Poems by Flora Belle Jan and Ludmelia Holstein

By Fleur Yano

The authors of this slender volume of poetry are Flora Belle Jan and Ludmelia Holstein, brought together by historical circumstances and by their passion for poetry. Jan, a Chinese American flapper and journalist, was born in Fresno, California. Holstein, born in Russia of German speaking parents, grew up in Fresno from the age of eight. These collected poems express the exuberance and intensity of their youth. Jans life was short. Their friendship lived on in their poetry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 10, 2009
• ISBN: 9781441577153

Fleur Yano

Fleur Yano, a daughter of Flora Jan and long time friend of Ludmelia (Aunt Ludy), is a Professor Emerita of Physics at California State University, Los Angeles. She lives in Southern California.

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Copyright © 2009 by Fleur Yano.

Library of Congress Control Number:              2009908071

ISBN:                    Hardcover                  978-1-4415-6290-6

ISBN:                    Softcover                    978-1-4415-6289-0

ISBN:                    Ebook                         978-1-4415-7715-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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64176

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Editor’s Notes

Part One

Seaside Frolics

Smiles

Our Brave Defenders

Merry Christmas

New Year’s Eve

The Girl Who Lost

Saturday—Oh!

Good-bye

Ludy O’ Mine

Dissatisfaction

The Waitresses’ Club

Dear Maid of the City of B

Farewell, Country Pal

He Said I Broke His Heart

Good-bye to Love Forever

My Loyal Chum

Happy Birthday

You May Call It

What You Wish

When Your Dream Ship

Comes In

Mencius

Two Poems

East and West

To the one who supplanted me

Why He Went to

the Conference

Something Exquisite

Self-Delight

Vows

The Absolute

If True, Why?

To a Chinese Mother

Half a Dozen Hokkus

For Ludmelia

Part two

My Alma Mater

Autumn Leaves

My Secret

When the Half Gods Go

Tombs of the Living

To One Who Loves Bigness

To One—

Who Knew I Loved Him

Your Words

For Flora Belle

Asters

After Weeping

De Profundis

On the Lampus

The Hypocrite

Empty Benches

Rainy Nights

Love’s Chapel

Gifts

Three Poems

Burning Winds

Ovation

To Flora Belle in China

END NOTES

Preface

Flora Belle Jan was a Chinese American flapper and journalist. She was my mother. The multifaceted story of her life is recorded in a recent book, Unbound Spirit: Letters of Flora Belle Jan (University of Illinois Press, 2009). In moments of exuberance, her letters would burst from prose to verse. Almost all the letters were written to her intimate friend Ludmelia Holstein. Because the published letters primarily served to inform certain historical and sociological aspects of Jan’s life, many of her poems were omitted. The poems in this volume are partly from those letters and partly from published sources cited in Collected Writings of Flora Belle Jan (Xlibris, 2008). Also contained in this volume are poems by Ludmelia Holstein. Because poetry was one of the factors that brought together the two women who became close friends, I