Radio Interview with Allen and Changming

between 9:10 - 9:50 pm last night, we father-son comraderie in poetry had the honor to be part of a radio show called "World Reading Series," which is broadcast to 55 countries. here is the link to the site and audio::

htttp://worldpoetry.ca/?p=7447 - World Poetry Cafe Radio Show - CFRO 100.5FM [Canada; 21 Jan 2014] 

although both of us felt very nervous (changming is by nature a very anxious and private person, while Allen has been suffering from bad inflammation of his tonsils these few days), the experience is highly rewarding. the following are the 3 poems we each read during the show::

3 Poems by Changming Yuan

Awaiting

There is a long wait of the passengers
For the detouring and delayed bus
And the wait of the wintry grasses

The wait of the legendary lion king
Before it preys upon a real baby zebra
And the wait of the summer sun deep in the nightmare

The wait of the orchid on the window ledge
The wait of the diamond in an unknown mine
And the wait where you stop and watch

And there is a wait of this darkness
Which you are going to compress into words
A wait that is to spread out thin on the blank paper

Unlike winter stars holding their light in light-years
The wait after you finish writing
And the longer wait then

[Note: first published by several magazines, and later included in Best Canadian Poetry (2012)]

Kinship: For Yuan Hongqi
           
Yes, we are father and son, but so often
Did I doubt this simple small biofact:
We could never say more than three short
Sentences to each other when we met, nor
Did we meet more than three times per year
Before I managed to flee a thousand miles
Away from you, and later ten thousand away
From your village on this world's other side

Like other Chinese fathers, you never said
You loved me, gave me a hug, or touched me
Unless it was a cutting pinch in the arm
Or a heavy hit on the butt, (always in surprise)
While my peers kept bragging aloud
About their great fathers, grandfathers
I looked down upon you, not because of
Your slight stature, but because of your
Smaller personality, constantly calling you
"A Buddha outside, a Devil at home"
(Of course behind your back), so I used to
Feel guilty, fearing I could never shed
Any teardrops when you die, just as every
True Confucian son is supposed to

Unlike me and my son, with a big store of
Co-memories ready to share, to cherish
We were born enemies, karma-determined
In our former lives, just as you had explained
To my mother, (who would be busy filling
In each new crack on our wall, with a big pail
Of muddy mixture every time we met)

Yet ever since your death at the dawn of 2012
I have been haunted by your image, kindly
Smiling, and even sobbed my heart out
While dreaming last night: are you there, Dad?

[First published in and nominated for the 2012 Pushcart Prize by Mobius: The Poetry Magazine]

親情︰寫給袁宏啟

沒錯，你我確系父子，不過我常常
懷疑這一簡單的生物學事實︰
每次相聚，我們難能說完三句短話
而一年到頭我們見面也不過三次
那還是我在世界的另一邊
逃避你千里萬里之前

像其他中國父親，你從未說過
你愛我，擁抱過觸摸過我
除非是深掐臂膀
或痛打屁股，（總是冷不及防）
當我的同伴大聲吹噓
他們的爸爸爺爺如何了得，我卻
瞧不起你，不是因為
你身量矮小，而是因為
你性格怯弱。我時時（在你背後）說你
‘在外是活菩薩，在家是活閻王’
因為這，我深深內疚，唯恐不能像個
真正的儒家孝子在你離世時為你落淚

不像我和我的兒子，總有許多共同往事
分享回憶，我你乃天生對頭
前世注定，一如你向我母親訴說的
那樣。（每當我倆相見
她總是擰著個大桶， 隨時在你我之間的
高牆上填縫補隙）

可是，自從2012年年初你撒手人寰
你的形象一直追纏著我，慈愛的
微笑，每每使我泣不成聲
昨夜還夢見︰你在麼，爸？

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

American Free Speech: ‘Kill Everyone in China’

During ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired on 29 October 2013, a 6-year-old boy  proposed to ‘kill everyone in China’; in reply to the wide protest against such verbal violence, the White House recently claimed, "the principle of protected free speech is an important part of who we are as a nation." 

