Identity Papers

Poetry. Asian American Studies. In the aftermath of a random act of violence, Lee has "found it necessary to create new forms of language that were as visceral as they were lyrical, as brutal as they were intellectual"--from the Author's Preface. At once dramatist, poet, and storyteller, Lee explores the bewilderment of the modern world and consciousness. The poem's speaker is seriously hurt, yet passersby ignore him, and the police mistake him for the perpetrator. In this circumstance, Lee "shows what it means to assert ones identity, to live with and be close to others while remaining true to oneself--a heroic undertaking for any writer in this day"-Thaddeus Rutkowski. The title poem has been written and recorded as a full-length dramatic poem for two voices, yet the visual experience of the poem is a critical one.