Lion explores Asian American identity, including visibility and invisibility in public and private realms. The written text mines personal memory in association with elements of safety and danger as an Asian American woman comes of age in the United States. Violence against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic is set against the inner, lyrical explorations of a self that pushes the boundaries of language and form in search of an identity that resists categorization.

The title of the poetry collection, Lion, focuses its attention on the cultural history, etymology, and folklore of the word. In Chinese culture the image of the lion is a composite of five animals: the horn is from the phoenix, the ears and tail are from the unicorn, the spine is from the snake, the back of the head is from a tortoise and the beard is from the dragon. A large, carnivorous feline, the lion is traditionally male. The word and its narrative traditions and usage are explored throughout the collection, examining ideals of strength, courage, and mastery.

Many of the poems are written in response to multi- hyphenate artists (those who operate in more than one medium: text, video, illustration, collage, painting, light, sculpture) such as Christina Yuna Lee, Astria Suparak, Hồng-Ân Trương, Haena Yoo and others who participated in the group exhibition, With her Voice, Penetrates Earth’s Floor, in memory of Christina Yuna Lee, after her death. What preceded the inclusion of each artist’s work was discussion and reflective exchange about the COVID-19 era, its impact, and safety for Asian American women in environments of surveillance and violence; the nature of fear, and the grief that remains.