Apparently, it is not the tiny guy

But his big parents

Who would very much like

To kill everyone in China

No, it is not even his parents

But his teachers, the picture

Books he reads, the movies he watches

The computer games he plays, and

The media bombs he hears constantly

That encourages him to do so

On the other hand, it is not the yellow-skinned

Yellow-hearted Chinese really

But anyone that has a hue different from a wasp

That may turn out more civilized, less hypocritical

Or as innocent as the little angel sitting at the ABC’s

Round Table that Uncle Sam and his dogs of war

Aim to kill, destroy, wipe out from the earth

Just to get rid of any debts they owe

To you and me

3 Poems by Allen Qing Yuan

Traffic Light

Green, Yellow, Red

Step

Stop

Yet again I missed the light

What could have been

What should have been

My chance to burst to

The frontier of the background

Defining the jagged shimmer

Of the tender life force

But I wait, pondering

Is this a pre-carved destiny?

An aim, beyond ambition

Green, Yellow, Red

Step

Banana* Blues

I’m bluer than blue

A branch thicker than the root

A banana unlike any other fruit

But my growth has been severed and burned

Like a scale with weight it cannot measure

The music of my white soul

Is melancholy, oppressed

Singing without words

Confined within black bars

I’m bluer than blue

A composer without compositions

A conductor without a baton

To even guide himself

The song beats away as

I’m singing my blues

Chasing the Pacific Star

Air gyres crowd into the boy

As he dashes through the clouds of hope

Surfing on a wish

He descends to the touchy ocean

A salty breeze gushes from underneath

A spring of refreshing motivation

The flaring sun eagerly follows him like a bright shadow

Intimidating mountains forcibly rise, but are capped

From the serene, misty horizon

Where a bleached bird loudly flaps its wings away

Upgrading his life board,

With exhilarating dreams

As he dashes through the clouds of hope

Chasing the Pacific Star.

Annversary: More Poems for Yuan Hongqi

jan 2 is the second anniversary of my father's death. here are a few more poems i have written for him, most of which have already appeared in literary outlets, such as Far Enough East, the Germ, Eskimo Pie, Black Petals and Malaysia Poetic Chronicles::
-----------------------

parcenary

                        my destination was preset

you will receive a parcel

            by express.  It turns out

all too expressly, and

the sender was my parents

        who had wrapped themselves

                        inside already

------------------

My Photo

Tightly embedded

Within a metal frame

Is my colored soul

Sitting high 

Against the wall

Like a stuffed owl

I know how I will be spending days and nights

Of my posthumous life there

Watching my children walking

Into their little rented room

Or out of it

-------------------

Father’s Soliloquy: For YCM

The other night, before the cock crowed, or

The crow cocked out of darkness, a yellowish

Shape stalked in vision, as in blank verse

‘Mark me,’ it says, sounding almost exactly

Like my late father. ‘Lend thy very serious

Hearing to what I shall unfold.’ Suddenly alerted

I got up among figures, between dream and sleep

‘When you were a teenager, I hated you so much

For looking at me always with your eye whites

Giving me an ugly face each time I talked to you

So much so that I cursed you numerous times in

My dream for being such an unworthy son; I often

Doubted if you were my own flesh until you grew

Into a normal loving adult, making me feel guilty

All my life; also, I was suspicious of your mom

Betraying me, not only in heart but also in body

I almost caught her making love with some guy

On our own bed - -You still remember that small

Apartment we used to live in? Among all my dadly

Secrets, these two I want to reveal to you first

Next time, I will tell you more about the limbo

Between hell and heaven, with the lightest word

Which might harrow up thy spirit, burn up thy

Blood…’ now the cock crows, and I must vanish

------------------------

Walking with Father: For Yuan Hongqi

One thing I forgot to mention, Dad

Is I intentionally moved either before

Or behind you, each time we happened

To be walking together. That way, you could

Neither pinch my arm not slap my face

So readily; otherwise, you would have to

Embarrass yourself if you ran forward

Or waited to do so, as you tried to

Educate me in anger. Since my departure

From my home town beyond the pacific

How often have I hoped to walk again, just once

Side by side with you, getting or offering support

Whenever either of us needed it

But now I could only follow your footprints behind

Step by step, while you wait to beat me in heaven, smiling

 ----------------------

Inviting My Father’s Spirit

Rarely did we get along, Dad, before

You gave us all up, and seldom

Did we even talk, so you never

Knew how I really felt about you

As a father, in particular, about your

Grooming habits: each time you

Returned from your office or trips

You skinned us off and washed all

Our clothes, sheets, towels, mops

Cleaning furniture (including

Every foot’s bottom), polishing

Lamp covers and cooking utensils

Though you often forgot to put them

Back in good and tidy order; true

I learned to love your cleanness

But never the way you were so busy

Doing all this like an old woman

Now you are taking a long break

Up there, (where everything is

Supposed to be perfectly clean); do

You enjoy watching me doing

Such things down here to keep

My home and heart both dust-free

--------------------- 

A Lost Memoir

One more thing I never told you, Dad

Was I always believed you to be an

Extra-ordinary father, but in a highly

Embarrassing way: each time you saw

Me hanging around with my buddies 

You kept saying this like a big broken

Gramophone: “Follow Chairman Mao’s

Teachings; Follow the Party’s

Lead,” just as you drove me crazy

By trying to convert me into a true

Communist like yourself, even

When we happened to be eating

At the same table. Still remember?

