In the preface to Hamill's newest book of translations of Chinese poetry, W.S. Merwin wrote that the poet "represents a lifetime's devotion to the classic originals, which survived in a long, subtle, intricate current. Hamill draws, with erudition, gratitude, and years of fond listening, upon two traditions at once. The great Chinese poets, for their formality and regard for conventions, speak often with a directness which make them seem surprisingly intimate and close to us."

Sam Hamill has written more than thirty volumes of poetry, three collections of essays, and translations in several languages. His Destination Zero: Poems 1970-1995 (White Pine Press, 1995) received a Pushcart Prize and his poetry collection, Gratitude (BOA Editions Ltd., 1998), was a finalist for the 1999 Independent Publisher Book Award in Poetry. In 2000, BOA published Hamill's Crossing the Yellow River: Three Hundred Poems from the Chinese. He is a contributing editor for The American Poetry Review, directs the Port Townsend Writers' Conference, and is editor at Copper Canyon Press at Port Townsend.