{"id":888,"date":"2012-04-29T10:36:32","date_gmt":"2012-04-29T02:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=888"},"modified":"2012-04-29T10:36:32","modified_gmt":"2012-04-29T02:36:32","slug":"lucas-klein-on-xi-chuan-and-translating-written-at-thirty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=888","title":{"rendered":"Lucas Klein on Xi Chuan and translating “Written at Thirty”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Poetry Society of America<\/a> has published my translation of Xi Chuan’s “Written at Thirty” \u5199\u5728\u4e09\u5341\u5c81<\/a>, along with a brief commentary in which I provide some background on Xi Chuan’s life and works, and discuss translating his poetry. Here’s how I end the piece:<\/p>\n

“Written at Thirty” comes from right after Xi Chuan’s switch from lyric to expansive prose poem. While it’s not prose, obviously, it nevertheless contains the multitudes that any open look at one’s biography requires. Other translators have published their versions\u2014both online and in print\u2014but my translation takes advantage of Xi Chuan’s explanation to me of what he meant by the line I had earlier translated as “I grew up with the whole world’s crickets”: he said his teenage years coincided with the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966 \u2013 1976), which also entailed a change in Chinese people’s relationship with Maoist rhetoric. Much of his poem, he said, was an attempt to “write through” his upbringing and the language around him. English-speakers being, for obvious reasons, much less attuned to Marxist diction, I rewrote my translation through the final appeal of The Communist Manifesto<\/em>, to translate the line as “with working crickets of all countries I grew up.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Poetry Society of America has published my translation of Xi Chuan’s “Written at Thirty” \u5199\u5728\u4e09\u5341\u5c81, along with a brief commentary in which I provide some background on Xi Chuan’s life and works, and discuss translating his poetry. Here’s how … 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":[3,12,16,7],"tags":[1654],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8srwF-ek","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=109","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":0},"title":"Xi Chuan Interview","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"October 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The inimitable Paul Nelson met Xi Chuan when they both attended the Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival \u9752\u6d77\u6e56\u56fd\u9645\u8bd7\u6b4c\u8282 last August. After Xi Chuan's Copper Canyon reading in Seattle, Paul met with Xi Chuan for an interview, part one of which has just been posted on splab.org. In English, the interview\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":1878,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=1878","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":1},"title":"Why Notes on the Mosquito Should Win Best Translated Book Award 2013","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This week the 3% blog is highlighting all 6 BTBA Poetry Finalists one by one, building up to next Friday\u2019s announcement of the winners. This review of Notes on the Mosquito is by BTBA poetry judge Jennifer Kronovet. It begins: When I had the chance to meet the Chinese poet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=814"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4298,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=4298","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":2},"title":"Lucas Klein Talking Translation with Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"November 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As a follow-up to Xi Chuan's being October 2018 author-of-the-month at the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing, the Centre is now hosting a Talking Translation interview with me! They ask, and I answer: Do you have any advice for readers new to Xi Chuan about where best to begin\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":994,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=994","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":3},"title":"Issue 17 of Cha Now Live","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"June 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The new issue of Cha: An Asian Literary Journal is now live. Guest edited by Divya Rajan (poetry) and Bob Bradshaw (prose), it features work by Sarah Stanton, Eddie Tay, Kim Liao, and others. I\u2019ll be guest-editing Cha\u2018s \u201cAncient Asia Issue,\u201d scheduled to launch August 2013. See also their earlier\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asiancha.com\/images\/stories\/covers\/cover_issue17_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asiancha.com\/images\/stories\/covers\/cover_issue17_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asiancha.com\/images\/stories\/covers\/cover_issue17_small.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1663,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=1663","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":4},"title":"Notes on the Mosquito on New Books on East Asian Studies","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"February 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Carla Nappi of New Books in East Asian Studies spoke with me (yes, me!) about my translation of Xi Chuan's Notes on the Mosquito: Selected Poems. Here's her flattering write-up: First things first: this is a book of amazing, beautiful poetry, and you should read it. In translating Xi Chuan\u2019s\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":926,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=926","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":5},"title":"Metre Maids on Xi Chuan at the Bookworm","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Translator & poet Sarah Stanton of the Metre Maids blog has posted a write-up of my event with Xi Chuan at the Beijing Bookworm last Thursday night. Comprehensive and enthusiastic, her coverage not only chronicles the event, but some of Xi Chuan's background as well. 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