Product details
ASIN : B0H6HWLNFB
Publisher : Silver Bow Publishing
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : June 24, 2026
Language : English
File size : 1.9 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 250 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1774034422
Bamakoola
by Yuan Changming (Author)
This is my 17th solo poetry collection, comprising 224 love poems written since October 2019, following a reunion with my "first love" after more than 40 years of separation. Approximately 70% of these poems have been previously published in various literary outlets. The title, Bamakoola, is a word of my own invention—a neologism signifying a place where the soul finds rest, or a personal paradise.
There are three points worth noting regarding the publication of this book:
A Literary Record: To the best of my knowledge, no Chinese author has ever composed and published such a large body of original love poetry in English. Even when considering the vast breadth of both Chinese and English literature, the act of producing and publishing such a significant volume of original love poetry—inspired by a single, lifelong muse—in one's later years is a rare historical feat. Consequently, this collection represents my highest literary achievement; should I pass away, this body of work allows me to close my eyes with peace of mind.
A Triple Trilogy: This poetry collection is a trilogy about 'silver romance' and serves as a companion piece to my prose trilogy, Towards (2026). Additionally, my creative nonfiction trilogy, Getting Away, is complete and awaiting publication. These three trilogies across different genres represent the core of my creative ambition. While they may not have received mainstream attention, they embody the essence of my literary mind and emotional journey. Interestingly, the first 47 poems were published by my own press during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic—a time when I feared I might not survive due to heart issues. A selection of 100 poems from this collection will be published at the end of this month by an American press under the title Museum of Limerence. I am confident that Getting Away will soon find a home with a publisher as well.
Dedicated to a Muse: All 224 love poems—along with my novel trilogy, the creative nonfiction trilogy, a philosophical novel, and some 80 short stories/essays—were inspired by and written for one woman from Hubei, my native province in China. The vast majority of these were composed between 2021 and 2023, during the peak of our "silver romance." I have written seven or eight additional pieces recently that were not included in this collection. As she has requested that I no longer write creative nonfiction or any prosework about her, I will likely restrict myself to the occasional love poem from here on out. Considering that Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets to his beloved, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote dozens to her husband, and Yu Kwang-chung wrote 100 poems for his wife, my muse has certainly received quite a collection from me.
On a side note: while pursuing my wife, I wrote 500 diary-style love poems in three months, though none were ever published. My work in the Chinese language has rarely found favor with editors or readers in that sphere, which is why I chose to shy away from Chinese-language writing early in my career.
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