Chinese Blackbird

Critical Acclaim for Sherry Quan Lee’s Chinese Blackbird'Quan Lee eloquently expresses how painful and confusing it can be toembrace the many complex identities that one body can contain. Withevocative imagery and words that cut straight to the heart, Quan Leedetails her lifelong struggles with both the vagaries and concreteness ofrace, class, gender and sexual identity. Her guilt and shame are palpable.But so too are her emotional and intellectual triumphs. Like a favorite sadsong when we have been dumped by the love of our lives, this volumewill be oddly comforting to anyone who has ever been overcome by thatsorrow which seems insurmountable.'--Eden Torres, Assistant Professor Women’s Studies, Chicano Studies, University of Minnesota'It’s been a long time since I’ve been treated to a voice so full of honestyabout one’s struggle to come to terms with her identity. Throughelegant poetry, full of exquisite imagery and detail, Quan Lee takes thereader on her personal, transformative journey in which she explores howrace, class, gender and sexual identity inform who she is. Along the way,she encounters rocks and boulders that would have stopped many of us.Instead, she turns them over and examines the creatures hiding in thedarkness underneath, leaving no stone on her path unturned. Quan Leeis a courageous woman. She is one of my sheroes.'--Carolyn Holbrook, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept. of English,Founder and past Artistic/Executive Director of SASE: The Write Place'In Chinese Blackbird, Sherry Quan Lee renders stories of her complex culturalheritage with the lyrical touch of a poet coming into self-possession.Through the generative power of language, Lee creates an inspirational anda multifarious self. This self blows breath unto the page and into the reader,who may have felt quiescent or invisible, often feeling forced to chooseamong various enriching worlds, until she experiences the truth that onlygood literature can unveil about the joys and struggles of defining oneself onone’s terms.' --Pamela R. Fletcher, Associate Professor of EnglishCo-Director of Critical Studies in Race and Ethnicity, College of St. CatherineLearn more about the author at www.SherryQuanLee.comBook #3 in the Reflections of History Series from Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.comModern History Press is an imprint of Loving Healing Press