Selina Li Bi
"...the moon is a pearl
and the sky a silver blue ocean."
Books & Publications
Poetry
Poetry Chapbook
Displaced
Displaced is a collection of poetry based on Selina Li Bi's experience as a second generation Asian American and the exploration of the dichotomy of cultures in which she was raised.
The breathtaking poems in Displaced depict an epic journey hidden in plain sight. In navigating the intricately braided histories of home, language, and loss, they lovingly and longingly illustrate – beyond the shadow of a doubt – how the eerie shadows of the past come to make us who we are. As Li Bi imagines a place where “your lips speak / a language / my tongue / longs to know,” we come to know intimately a deep and ancient truth: the oceans between us are also within us. Mabuhay, fellow traveler, you have arrived. You are here.
– Kevin Carollo, author of the chapbook Elizabeth Gregory
Selina Li Bi ’s Displaced is an evocative, lyrical sequence of poems as delicately palpable as ink on rice paper. Filled with reminiscence and yearning for lost people, objects, and landscapes, Li Bi ’s adept and haunting rhythms and images transform a past both real and imagined into a mythology that’s ever present: only this, she tells us, only this, and this, and this. What might have been exotic tourism in lesser hands is transformed into a tapestry of instances that arcs emotionally like a
series of remembered dreams. Poems worth reading and rereading and keeping near to hand.
– Alan Davis, author of So Bravely Vegetative and co-editor of Visiting Bob: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Bob Dylan
There is a beautiful solitude in Selina’s poems, full of yearning and ancestral memories. Her lyrical poems are silk petals unfurling. Like tiny flames burning on the tip of your tongue, these poems will stay with you long after reading.
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– Denise Lajimodiere, author of Dragonfly Dance, Bitter Tears, Thunderbird, His Feathers Were Chains, Stringing Rosaries: The History, the Unforgivable and the Healing of Northern Plains American Indian Boarding School Survivors, Josie Dances
Poetry Links
Anthology
Nonwhite and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World
Edited by Darien Hsu Gee and Carla Crujido
Publication Date
Available Now. Trade print and e-book, bookstore and e-tailer distribution through Independent Publishers Group (IPG).
9781949116694
09/06/2022
$19.95
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About the Anthology
Nonwhite and Woman celebrates how women of color live and thrive in the world, and how they make their lives their own. The anthology’s title is from Lucille Clifton's luminous poem, won’t you celebrate with me, which serves as the anthology’s epigraph. The poem's inclusion in the anthology is granted from Copper
Canyon Press.
Children's Books
Gymnastics Comeback
Capstone
Jake Maddox series
As an eighth grader, Suzy has just joined the high school gymnastics team, so she is crushed when she gets injured and can't practice or compete. Meanwhile her mother wishes she wouldn't participate in gymnastics and would focus her efforts on her piano playing instead. Facing pressures from her team, her coach, and her mother, Suzy has to take charge of her own destiny. Can she make a comeback in time to help her team defeat its biggest rival?
Ling's Giant Mooncake
Ling is famous for his special mooncakes. The local giant decides he wants a mooncake for the Moon Festival, and Ling and the villagers must work together to satisfy his "giant" sweet tooth.
Ting's Subway Mystery
Ting is fascinated by the elderly woman who always sits across from her on the subway.
When the woman leaves something behind
on the subway, Ting is determined to return
it to her. This mystery fiction book will engage advancing readers while supporting their
journey to independent reading.
Camp Whatchamacallit
It's Sam's first time at camp, and there is a nature scavenger hunt competition. But Sam is allergic to everything outdoors, and he just wants to go home. Can Sam survive the outdoors long enough to win?
About
Selina Li Bi was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in North Dakota. After practicing as an optometrist for many years, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University Moorhead.
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Her writing has appeared in riksha: Asian American Creative Arts in Action, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Cricket, and Red Weather Literary Magazine. As a second generation Asian American, the dichotomy of cultures in which she grew up in has weaved its way into much of her work.
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Selina currently lives in North Dakota. She is a daughter, a sister, a wife, and mother of three emerging adults. Two loyal pups are her writing companions. Running and yoga keep her grounded. She believes art has the power to connect, inspire, and awaken one’s sense of belonging in this world.
