{"id":5030,"date":"2021-08-31T09:12:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5030"},"modified":"2021-08-09T09:15:19","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T16:15:19","slug":"drew-calvert-on-duo-duos-words-as-grain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5030","title":{"rendered":"Drew Calvert on Duo Duo’s Words as Grain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Asymptote<\/em> <\/a>has published Drew Calvert’s excellent review of Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems <\/em>by Duo Duo<\/a> \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Drew Calvert on Words as Grain<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here’s an excerpt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That bounty is now on full display in English, thanks to Lucas Klein, the translator of Words as Grain: The Poetry of Duo Duo<\/em>, published by Yale University Press. The volume opens with new work\u2014Duo Duo\u2019s poems last appeared in English twenty years ago, while he was still living abroad\u2014and moves in reverse chronology back to the Cultural Revolution years, which he spent in rural Hebei Province along with other \u201cMisties.\u201d Klein\u2019s introduction helpfully sketches the politics of modern China throughout the poet\u2019s life, but the poems themselves are more concerned with a personal cosmology of memory, desire, and stillness. Many contain explicitly Buddhist references and idioms\u2014\u201cs\u016btra rivers,\u201d non-self, the \u201cquietude of original dwellings rhetoric abandoned\u201d\u2014as if the poet is forging a new grammar of devotion from his own broken syntax, straying from classical prosody and imagery in a way that recalls\u2014at least for some English readers\u2014the modernists who strayed from Tennyson\u2019s finely cadenced rhetoric into avant-garde mysticism. One might call it modernist Zen: a hunger for unmediated divinity and a deep suspicion of language, with its stale cliches, as a pathway to enlightenment. Ultimately, the impression one gets from the full arc of Duo Duo\u2019s career is that of a poet enraptured by the metaphysics of writing itself. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Click on the image to read the piece in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks, Drew Calvert and Asymptote<\/em> for the great review! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asymptote has published Drew Calvert’s excellent review of Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems by Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press). Here’s an excerpt: That bounty is now on full display in English, thanks to Lucas Klein, the translator … 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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[814],"tags":[2271,515,462],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8srwF-1j8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5046,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5046","url_meta":{"origin":5030,"position":0},"title":"John Bradley on Duo Duo’s Words as Grain","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"September 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"John Bradley on Words as Grain for Rain Taxi The current print issue of Rain Taxi features John Bradley's review of my translation Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems of Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press). Bradley writes: Klein does a superb job of keeping the English translations as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=814"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/242742686_583690352992236_3924342777136856380_n-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/242742686_583690352992236_3924342777136856380_n-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/242742686_583690352992236_3924342777136856380_n-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/242742686_583690352992236_3924342777136856380_n-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/242742686_583690352992236_3924342777136856380_n-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/242742686_583690352992236_3924342777136856380_n-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4976,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4976","url_meta":{"origin":5030,"position":1},"title":"New Publication: Words as Grain by Duo Duo","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Announcing Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems by Duo Duo \u591a\u591a, translated by Lucas Klein, from The Margellos World Republic of Letters by Yale University Press. Click the image for ordering information","rel":"","context":"In "Publications"","block_context":{"text":"Publications","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Words-as-Grains-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5038,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5038","url_meta":{"origin":5030,"position":2},"title":"Liang Luo on Duo Duo’s Words as Grain","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"September 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Over at Cha, Liang Luo's review of my translation Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems of Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press) has been published. Liang Luo's review of my translation of Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems of Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press) at Cha. She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Words-as-Grains-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4982,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4982","url_meta":{"origin":5030,"position":3},"title":"Force of Forging Words: A Translation Conversation","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"July 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"An online launch for Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems by Duo Duo \u591a\u591a, translated by Lucas Klein, from The Margellos World Republic of Letters by Yale University Press. Lucas Klein in discussion with Nick Admussen, Chris Song, and Jami Proctor Xu, moderated by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho In \"The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=2256"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Force-of-Forging-Words_-A-Translation-Conversation-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Force-of-Forging-Words_-A-Translation-Conversation-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Force-of-Forging-Words_-A-Translation-Conversation-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Force-of-Forging-Words_-A-Translation-Conversation-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Force-of-Forging-Words_-A-Translation-Conversation-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Force-of-Forging-Words_-A-Translation-Conversation-1.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5075,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5075","url_meta":{"origin":5030,"position":4},"title":"Duo Duo’s Words as Grain Nominated for PEN Award for Poetry in Translation","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Words as Grain on the 2021 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation longlist Last month PEN announced the longlists for its 2021 awards--and Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems of Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press) is in the running for the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation! Click\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Awards"","block_context":{"text":"Awards","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=2276"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5198,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5198","url_meta":{"origin":5030,"position":5},"title":"Mukim on Duo Duo’s Words as Grain","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"July 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Posting a review of Xi Chuan's Bloom & Other Poems earlier this week made me realize that somehow I had left this blog go dormant for a year! Recently I also came across Mantra Mukim's fascinating take on Duo Duo's \u591a\u591a Words as Grain in The Georgia Review, which begins\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=814"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thegeorgiareview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/duoduo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5031,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030\/revisions\/5031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}