—The broader the scope, the better, with clear definitions serving only to limit the potential horizons.
Despite this being the author’s first published poetry collection, no hint of novice roughness or immaturity is to be found in the structure, theme, expression, or proficiency of these poems. This young self-professed “neoclassicist” pursues uniformity and symmetry and eschews gratuitous flair in his work. Seeing “concepts” as the ideal path to poetic creativity, he integrates them together with form and content. For Hsiao’s poems, the broader the scope, the better, with clear definitions serving only to limit the potential horizons. Experience through this collection the birth of a young poet. Beyond showcasing the author’s writing prowess, the poems within address the age-old issues of forgetting and forgiving.