Hedgehog's Psalms

Author: Li Yawei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: If one must grant a "source-like" crown to contemporary Chinese poetry, Li Yawei would be an excellent choice. The millennia-old tradition of Chinese language has been torn apart and trampled upon by him, yet he dreams of it with cautious love—this talent is innate, requiring no awakening. —Zhang Xiaobo
The pleasure brought by Li Yawei's poetry does not refer to the ease of abandoning "spiritual ascent," nor to cheap, everyday humor, nor to the use of a few cheerful words in poetry. Rather, it refers to a poet's poetic expression within a relatively intact nature. For Li Yawei, language is not the result of his learning and thinking as a "intellectual," but an innate gift, the way his healthy nature exists. —Li Zhen
Like Ginsberg to the "Beat Generation," the one who truly embodies the nomadic, adventurous, rebellious spirit and practice of the third-generation poetry movement is undoubtedly the "Manghan" school, especially Li Yawei himself. From any perspective, Li Yawei can be called a source-like poet, directly inspiring figures like Yi Sha of the "Post-Oral" school and Shen Haobo of the "Lower Body" school. —Li Shaojun
Among contemporary poets, Li Yawei may be the one who focuses most on history and geography. His profound sense of history allows him to dismiss his contemporaries and singular viewpoints, willing to narrate from different angles without revealing literary ambitions. Merely repeating the portrayal of being trapped can enhance the complexity of the poetry. With clever commentary, he lightly mocks the utilitarianism of his contemporaries in a single stroke. —Zhang Wanxin
From Li Yawei's poetry, I perceive certain aspects of what is called the "masculine" quality: first, wildness; second, roughness. Wildness is reflected in his unrestrained, boundless nature, while roughness lies in loving freely and without restraint. I believe that "masculine" here is not a marker of gender but a marker of power, as every man has an innate desire to be a "king." The realm of a king is forged through struggle, and struggle always begins with causing trouble. —Li Dewu
The pleasure brought by Li Yawei's poetry does not refer to the ease of abandoning "spiritual ascent," nor to cheap, everyday humor, nor to the use of a few cheerful words in poetry. Rather, it refers to a poet's poetic expression within a relatively intact nature. For Li Yawei, language is not the result of his learning and thinking as a "intellectual," but an innate gift, the way his healthy nature exists.