The debut collection of Agnes Lynch Starrett winner Shao Wei, a Chinese-American poet, blends fairy tales, New York images, family stories, and the universal rites of passage associated with growing up to paint a vibrant canvas of passion and imagination. She captures the struggle of many immigrants as she describes her efforts to balance the influences of her childhood along the Yangtze river and her adulthood in New York City.

Shao Wei teaches English composition at the College of New Rochelle, Rosa Parks Campus, and Chinese at the China Institute, both in New York City. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Parnassus and Crab Orchard Review, as well as in Asia and Europe. The recipient of numerous honors, she is the author of NineSongs, Females, a poetry collection published in Chinese, and Culture Bird: Looking for Myself in New York, a work of nonfiction.