In recent years, Anna Yin has focused on translating the poetry of Yan Li. His work is uniquely profound, shaped by a strong historical imprint and marked by black humour and layered metaphors that make translation particularly challenging. Yan Li shared over one hundred poems with Anna Yin, from which she translated more than fifty. Seventeen have appeared in leading English-language journals. In November 2024, Anna Yin received written authorization from Yan Li to publish this collection. While she was seeking publishers in North America and the United Kingdom, Yan Li passed away on June 24, 2026.
In his memory, SureWay Press has published this translated collection and now make the eBook available to a wider audience free of charge. We also deposited it with Library and Archives Canada (LAC) for public access to readers and scholars in universities and libraries who are interested in contemporary Chinese poetry.