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REPLAY: Yiyun Li on Grief, Attention, Deep Reading, and the Writing Life

Feb 15, 2026

Guest

Yiyun Li

Yiyun Li, acclaimed fiction writer and memoirist celebrated for precise, emotionally resonant prose. She talks about discovering characters as moods or glimpses. She describes note‑taking, attention to thought and language, and writing interior drama rather than action. She discusses reading and writing through grief, precision in a second language, and beginning a wide historical project.

01:24:17

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ANECDOTE

A Five-Cent Notebook Sparked A Character

Yiyun Li describes a notebook bought for five cents at a garage sale that triggered a character's voice.
That imagined voice asked, 'how much life do you have to be recorded in two notebooks?', and the character was born.

insights

INSIGHT

Patience Reveals The Story's Layers

Writing requires patience to dig past the first layer of an idea.
Yiyun Li follows instincts through several layers until she finds the path that becomes a story.

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ADVICE

Use Copying To Survive Hard Days

When grief makes time unbearable, use concrete hand-to-eye tasks like copying literature.
Yiyun Li copies Shakespeare and Tolstoy to occupy minutes and shift mental space during hardship.

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Influences: Trevor, Galant, Bowen

04:51 • 4min

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Finding Characters: 'In the Ether'

08:37 • 4min

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Notes, Notebooks, and Catching Voices

12:15 • 4min

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Patience and The Layers of a Story

16:07 • 5min

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Themes: Loss, Absence, and Interior Lives

20:53 • 4min

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Writing Interior Drama, Not Action

25:14 • 5min

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Attention to Thought and Language

29:52 • 2min

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Reading and Writing Through Grief

32:01 • 5min

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Resisting Cliché Around Pain

Writing About Personal Tragedy

45:26 • 4min

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Biography: From Beijing to Iowa

49:25 • 4min

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Early Reading and Censorship in China

53:40 • 5min

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Propaganda Experience and Choosing English

58:51 • 5min

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Choosing Iowa and Leaving Science

01:03:43 • 8min

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Precision in a Second Language

01:11:42 • 2min

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Mental Health, Recovery, and Reading

01:13:32 • 3min

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Daily Routine: Reading, Teaching, Writing

01:16:13 • 3min

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Current Project: A Wide Historical Novel

01:19:30 • 4min

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Meaning, Fate, and Writing Others' Stories

• Mentioned in 268 episodes

Moby Dick

Herman Melville

Moby-Dick is a novel that tells the story of Captain Ahab's maniacal quest for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg. Narrated by Ishmael, the story follows the crew of the whaling ship Pequod as they embark on a journey that explores themes of obsession, man vs. nature, and the existential questions of good and evil. The novel is rich in detailed descriptions of whale hunting and life aboard a culturally diverse crew, and it has become a cornerstone of American and world literature.

#1951

• Mentioned in 23 episodes

Lady Chatterley's Lover

D.H. Lawrence

The novel centers around Lady Constance Chatterley, who is married to Sir Clifford Chatterley, a wealthy and paralyzed war veteran. Constance's marriage is emotionally and physically unfulfilling, leading her to an affair with Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper on her husband's estate. The relationship between Constance and Mellors highlights the class differences and the search for integrity and wholeness through a balance of mind and body. The novel is known for its explicit descriptions of sexual intercourse and its reflection on the impact of industrialization on modern society. It ends with Constance and Mellors separated but hopeful for a future together once their divorces are finalized.

#4181

• Mentioned in 12 episodes

Things in Nature Merely Grow

Yiyun Li's "Wednesday's Child" is a collection of short stories that showcases her exceptional talent for crafting emotionally resonant narratives. The stories explore a range of themes, including family, identity, and the complexities of human relationships. Li's writing is characterized by its introspective nature and its ability to capture the nuances of human experience. The stories in this collection are both poignant and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. The collection's exploration of universal themes makes it a timeless and relevant read. The stories' emotional depth and literary merit make it a significant contribution to contemporary literature.

#71

• Mentioned in 218 episodes

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, 'War and Peace' follows the lives of several Russian aristocratic families, including the Bezukhovs, the Rostovs, and the Bolkonskys. The novel spans from 1805 to 1820 and is known for its realistic detail and psychological analysis. It explores the impact of Napoleon's invasion of Russia on the characters and society, delving into themes of love, family, war, and personal growth. The novel includes historical events such as the Battle of Austerlitz, the Treaties of Tilsit, and the French invasion of Russia, intertwining historical and fictional elements.

Dear friend, from my life I write to you in your life

Yiyun Li

Today on the program, a trip into the archive and a return to Episode 863, my conversation with Yiyun Li from 2023.

Yiyun Li is the author of several works of fiction—Wednesday’s Child; The Book of Goose; Must I Go; Where Reasons End; Kinder Than Solitude; Gold Boy, Emerald Girl; The Vagrants; and A Thousand Years of Good Prayers—and the memoirs Things in Nature Merely Grow and Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life. She is the recipient of many awards, including a PEN/Faulkner Award, a PEN/Malamud Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, a PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a Windham–Campbell Prize, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, A Public Space, The Best American Short Stories, and The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, among other publications. She teaches at Princeton University and lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Original air date: September 6, 2023.

***

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