{"id":5038,"date":"2021-09-22T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5038"},"modified":"2021-09-22T08:06:18","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T15:06:18","slug":"liang-luo-on-duo-duos-words-as-grain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5038","title":{"rendered":"Liang Luo on Duo Duo’s Words as Grain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over at Cha<\/em>, Liang Luo’s review of my translation Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems<\/a><\/em> of Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press) has been published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Liang Luo’s review of my translation of Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems<\/em> of Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press) at Cha<\/em><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

She explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by one of the most celebrated contemporary Chinese poets Duo Duo \u591a\u591a<\/em> (1951- ) and translated and edited by the award-winning translator Lucas Klein, Words as Grain<\/em> \u8bcd\u5982\u8c37\u7c92<\/em> moves from Duo Duo\u2019s most recent poems back to his earliest ones, with four sections, each forming a period of his life\u2019s journeys and taking its title from one of his poems of that period. \u201cThe Force of Forging Words (2004-2018)\u201d collects every single poem written upon Duo Duo\u2019s return to China from 15 years of exile abroad. \u201cAmsterdam\u2019s River (1989-2004)\u201d includes selected poems written during the period of his exile, mainly in the Netherlands. \u201cDelusion is the Master of Reality (1982-1988)\u201d highlights selected poems written during China\u2019s \u201creform and opening up\u201d period of the 1980s. \u201cInstruction (1972-1976),\u201d the last of the four sections, features some of Duo Duo\u2019s earliest collected poems written in his twenties during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As for her reading of Duo Duo’s poetry, she elaborates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, \u201cwords as grain\u201d emerges in vivid configurations and comes alive as a central metaphor for the forging and remaking of poetry and life, which involves planting seeds, picking weeds, and harvesting grain in the fields, among many more layers of a complex web of meanings. In his poetry over four decades, Duo Duo connects grain, weeds, and fields in his musings on life and death, lonesomeness and expression, speeches and silence, and emptiness and harvest …<\/p>

Lucas Klein, in his translator\u2019s introduction, asks to what degree contextualisation is useful in reading Duo Duo\u2019s poetry (or any poetry), and arranges his selections and translations to move from present into the past, as he considers the recent poems less culturally situated, hence more accessible, than older poems for the non-Chinese reader … <\/p>

Klein finds the questions\u2014whether the poems are best read as tied to their contexts or as independent works of the imagination\u2014are the same ones we must ask of translations: whether they are best approached as if tethered to the texts they are representing, or can they take on lives of their own in a new language? He hopes to answer yes to both questions in both cases (xxiii). On the one hand, Klein believes in the potential of poems in translation to take on lives of their own, on the other hand, he also demands accuracy. His goal as both translator and compiler of the poems included in this collection, according to the translator\u2019s introduction, \u201cis to let Duo Duo\u2019s style come through\u201d (xxiv).<\/p>

As readers, we are fortunate to have Klein\u2019s meticulous work and expert guidance in translating and compiling this excellent volume of Duo Duo\u2019s poems, in close dialogue with and filling important gaps in previous translations and scholarly studies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thanks, Luo Liang and Cha<\/em> for the great review!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click the image above to read the review in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction is also available for download as a .pdf file on Cha<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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. She explains: Written by one of the most celebrated contemporary Chinese poets Duo Duo … 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":[3,814],"tags":[515,2272,462,1074],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8srwF-1jg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5046,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5046","url_meta":{"origin":5038,"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":4982,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4982","url_meta":{"origin":5038,"position":1},"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":5038,"position":2},"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":4976,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4976","url_meta":{"origin":5038,"position":3},"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":5030,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5030","url_meta":{"origin":5038,"position":4},"title":"Drew Calvert on Duo Duo’s Words as Grain","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"August 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Asymptote has published Drew Calvert's excellent review of Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems by Duo Duo \u591a\u591a (Yale University Press). Drew Calvert on Words as Grain Here's an excerpt: That bounty is now on full display in English, thanks to Lucas Klein, the translator of Words as Grain:\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\/07\/Words-as-Grains-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5169,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=5169","url_meta":{"origin":5038,"position":5},"title":"Schuchat reviews Klein’s Duo Duo & Lingenfelter’s Wang Yin","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"July 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing for The Poetry Project, Simon Schuchat has reviewed two books of contemporary Chinese poetry in English translation that came out last year, Duo Duo' \u591a\u591a Words as Grain: New and Selected Poems, translated by Lucas Klein, and by Wang Yin's \u738b\u5bc5 Ghosts City Sea, translated by Andrea Lingenfelter. He\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\/07\/Words-as-Grains-cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038"}],"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=5038"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5045,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions\/5045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}