The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experiences. –Emily Dickinson
Poem previous published
Glad to be in 2016 Edmonton Poetry Festival, one reading for Poetry Becomes City at City Hall on April 20, another reading for Poetry Becomes Organic at CBC Centre Stage on April 22.
I also did Poetry Alive presentataion at McNally High School. Here is the event report in Chinese.
Thanks 2016 Edmo
nton Poetry Festival committee. Such a great festival!
Here is a New Year poem I wrote for our city for Mayor’s Levee and glad to read it at city hall of Mississauga:
New Year
This is a New Year poem made by you and me.
On a 12 month-long canvas, with its significant marks,
the horse year has rolled over:
Floats of the season spread seeds for flowers and fruits;
the great green land breeds rich cultures and thriving lives.
Children sing and dance along their everyday routines;
parents work hard to provide pleasure and prosperity.
From rural area to urban center,
new buildings rise and broad roads extend.
Through community to community,
diversity spreads and dignity is shared.
We paint joy and praise peace.
We respect equity and agree to disagree.
From time to time,
somewhere in the world, the sky is falling;
we extend our hands and spirits for support.
Here and there,
our passages are clogged with chaos;
we work together to create great fortune.
New forces gather and signal changes.
Our city and country are leading with promise.
This is a New Year poem.
It has been made by you and me.
On a 365 daily calendar,
each of us makes a difference
so that we can share love and enjoy peace;
each of us kindly contributes
so that together we all can celebrate.
As 2016 arrives,
another New Year poem will form.
It will be made by us.
Here is our land; here is our opportunity.
Together we will guard the land,
together we will build our great fortune.
(photos credit to Meena Chopra, Nisreen Art and Sarah Hei)
When I was young, Romantic poetry was very popular in China; we read the Chinese translations of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poems. I remember that everyone liked to quote his lines: “O, Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? “ We admired him as a passionate poet with charming lyrics and a revolutionary vision.
The online course THE GREAT POEMS SERIES SHELLEY founded by Eric Alan Weinstein is great and amazing. I believe it takes a lot of courage and effort to set up courses like that. In this fast-paced and cynical world, to teach and to learn Romantic poetry, especially long poems, presents teachers and students with extreme challenges. Most of us lack the patience and motivation for this. When I was preparing this talk, my fellow Chinese poets wondered if there was still an interest in this subject. They believe that Romantic poetry is out of fashion. Continue reading