Yang Lin’s poems in this collection convey emancipation and the eternal spirit of freedom. Setting the tone, the first presented, Not, addresses an entity that “Like a night that comes and goes, /You bloom rocks.” These poems inspire on a profound level, uplifting the heart and delighting with frequent, insightful surprises, such as “Your shadow conceals lightening / My eyes are full of thorny flowers blooming” (from Raindrops) and “The mountains are the draperies that draw open one by one / The world hiding in the bamboo groves and hills” (from The Village of Dong Folks).
Yang Lin is an accomplished poet, unbound by self-conscious constraints, at the same time discerning, sophisticated, educated. I have been enchanted by his range and brilliance.
Taking the spirit of classical forms and themes, Yang Lin transports us to a place where our modern spirits behold the beauty of universal themes. The poetic space creates a haunting emptiness. Even in this space he gives us a light to the path. These honest lines comfort and challenge. Take this journey with him. You’ll be glad you did.
Doug Johnson, PhD, Editor/Publisher of Cave Moon Press (USA)
Inspired and inspiring, Yang Lin’s The Flawless with Flaw offers rich imagery and deep insight, which are readily perceivable to the reader even well beyond the language barrier. A highly worthy read.
Changming Yuan, PhD, Author of Chansons of a Chinaman
& Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of Poetry Pacific (Canada)
Yang Lin is an exceptional poet who “deny those unreal cloud and mist, and keep dreams deeply concealed” (From Not). His poems steadily seek linguistic symmetry and balance between reality and fantasy, as well as dark and dawn. The lightning of soul lights up “the strange faces”, and the whole world in the meantime.
Diablo, Litt.D., President of the International Poetry Translation and Research Centre
& Executive editor of multilingual of the World Poets Quarterly (China)