The beauty of nature can be appreciated in every creature and place, from a tiny, squirmy worm to the majestic, rushing Niagara Falls. In Kenneth K. Chan's new poetry collection, A Night of a Blue Bird, both the small and the sublime are examined and celebrated.
This collection opens with a wistful poem full of fond memories and features both the titular bird and the poet examining his past. Chan is inspired by the events of his own life and touches upon nature, philosophy, love, and humanity. He's led two lives: one as a brilliant scientist and one as a thoughtful poet. The two converge in his work, and Chan combines his scientific skills of observation with witty and warm commentary.
In other instances, he is inspired by events from the outside world. A chance article in a newspaper inspires the heartbreaking "An Alzheimer's Love Story." A worm's valiant journey is the subject of "Worm Tracks," and Chan even writes about famous personages such as Robin Williams, Steve Jobs, and Salman Rushdie.
Chan pours his soul into his work, and it shines through in his precise, often whimsical words and his beautiful imagery.
About the Author: Kenneth K. Chan has always been passionate about Chinese literature and poetry but chose a career in science for practical reasons. After immigrating to the United States from Hong Kong in 1961 to attend college, he obtained a doctor of philosophy degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. Chan then taught as a professor of pharmacy at the University of Southern California until 1992, and as a professor of pharmaceutics and internal medicine at the Ohio State University until retirement in 2012. Chan has been widely published in the scientific community in over two hundred papers and books.
Throughout his science career, he maintained his interest in literature and continued to write Chinese poems and ci-poems, as well as English poems. His first non-science book is entitled English Translation and Interpretation of Selected Chinese Ci-Poems.
Chan is currently enjoying retirement in Northern California. He is married and has two daughters.
