Ae Hee Lee : part five

How does a poem begin?

It begins in what ifs, whys, hows. In a word nestled in the ear or the kaleidoscopic flicker of an image. In possibility and desire. In a breadcrumb leading to another breadcrumb or a clearing. In what's overwhelming or scarce. I suspect a poem is and has been always beginning, and I am just catching up with it.

Ae Hee Lee : part four

Why is poetry important?

What drew me to poetry was the value it placed in each individual word. Poetry reminds me that every tiny thing matters. In a world so vast and often cause of much loneliness, this thought is of great consolation to me.

Ae Hee Lee : part three

Has your consideration of poetry changed since you began?

When I started out, I thought it was all about mastery. We live in a culture that values control and power. However, I gradually allowed myself to be led by the poem and be surprised by it. I love the broken corners, the colossal murals and dead-ends, the long way home— the views I would have not stopped for if by myself. Sometimes it can be exhausting, as it is a path filled with uncertainty. But I believe it also leaves more room for wonder.

Ae Hee Lee : part two

How do you know when a poem is finished?

I tend to think poems resemble us (or is it that we resemble poems?) in that they are never really finished. They exist as versions of themselves at different points in time. However, there are specific moments when I realize I would be comfortable sending the poem out to a journal. For me, the revision process is sort of a dialogue I engage with the poem. We ask each other where we want to go and what do we want to say but couldn’t in a way that feels complete to us. After a while, the conversation comes to a natural pause. It’s then when I know I’m ready to let the poem go. However, there are times where the conversation resumes after the poem has been sent out or even after it has been published. I go back and revise the poem. I add more connections, questions, and sometimes, entirely new poems will come out from that practice.

Ae Hee Lee : part one

Born in South Korea and raised in Peru, Ae Hee Lee currently lives in the United States. She holds an MFA from the University of Notre Dame, where she was awarded an Academy of American Poets Prize, and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks: Dear bear, (Platypus Press, 2021) and Bedtime || Riverbed (Compound Press, 2017). Most recently, her work Connotary was selected as the winner for the 2021 Frost Place Chapbook Competition. Her poetry can be found at Poetry Northwest, The Georgia Review, and New England Review, among others.

What are you working on?

Aside from writing more poems for a full-length that expands on my latest chapbook, Connotary, I’ve been working on spacing out more often.