The river’s roar is the subtle backdrop to everything in Kangding 康定. Five hundred—even a thousand—feet up the hillside it’s still there, echoing endlessly between the valley’s mountain walls. Continue reading
My Work
What a Wanderer Lacks
In one of Thomas Wolfe’s stories (“The Lost Boy”) a man in St. Louis calls to mind how far he is from his home on the East Coast and thinks, “Oh God! but it’s a big country!” Continue reading
Bus Windows
The windows were large, clean, and clear, but all one piece. There was no way to open them, presumably so the passengers wouldn’t waste precious air-conditioning on days when there was no need for it to begin with. Continue reading
Child on the Train
A little girl in a pink cardigan, no more than four, was running up and down the hallway. Each time she passed their compartment she slowed down and craned her head sideways to look inside. She had done this three times already, and showed no sign of losing interest. He couldn’t help but laugh as she careened past a fourth time and made a screeching halt to flash them a peace sign. Continue reading
Trees on a Hillside
The train lurched out of the tunnel and into the open air. The rich, lime-green of summer rice-fields carpeted the valley that spread suddenly before him in the slanting rays of the setting sun-the light-itself a visible thing: part of the scenery, more than illumination. Continue reading
Strolling
It all began with jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), a sidewalk table, and an unusually beautiful November day … Continue reading
Poetry (4): Weaving the World
Just bought tickets to the Association of Asian Studies conference in Seattle and realized that I’ll be following in reverse the same route I took on my first trip to China in 1996. On that trip I flew from Seattle to Beijing to Chengdu. This time I’ll go from Chengdu to Beijing to Seattle. On top of that, I’ll be arriving in Seattle ten days short of the twentieth anniversary of my first arrival in China!
Poetry (2)
This is an old one, but one of my favorites. I post in in gratitude to my nephew, Jack Boyanton, who’s performance at the Berklee College Songwriters Showcase left me truly inspired. It’s a wonderful thing to give voice to the world. Continue reading
Poetry (1)
Returning to Chengdu
The mountains have been calling me.
I turn to them once more. Continue reading
Ten Thousand Li 