{"id":298,"date":"2011-11-09T09:13:54","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T01:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=298"},"modified":"2011-11-09T09:13:54","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T01:13:54","slug":"bei-daos-note-for-the-international-poetry-nights-hong-kong-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=298","title":{"rendered":"Bei Dao’s Note for the International Poetry Nights Hong Kong 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is Bei Dao<\/a>‘s “Note from the Editor,” which I translated for the International Poetry Nights<\/a>‘ Words & the World<\/em> anthology<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Poetry exists between the word and the world. With the key of language, poetry unlocks the world from its state of concealment. As Heidegger pointed out in Poetry, Language, Thought<\/em>, \u201cTruth, as the clearing and concealing of what is, happens in being composed, as a poet composes a poem. All art<\/em>, as the letting happen of the advent of the truth of what is, is, as such, essentially poetry<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At present, we are experiencing a retreat to human civilization\u2019s last line of defense\u2014ours is an era void of spiritual direction, an era of lost cultural value and ideals, an era ridden with linguistic garbage. We live amidst separate jargons: scholarly jargon, businessmen\u2019s jargon, political jargon, and more; but at the same time, what has greatest currency is the language of entertainment, the language of the internet and the new media, and in the internet age of so-called globalization, vulgar and elegant meld to form a common pact, simplifying humanity\u2019s linguistic expressivity.<\/p>\n

What, then, can poetry do? This ancient term takes on a particular significance today. With this in mind, the theme of the 2011 International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong is Words & the World<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We have invited ten international poets and ten Chinese-language poets to join our international poetry festival. In addition to a bi- or tri-lingual pocket-sized selection for each invitee, we have also produced a multilingual anthology containing work by all our poets. In editing these two publications, I have been joined by Professor Gilbert Fong, Dr. Shelby Chan, Dr. Lucas Klein, and Ms. Amy Ho. On behalf of all of them, I extend our sincerest thanks to the poets and translators, as well as to the friends and members of the organizing committee, without whose assistance none of this would have been possible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you’re in the Hongkong area, I hope to see you there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is Bei Dao‘s “Note from the Editor,” which I translated for the International Poetry Nights‘ Words & the World anthology: Poetry exists between the word and the world. With the key of language, poetry unlocks the world from … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[13,8,12],"tags":[50,83],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8srwF-4O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4532,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4532","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":0},"title":"Bei Dao in WLT Hong Kong feature","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Bei Dao, \"Dwelling Poetically in Hong Kong\" As part of its feature on Hong Kong writing, guest-edited by Tammy Ho--featuring writing by Xi Xi \u897f\u897f as translated by Jennifer Feeley, poetry by Chris Song \u5b8b\u5b50\u6c5f, and more--World Literature Today has published my translation of \"Dwelling Poetically in Hong Kong,\" by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Poetry Nights"","block_context":{"text":"International Poetry Nights","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2535,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2535","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":1},"title":"Letter from Hong Kong on Your Impossible Voice","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Your Impossible Voice has published my \"Letter from Hong Kong,\" about the International Poetry Nights. Reviewing exiled Chinese poet Bei Dao\u2019s first full-length collection The August Sleepwalker in English in 1990, a professor quipped, \u201cThese could just as easily be translations from a Slovak or an Estonian or a Philippine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Poetry Nights"","block_context":{"text":"International Poetry Nights","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1299,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=1299","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":2},"title":"Review of Bei Dao’s The Rose of Time: New and Selected Poems","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"October 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Jonathan Hart reviews Bei Dao's \u5317\u5cf6 The Rose of Time: New and Selected Poems (New Directions), edited by Eliot Weinberger, speaking \"about these translations as if they were poems in English on which the reputation of the poet stands in the English-speaking world.\" He concludes that \"Bei Dao\u2019s poetry translates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hcl.harvard.edu\/harvardreview\/OnlineJournal\/HRO_7\/reviews\/Dao_lg.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3777,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3777","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":3},"title":"Gewirtz on Bei Dao’s City Gate, Open Up","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Poetry Foundation has published \"Bei Dao\u2019s Beijing: The eminent Chinese poet on exile and his native city,\" Julian Gewirtz's review of City Gate, Open Up, the newly published memoirs of Bei Dao \u5317\u5c9b, translated by Jeffrey Yang. The review also\u00a0weaves in decades of Bei Dao\u2019s poetry, creating a compelling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/media.poetryfoundation.org\/m\/image\/14859","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":996,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=996","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":4},"title":"How “International” is Poetry?","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"June 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"At the English Pen site, Michele Hutchison has posted an article titled \"How international is poetry?\" that looks at the kind of poetry included in international literary festivals like Rotterdam. Here's a bit of what she says: If international is taken to mean universal and accessible to all, there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4744,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4744","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":5},"title":"Jeje on Bei Dao\u2019s Blue House","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"March 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Akin Jeje on Bei Dao's Blue House Writing for Cha, Akin Jeje reviews Blue House (Zephyr, 2000) by Bei Dao \u5317\u5cf6, transalted by Ted Huters and Feng-ying Ming. Bei Dao\u2019s memoirs in Blue House are stunning in their modesty, candour and startling clarity. 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