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Moonlight Rests on My Left Palm

Poems and Essays

by Yu Xiuhua

Astra House

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Astra House

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Description

Starting with the viral poem “Crossing Half of China to Fuck You,” Yu Xiuhua’s raw collection chronicles her life as a disabled, divorced, single mother in rural China.

Yu Xiuhua was born with cerebral palsy in Hengdian village in the Hubei Province, in central China. Unable to attend college, travel, or work the land with her parents, Yu remained home where she could help with housework. Eventually she was forced into an arranged marriage that became abusive. She divorced her husband and moved back in with her parents, taking her son with her.

In defiance of the stigma attached to her disability, her status as a divorced single mother, and as a peasant in rural China, Yu found her voice in poetry. Starting in the late 90’s, her writing became a vehicle with which to explore and share her reflections on homesickness, family and ancestry, the reality of disability in the context of a body’s urges and desires.

Then, Yu's poem “Crossing Half of China to Fuck You” blew open the doors on the patriarchal and traditionalist world of contemporary Chinese poetry. She became an internet sensation, finding a devoted following among young readers who enthusiastically welcomed her fresh, bold, confessional voice into the literary canon.

Thematically organized, Yu’s essays and poems are in conversation with each other around subjects that include love, nostalgia, mortality, the natural world and writing itself.

Advance Praise

"Yu Xiuhua’s Moonlight Rests on My Left Palm, translated by Fiona Sze-Lorrain, grows out of highly personal terrain. This farmer-poet says in an essay (Moonlight is sectioned by eight lyrical essays): 'We have man-handled so many words that I only dream of using them anew.' Yu says exactly what she means; and Sze-Lorrain honors the feeling and music in intimate translation. Thus, the poet’s language rises out of the natural, tinged by elemental soil and light."

— Yusef Komunyakaa, author of Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth

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National media campaign including print, radio, and online coverage

Pitch for feature stories and author profiles

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Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781662600470
PRICE	$21.00 (USD)

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Featured Reviews

McKenzie P, Reviewer

My Recommendation

I know that I am going to be in the minority, but I actually liked the essays in this collection more than the poetry. There. I said it. The poetry just didn't really speak to me, but that's fine. Poetry is very subjective. However, after having lived in China for almost four years, I found the essays to be more interesting. They speak to a society that is very conformative, but never being able to conform because of the authors cerebral palsy. They speak of people seeking more pain in her poetry than they have any right to. People trying to judge how much she has suffered by equating it with a disability.

My favorite part is when she discusses what it means to be a strong woman and rejection of the word strong in general. "A strong woman is essentially an unfortunate being who can't lean on others for help. In a way, her life is a failure. Fortunately, neither success nor failure is shameful or shocking in life: because of a failed life, her life lies right before her own eyes. We do not live to show others what our lives are, nor do we live to please anyone.... Strength is, therefore, about ourselves..."

I have no doubt that the poems will speak to a great many people, but for me it was the essays. I would recommend this for anyone looking for some poetry or somewhat philosophical essays to dive into. I enjoyed reading about the authors life and childhood as well, but the poems just didn't bring as much to the table for me. I look forward to seeing more by Yu Xiuhua in the future.

Thank you to Astra Publishing House and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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