August Sleepwalker
The August Sleepwalker introduces to American readers the compelling and remarkable poetry of China's foremost modern poet. Bei Dao (Zhao Zhenkai). One of the most gifted and controversial writers to emerge from the massive upheavals of contemporary China. Bei Dao both reflects and criticizes the conflicts of the Cultural Revolution of the late '60s and '70s. A youthful Red Guard whose early disillusionment with the destructiveness of the times made him an outsider. Bei Dao joined with other...
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The August Sleepwalker introduces to American readers the compelling and remarkable poetry of China's foremost modern poet. Bei Dao (Zhao Zhenkai). One of the most gifted and controversial writers to emerge from the massive upheavals of contemporary China. Bei Dao both reflects and criticizes the conflicts of the Cultural Revolution of the late '60s and '70s. A youthful Red Guard whose early disillusionment with the destructiveness of the times made him an outsider. Bei Dao joined with other underground poets attempting to create an alternative literature that challenged the received orthodoxies of Maoist China. The author now lives in exile.Library JournalOne of China's most famous poets, and now living in exile, Dao (Zhao Zhenkai) has been ably translated in these 91 poems. Many are love poems; others freeze a beautiful or touching landscape; some capture a fleeting image; a few evoke the horror of a political murder. Only a place name or word in three or four poems reveals that they are by a Chinese author, but knowing the backdrop of political repression adds a particular poignancy to this fine work.-- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y.
Introduction9Translator's Note15Preface to the American Edition16IHello, Baihua Mountain19Rainbow Flower20I Go into the Rain Mist21True22Smiles, Snowflakes, Tears23Cruel Hope24Song of Migrating Birds29A Day30Notes from the City of the Sun31The Answer33Let's Go34All35Street Corner36Recollection37The Unfamiliar Beach38A Bouquet40My Transparent Grief41Yes. Yesterday42The Island43The Witness46The Bank47Dusk: Dingjiatan48IIRainy Night51Sleep, Valley52Boat Ticket53Stretch out your hands to me55The Orange Is Ripe56The Red Sailboat57Habit58Through the melody of your breathing59You Said60Our Every Morning Sun61Declaration62An End or a Beginning63Harbour Dreams66Lost67Chords68The Boundary69Maple Leaves and Seven Stars70The Old Temple71In a Decade72Night: Theme and Variations73Tomorrow, No74The Artist's Life75Sequel to a Legend76Love Story77The Snowline78Comet79A Country Night80Head for Winter81Nightmare83The Way Back84A Toast85You Wait for Me in the Rain86Resume87Rancour turns a drop of water muddy88Accomplices89Random Thoughts90The Host92For Many Years93Portrait of a Young Poet94The Echo96The Window on the Cliff97Strangers98Notes in the Rain99On Tradition100IIIThe August Sleepwalker103One Step104Another Legend105It has always been so106Temptation107Underground Station108Blanks109A perpetual stranger110Orphans111Bodhisattva112The Art of Poetry113Dirge114Doubtful Things115Starting from Yesterday116The Fable117In the Dawn's Bronze Mirror118Expectation119Electric Shock120Language121A Single Room122SOS123Deathwatch Night124Space125Don't Ask Our Ages126Daydream127
\ Library JournalOne of China's most famous poets, and now living in exile, Dao (Zhao Zhenkai) has been ably translated in these 91 poems. Many are love poems; others freeze a beautiful or touching landscape; some capture a fleeting image; a few evoke the horror of a political murder. Only a place name or word in three or four poems reveals that they are by a Chinese author, but knowing the backdrop of political repression adds a particular poignancy to this fine work.-- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y.\ \
