DAILY PHOTO: Love Signs, Kaohsiung
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Author Archives: B Gourley
BOOKS: “Silk Dragon II” ed. & trans. by Arthur Sze
Silk Dragon: Translations from the Chinese by Arthur SzeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
Release Date: May 28, 2024
Let me begin with a note of clarification: The edition that I read was the “Silk Dragon II” collection, which is due out in May of 2024. I mention this because there is potential for confusion in that this book looks like a sequel (i.e. a completely new set of poems,) but really it is something between a new edition and a sequel. That is to say, while it has a substantial amount of new material, it is built on the original “Silk Dragon” volume. This edition adds eighteen new poem translations, most of which are from poets of the modern era (I mean that loosely, not technically, so 20th century onwards.) I’d recommend readers get this edition, but not both this and the original.
This collection includes a wide range of poems from ancient times through China’s various dynasties to the modern day. It includes translations that are extremely well-known, such as Li Bai’s “Drinking Alone with the Moon” and Liu Zongyuan’s “Snow on the River.” But it also includes many pieces that are likely to be new to most poetry readers, particularly given they will be reading translations (i.e. Non-specialists in Chinese poetry.) As mentioned, the bulk of the new poems are from recent decades and tend to be free verse. [Though there are four new classical poems, as well.]
I found the translations to be evocative and approachable. I am unable to comment on how well Sze captures the feel of the original, but I can say that the translations of poems I’m familiar with were at least on par with other translations that I’ve read. The translations don’t always display the sparseness one sees in classical Chinese poetry, but the challenge of conveying form and meaning and metaphor through translation is immense and, at some level, impossible.
I’d highly recommend this poetry collection for readers of poetry and translated literature.
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“Poet on a Mountaintop” by Shen Zhou [w/ Audio]
White clouds engird the mountain.
Stone steps climb to nothingness.
Alone, the poet leans on his staff,
gazing into the expanse,
and accompanies the stream:
bamboo flute joining murmurs
of unseen flowing water.
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PROMPT: Missed Attractions
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.
From Bangalore: Yercaud, Tirupati, and Kanchipuram are all within a five-hour drive, but we haven’t visited.
I’ve got to say that the Pandemic was good for seeing a lot of destinations that were too long for a daytrip, but near enough to do with a couple / few days. We saw many sights in Karnataka, and a few in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Because of uncertainty around flying and getting caught in shifting quarantine requirements, we did a lot more ground transportation trips closer to Bangalore that we were pretty certain we could get home from if there was an uptick in numbers.
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Pollinator [Haiku]
the bee wallows
in pollen like a drunk
sprawls on a bar’s floor.
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DAILY PHOTO: Yeh-Liu Fishing Harbor
A Close & Colorless Sea [Free Verse]
The ocean vast
closes in.
Clouds drop.
If the horizon still exists,
it's behind an approaching
wall of gray.
Whatever is closing down
the world has also
drained it of color.
The shadows are black.
The sea foam is white.
Everything else is
some dim, earthy tone.
The sea may have retained
a hint of green or blue,
but it's hard to tell --
so darkened &
gray-infused
are the waters.
I fear the world may shrink
to a dot, like an old timey TV
snapped off, a dot that's
bright white but cold.
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“A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns [w/ Audio]
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That's sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sand o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only Luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
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PROMPT: Fun
List five things you do for fun.
1.) Read; 2.) Move; 3.) Juggle; 4.) Hike; 5.) Breathe
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Winter Clouds [Haiku]
winter clouds:
will they / won't they rain? or snow?
or just menace?
