Poetry. Asian American Studies. Yu Yan Chen's debut collection takes us on a wandering across continents. Whether it is a courtyard in rural China, a ferry in Istanbul, or Times Square in New York, each poem is an unbeaten track imbued with the poet's at once intense but refreshing insights about family, home, identity and the quest for inner strength. The opening verse asks the readers to imagine guitar legend Django Reinhardt's fingers grinding the strings after two of them were badly burned in a fire, and "every nerve aflame" is the prelude to poems that transcend memories and losses into melodies of hope and light. These distilled joys and fears, set against the backdrops of Yu Yan Chen's creative use of language and her cinematic visions, will transport the readers to a passionate conversation about the essence of being alive. SMALL HOURS lights up your sky and brings flowers to your table.

Author City: BROOKLYN, NY USA

Yu Yan Chen was born in a fishing village in China but grew up in New York City. Enchanted by the traveler's tales her grandfather told, she set sail to seek her own adventures. She is an interpreter and literary translator. Her poems have been published in the US, UK and China. Most recently, she is the author of SMALL HOURS (NYQ Books, 2011). She lives in Brooklyn.