酷我-北美枫

[ericcoliu]

Reading and Writing: Life on the Page

(My Foreign Anguish has been published in the February Issue of Word Catalyst. It’s the most prestigious magazine (3 editors, one editorial consultant, and 10 staff writers) in which my works, poems and short stories, have been published so far. I hope this publication of my poems in America will open up further possibilities of getting more of my writing published in America in the foreseeable future)


My Foreign Anguish


English, a foreign mistress,
gives me misty eyes
as I write in anguish.

I, a word apprentice,
thwarted by time’s passing,
pine to be a poet.

Words, lost in translation,
are empty spaces in between,
as I compose my poem.


Note:

My Foreign Anguish is my literary tribute to the exiled Ambiguist poets (朦胧诗人) who have been "searching for light with black eyes."
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Reading and Writing: Life on the Page

(My Foreign Anguish has been published in the February Issue of Word Catalyst. It’s the most prestigious magazine (3 editors, one editorial consultant, and 10 staff writers) in which my works, poems and short stories, have been published so far. I hope this publication of my poems in America will open up further possibilities of getting more of my writing published in America in the foreseeable future)


My Foreign Anguish


English, a foreign mistress,
gives me misty eyes
as I write in anguish.

I, a word apprentice,
thwarted by time’s passing,
pine to be a poet.

Words, lost in translation,
are empty spaces in between,
as I compose my poem.


Note:

My Foreign Anguish is my literary tribute to the exiled Ambiguist poets (朦胧诗人) who have been "searching for light with black eyes."
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[ericcoliu]

The Ambiguist Poets (simplified Chinese, 朦胧诗人) are a group of Chinese poets who reacted against the restrictions of the Cultural Revolution. They experimented with new forms and content in writing poetry, and evoked considerable controversy in China in the early 1980s. They are so named because their work has been officially denounced as "obscure" or "ambiguous." Their works were mainly published on the magazine Jintian (Chinese, 今天; literally "Today") from 1978 until 1980, when it was banned. Some of the most important Ambiguist Poets, such as Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo, and Yang Lian, were exiled after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Jintian was resurrected in Sweden in 1990 as a literary forum for exiled Chinese writers.

What follows is a famous Ambiguist poem, This Generation, written by Gu Cheng, a poem which is the voice of a generation:

The pitch black nights have given me black eyes
with which I search for light.

Chinese Version:

一代人

黑夜给了我黑色的眼睛
我却用它寻找光明


Note:

The English translation of 朦胧, as Eugene Eoyang points it out, "promotes serious misunderstanding of their poetry (朦胧诗), which -- far from being romantic and wide-eyed as "misty" implies -- is dense, subtle, and ironic". I support his view and adopt his translation.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

The Ambiguist Poets (simplified Chinese, 朦胧诗人) are a group of Chinese poets who reacted against the restrictions of the Cultural Revolution. They experimented with new forms and content in writing poetry, and evoked considerable controversy in China in the early 1980s. They are so named because their work has been officially denounced as "obscure" or "ambiguous." Their works were mainly published on the magazine Jintian (Chinese, 今天; literally "Today") from 1978 until 1980, when it was banned. Some of the most important Ambiguist Poets, such as Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo, and Yang Lian, were exiled after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Jintian was resurrected in Sweden in 1990 as a literary forum for exiled Chinese writers.

What follows is a famous Ambiguist poem, This Generation, written by Gu Cheng, a poem which is the voice of a generation:

The pitch black nights have given me black eyes
with which I search for light.

Chinese Version:

一代人

黑夜给了我黑色的眼睛
我却用它寻找光明


Note:

The English translation of 朦胧, as Eugene Eoyang points it out, "promotes serious misunderstanding of their poetry (朦胧诗), which -- far from being romantic and wide-eyed as "misty" implies -- is dense, subtle, and ironic". I support his view and adopt his translation.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[christine]

[[christine]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[dundas]

[[dundas]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[wiseson]

[[wiseson]]

[Lake]

'anguish' is a verb, too.

[[Lake]]

'anguish' is a verb, too.

[hahaview]

[[hahaview]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[robarts]

[[robarts]]

[fanfan]

[[FFFFFF]]

[ericcoliu]

My Foreign Anguish will be published in the February issue of Word
Catalyst. The following is the email from the Editor:

Hello Chen,

I would like to schedule two of your poems for the February issue of Word
Catalyst. The two I have chosen are "My Foreign Anguish" and "You, My
Calliope". Please feel free to send a brief bio to accompany your work.

Thank you,

Shirley Allard, publisher/editor
Word Catalyst Magazine

An online magazine located at
http://www.wordcatalystmagazine.com
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

My Foreign Anguish will be published in the February issue of Word
Catalyst. The following is the email from the Editor:

Hello Chen,

I would like to schedule two of your poems for the February issue of Word
Catalyst. The two I have chosen are "My Foreign Anguish" and "You, My
Calliope". Please feel free to send a brief bio to accompany your work.

Thank you,

Shirley Allard, publisher/editor
Word Catalyst Magazine

An online magazine located at
http://www.wordcatalystmagazine.com
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[ericcoliu]

Below is another version, which is more compact:


English,
terra incognita --
my foreign anguish.

Poetry,
pining and thwarted –-
an ongoing struggle.

Words,
space in between –-
my poem.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Below is another version, which is more compact:


English,
terra incognita --
my foreign anguish.

Poetry,
pining and thwarted –-
an ongoing struggle.

Words,
space in between –-
my poem.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul