“Not finding my birth parents nudged me into making peace within myself, sort of a forgiveness of Korea, of the adoption.”
Read MoreBeauty and violence. Despair and hope. Racism and tolerance. Some might reference these words, aligned alongside one another, as juxtaposition. Others might label this a power move. I would clarify that, when used by Lee Herrick, it is life-altering and, in his third book, Scar and Flower (Word Poetry Press, 2019), Herrick delivers just that. He approaches prose with passion, a vengeance against social injustice, but also with subtlety and elegance.
In his opening poem, “Dear _______,”;
...I saw my daughter cradle the broken body of a tiny bird. I saw a young poet repair the broken charm of a younger poet...
Herrick’s work pushes a shifting lens, a way to see the world through more than one filter, affording an opportunity to compare, contrast, and uncover the coexistence of duplicities within life in a way that pauses breath and ceases a moment. In a way that alters the view forever. In a way that matters most.
I had the honor of interviewing Lee Herrick about his writing processes, his influences, and his works.