April Landscape
Their calling floats over the plum flowers, your pet name echoing
Outside my vision, like swallows into the curtain of dusk
Is it merely for that tree blooming beyond the reach of a path
That you are separated from your companions?
[For a Friend]
May 17, 2009
四月风景
梅树间回响着他们唤你的昵称
在我之外，如燕子穿过如幕的暮色
仅仅是因为那一株开在小道的尽头之外吗
你和同伴分开
[赠Lin Jingtao]
2009年5月17日
8 comments:
Hi Jinghua,
I really appriciated reading your beautiful poem. The concise and fastidious character of the text helps to enhance expressive, poignant and visual elements. Very skillful!
Interestingly enough, Asian and Scandinavian (I am Swedish) poetry (as well as design, etc) resemble each other in this sense.
Best regards,
Jenny
Thank you, Jenny. there must be some affinities between Asian and Scandinavian poetries, and, oh, Tomas Transtromer has a wide readership in China.
Tranströmer, yes! He is very influenced by Chinese poetry.
I would like to learn more about Chinese poetry and will therefore be a follower of your blog. :)
/Jenny
My wife recommended your blog to me. You write beautiful poetry, and yes, there is something Scandinavian in them as well.
Scandinavians are generally very anglophile, and there are quite little modern chinese poetry translated, which is a shame. Can you recommend a modern chinese poet?
/Anders
HI,Jenny and Ande
Thanks for your warm words. Contemporary Chinese poetry is, as you may have guessed, quite diversified. Now as we say "contemporary," we usually refer to the poetry written in post-Mao era, therefore you may hear the Misty (ambiguity)Poets, which includes the names of Bei Dao (sort of famed dissident writer, now back to China in many senses), GU Cheng (who killed her wife and himself in New Zealand), Duo Duo (exiled to Amsterdam for a decade and now back too) and Yang Lian (now residing in UK). Duo Duo is perhaps the most "Chinese" poet among them, and also my favorite.
Then came the post-Misty poets, among whom ZANG Di is perhaps a leading one. This is a time when the mode of poetry-writing changes from "written" language to colloquial. But still many beautiful poems are written, among which women poets had a great success. Zhai Yongming is perhaps the best.
Then the third generation follows, with near fatal strife between them. Generally, two strands can be seen. One strand remains formal and "scholarly," mostly comprising of so-called intellectuals, the other strand is de-formal poetry, emphasizing the common-reader-friendly quality and rhythm of everyday language, with YU Jian as the primary representative.
continued.
So, the names I think you may find English versions (in print, or on internet, especially Lund U's Chinese poetry resources) may include:
First Generation: Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo, Yang Lian;
Second: ZANG Di, ZHAI Yongming, WANG Xiaoni, Lu Yiming, YU Jian;
Third generation (currently already- or near-established): Yi Sha (Bloodaxe Press has a new book, but I do not love him that much),
Well, I am trying to introduce some of the poets who are writing NOW.
Thank you very much Jinghua FAN!
It is great that you also give an overview of generations and genres.
So this is what to look for: Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo, Yang Lian, ZANG Di, ZHAI Yongming, WANG Xiaoni, Lu Yiming, YU Jian.
This information that you have provided is very helpful indeed. It saves a lot of time from googling in the net jungle. :)
/Jenny
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