You once forced me to kneel down

On the hard ground until I finished

Reciting Mao Zedong’s “Three Old

Essays.” It was then I began to defy

You blindly, to follow no other than

My own heart, in a boyish rebellion

Against your fatherly dictatorship

Against any other form of tyranny

--------------------

Twilight: for Liu Yu

My heart muscle contracts, excruciatingly

Like an overly-wound spring, ready to break

Each time I imagine my mom walking alone

Towards the dusty evening, while she used to

Go downstairs first, waiting aloud for my dad:

‘Grandpa, what are you still busy doing there?

It’s time to take a walk outside, along the moat!’

Now without a companion, my mother does not

Have to wait or hurry for anyone, but how she

Just misses the days when her shadow and my

Father’s became longer and longer, side by side

As they strolled slowly, until the sun set lower

And lower above the blurred horizon of autumn
----------------------

My Father Yuan Hongqi's Tomb in Lianhuadang, the village where I grew up

In the summer of 2007, my parents, my younger son and I went to my father's
native village to pay tributes to my grandparents

in the summer of 2007, my father and my younger brother stood beside my
Grandma's tomb in Shisanbao Village, where my father was born

in the summer of 2007, my father and i visited the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang

my Father, my poet son and i visited the Yangtze River at the Yichang, 2007

Changming to Appear on Radio Show

here are 2 updates::

1. on 1 dec, i got a quite exciting email: kindly invited by the hostess Ms Ariadne Sawyer, the president of World Poetry (www.worldpoetry.ca) and also a director of Vancouver Asian Heritage Month, i will for the first time in my life appear on Vancouver Co-op Radio (CFRO 100.5 FM), on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, between 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm. i look forward to the experience, but i am very nervous about this interview on World Poetry Cafe Radio Station, which broadcasts to listeners in 48 countries.

2. on dec 14, i launched my own independent chinese blogsite at yuancm.blogspot.ca, where i am going to post all my writings in chinese, including poetry, essays, non-fiction, and etc. my blogging experiences with 2 major chinese websites have turned out quite negative, as my postings there either have few pageviews (at http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/2682748050 ) or are believedly 'censored' somehow for some reasons (at http://blog.creaders.net/changmingyuan/).

busy as he is with his academic studies at ubc, Allen has almost completely stopped writing or reading poetry; and his involvement in our editing and publishing endeavours has been minimized as well.

which symbol/sign/logo to chose for Poetry Pacific?  Ⓟ, Π π, .--., Ᵽᵽ,  ℘℘

now, at 5:00 pm, i decide to use the figure below as pp's logo, which i designed myself today ('. ___ ___." is the morse code for 'p' as in 'poetry' while the large '℘'  is the mathematical Weierstrass p as in 'pacific'::

poetry pacific

Changming: 7th Time Pushcart Nomination

with my own computer sitting in a repair shop for the past few days, i happened to know today that the editors of Sleet Magazine sent me an email the day before yesterday (on november 18), informing me that they had nominated my poem 'y' for the pushcart prize for 2013.

thus far, this has been my 7th time to have such honor, but i know i will never be able to get the prize or any other decent one, although i believe i deserve something even bigger or better.

i have written 10 poems, all titled 'y.' this one is numbered as 'y2.' i am sure another 1/2/3/4 of my 'y' poems will be nominated for the pp.

anyway, here is the link::  http://www.sleetmagazine.com/selected/yuan_v5n1.html#Title1

once my poetry has been accepted or published in more than 1,000 literary magazines or anthologies, i will try to write my novels, hopefully within 2 or 3 years.

Ordeal Ended, Poetry Again

finally, our daily ordeal with the unwanted tenant officially came to an end at 7:00 pm on 14 aug, with him returning the keys to me. for the past 4 months, i have been trying to uphold my Buddhist policy 'friendly come, friendly go' by showing good faith even when he and his accomplice tortured me and other tenants unbearably almost on a daily basis.

it happens that my poem 'snakeland' was accepted by foam:e just a few minutes ago. this piece, like 'genuine genesis', also recently accepted, belongs to a group of poems i have written in response to my suffering imposed by evil tenants.

november seems to be fruitful month; for the past 14 day, i have received 16 poetry acceptances. beginning from tomorrow, i can return to my normal creative life, in addition to much renovation work to do on my house, as well as in my poetry.

