and again. Highly recommend.
Thank you to Poetic Book Tours for having me on the tour, and for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I love poetry because, not only does it give insight into the poet, I also catch glimpses of myself, or aspects of my life and loved ones among the verses. I couldn't help thinking of my mom who is now also a septuagenarian. The words really resonated with me.
I found so many beautiful words as I read. This verse from "Night Tremors" made me think of children who do not have easy lives:
The weight a child wears
bears so much room for sadness.
"What Preceded Today," a poem about the Black experience:
You know you don't love the me that is defiant,
that is angry
that needs to know what preceded me, that
needs to know
what separates me, that separates us, that needs to
understand...
These lines from "I Didn't Need to Save the World" spoke to me of the realization that things happen for a reason, whether we believe this because we believe in God, or because we believe in fate, as I do. The words hit home.
Whatever road I would have taken would
have ended
at the same destination
Because it's story. And story ends where it begins.
These lines from "Love Is What Happens" remind me of the rhetoric during the pandemic "you wear masks, stay in lock down, social distance because you are afraid." Powerful.
I hear fearful I see me brave.
We know who will die next. Are we ready to end the pandemic
of hate your neighbor, hate the person that isn't you?
This...what could be a better explanation of love? From "And When I Die":
We surge together what is broken
for another glimpse of love.
Perhaps, the heart
broken is what saves us;
perhaps, if we love for only one day
it's enough.
At the end of the collection, Quan Lee talks about the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. It's her explanation of how she made sense of the things going on in the world, and what was on her mind during the pandemic. At least, that is my interpretation. It's brilliant. Here's an excerpt from "Writing Exercise":
I discovered within my memoir of verse that I was saying more than I had said, that for me the
personal continues to be political, and all things are temporary. The memory of what has preceded
me implodes and love is my act of survival.
"Love is my act of survival." Let that sink in. Wow.
Amazing, amazing collection. This is one I'll be coming back to again and again. Highly recommend.
Thank you to Poetic Book Tours for having me on the tour, and for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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