How Often I Have Chosen Love

by Xiao Yue Shan

Color and light and life invigorate Xiao Yue Shan’s de- but chapbook—or, in her own words: “a thrill of poppy and chrysanthemum”. How Often I Have Chosen Love explores the rediscovery of her nuanced and complex family, her nuanced and complex sense of home, the nuanced and complex history of China. From the flag in Tiananmen Square to the apartments of San Francisco, Shan complicates our sense of home and history by filling every reflection and every moment with the bursting blue light of Hong Kong, the delicate sprawl of blooming vegetation—envisioning a creation myth that seeks to have “no tale of falling.” In the voice of a modern woman of two nations, Shan’s work finds her deepest authenticity. Her rich palette of color, of flower and nation and jewel, is an achievement only Shan’s unique perspective could conceive. Xiao Yue Shan is an emerging poet whose words and heart beat with the exact rhythm of our times.

Genres: Poetry

34 pages, ebook

First published March 11, 2019

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

in china they say a man is like a mountain / and a woman is like a river. it is because we spread /to fill empty spaces. because we allow for / greenness. it is because they drink / freely from us."

Shelly Shan has written a moving, lyrical collection of poetry that transports the reader around the world with her: to Harbin, to San Francisco, to Tokyo. She seeks to answer the questions: What does it means to be an emigrant? A human? A woman? And how do the history and politics of our nations shape who we are able to be?

[Tilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

a simply beautiful collection of poems that are so far from simple, so intricate & poignant & melodious <3

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! These poems stay with you.

[Mikaylynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this quick chapbook read. I found it via Frontier Poetry. I can appreciate the poetry and the length of the poems. We see lots of poets throwing a couple of words on a page but this was actually a nice length, and beautiful stories.

[Abby N Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems are told and handled with such care and delicacy. Gorgeous.

[Rue Solomon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Richa]

made me feel things!