Home Kezai

I’m Kezai (Yueke Li). I’m a poet and an anthropologist, though sometimes I think of my real self as a fairy born in a small county town, wandering through the human world writing poems and learning about humanity. Poetry and song are simply how I breathe. I’m endlessly fascinated by imagination and by the entanglements between humans and all other beings. Right now, my dearest wish is to grow a food forest of my own. I love to cook for friends, whisper creative blessings before meals, sing alone in the rain, and dance barefoot in the park. At the moment, my favorite animals are parrots. I’m devoting myself to learning the delicate art of care.

About My Writing

I write poetry above all else, but I also create in the forms of creative nonfiction, fiction, and ethnographic essays. Writing—when it becomes a living verb—is my greatest source of vitality. My poems have received multiple major awards and have been published in Chinese, English, and other collections. I imagine my writing as a shimmering hourglass device: when the rushing experiences of life pass through it, each form and genre echoes back in its own way. Poetry lies at the deepest chamber of the hourglass, where time stretches into something long, slow, and immeasurable. More about my work can be found on the Writing & Works page.

About My Research

My academic journey moved from geography into anthropology, where I found a discipline that nurtures my curiosity and care. It began in the ordinary landscapes of my childhood—a factory community in a small county town in Southwest China—and gradually widened into an exploration of how humans and other beings meet, touch, and transform one another. At the heart of my research is a question: in the Anthropocene, how do beings reach across their boundaries to become close, and how do such bonds take shape or unravel? Anthropology has taught me to notice my own vulnerability and limitations, and to recognize the practices that emerge within them. It has also shown me how people dwelling in different worlds craft their own forms of flourishing. For me, anthropology is also a source of creative force: a companion to my writing, and a way of imagining alternative cultures and ways of living. My longstanding interests include care, environment, disability, infrastructure, fieldwork, and ethnographic methods. I currently conduct fieldwork in southern China and NZ. More about my academic work can be found on the Academic Works page.

About My Practice

I love the shared rhythms of community life and have been a community practitioner for many years, while also staying mindful of its layered complexities. I’m drawn to collaborations that cross the many borders of anthropology. Through creative workshop(usually rooted in writing) I learn from different lives and explore how our collective imagination flows through the spaces opened up by making together. You can find records of past workshops and information about new ones on the Events page.

Welcome！

About My Writing

About My Research

About My Practice