The Winged Seed
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Products | Books |
The Winged Seed: A Remembrance is a memoir authored by Li-Young Lee and released in 1995 through Simon & Schuster. This work earned an American Book Award and was republished in 2013 by BOA Editions as part of its American Reader Series.
Contents
Told from Lee’s viewpoint while residing in his Chicago home, the memoir delves into his family’s past, centering on his grandfather, Yuan Shikai, who was the inaugural president of the Republic of China, along with his father, who acted as a personal doctor to Mao Zedong. After escaping persecution during the 1950s, Lee’s father established a university in Jakarta, Indonesia, but was subsequently detained by the Sukarno government. During his father’s imprisonment, Lee and his siblings were raised under difficult circumstances before moving first to Hong Kong and later to the United States after their father’s release. His father converted to Christianity and became a Presbyterian minister, interpreting their survival as an extraordinary event.
Critical reception
Kirkus Reviews characterized the memoir as "a haunting exploration of memory, identity, love, and exile," highlighting how Lee’s poetic expression intensifies the emotional resonance of the narrative. Publishers Weekly referred to it as a "lyrical memoir" where familial bonds and affection take precedence over political themes, providing vivid depictions of a turbulent period.
Michael Harris from the Los Angeles Times emphasized the seamless integration of prose and poetry in Lee’s storytelling, noting the commanding narrative voice that leads readers through imagery-rich sections. Arthur McMaster, contributing to Rattle, suggested that although presented as a memoir, the book resembles a "book length poem," enriched with Christian motifs and poetic narration. In Ploughshares, Kristina Kopić commended Lee’s preference for "remembrance" over conventional memoir terminology, valuing its complexity and invitation for readers to engage thoughtfully with the text.