PP Publishing Group Ready to Go

last Remembrance day, we launched Poetry Pacific as an e.journal impulsively; our initial aim was to give Allen a chance to exercise his editing skills and get some field experience as an online poetry editor; in other words, we set up our own poetry magazine simply to boost his resume and application to universities. however, the experience has turned out far more meaningful and more productive than we originally anticipated. as time goes by, we have become increasingly more interested in and committed to this literary project. now we plan to venture into more publishing endeavours. in fact, to commemorate PP's anniversary, we will launch the (temporary) web/blogsite of Poetry Pacific Press in a few hours. we have already published three poetry collections, and will publish more books as we are more technically prepared.

poetry pacific press is a subsidiary of PP Publishing Group, which will be ready to publish all kinds of reading materials, in english or chinese, including poetry, fiction, anything or everything that has some word worth.
------------------------
november seems to be a luckier month for me, for i have got 10 poetry acceptances for the past 10 days. once the unwanted tenant eventually goes, i will have more time and energy, esp better mood to return to my poetry road. as an american lawyers suggested, my nightmarish experience with tenants is similar to what takes place in the 1990 hollywood movie called 'pacific heights,' which we watched on youtube, but we do not have that kind of luck or dramatic happy ending; our suffering is more and longer.
------------------------

Changming: 6-time Pushcart Nomination, etc

last night, i received an email fromm the editor of Yellow Medicine Review, informing me that my short poem 'read' has been nominated by the magazine for the pushcart prize (2013). this is the 6th time i have had such honor since 2009. although i never expect to win this or any other prize - nor do i participate in any literary contest (with the only exception of cbc poetry contest occasionally), i feel a bit comforted that my poetry gains some recognition constantly after all.

sometimes i cannot help wondering how come those who have written/published relatively few poems, and whose poems are not really 'fine' at all, have often won prizes, and even 'big' and handsome ones. also, how come almost 99 percent of the poems published in big-named magazines or anthologies are either nonsense or poorly written lines? as i see it, there is little poetry in those 'poems,' while i believe there has been too much politics in contemporary poetics!

by the way, as the publisher/editor of Poetry Pacific Press, we have just decided to publish our third book titled The Flawless with Flaw, by a good Hunan poet named Yang Lin. although the english version has lost quite a lot of the original poetic elements, its rich imagery and spiritual insight are still readily perceivable to the reader, well beyond the language barrier. today, i am going to send the blurbs and limitedly edited copy back to my chinese partner for printing. the 60-page short collection will become available by the end of december.

shortly, i will place an open call in both english and chiense for manuscript submissions to my Press...

PP's First Poetry Anthology Published

dear PP friends,

the very first bi-lingual (english and chinese) anthology of contemporary chinese poetry 300 NEW CHINESE POEMS we published here at Poetry Pacific Press in september has just become available. in the following please find an introduction in english, and beginning from today, we will post some selections every week on our facebook for your reading pleasure. if anyone by chance is interested in getting a copy, please free free to contact us at editors.pp@gmail.com or yuans@shaw.ca.

now the introduction itself...

The Chinese New Poetry: The Brilliance of 100 Yeas
                                    — Preface to 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012)
                                    By Diablo

Since the year of 1917, the new Chinese poetry has a history of 100 years, during which the Chinese nation has witnessed a series of drastic and important events such as the May Fourth Movement, Confused Fighting between the Warlords, Anti-Japanese War, KMT-CPC Civil War, “Anti-Rightist Movement”, “Movement of Cleaning Politics, Economics, Organization, and Ideology”, the Cultural Revolution, April Fifth Movement, Black 1989, and Reform and Opening up to the Outside World. So much so that it can be said that the 100 years, whether from the angles of history and culture or politics and art, are unexceptionally filled with briers, distress, chaos caused by war, struggles, famine, slaughter, hue and cry, as well as tribulations.
In such a dark and bloody historical context, the new Chinese poetry has undergone stages from its creation to its experiment to its construction: the process shows its utmost fortitude in being undaunted by repeated setbacks. In the past 100 years, there have emerged a host of excellent or great poets who have produced many important and immortal pieces, which have been given attention to the international poetry circle. Unquestionably, it is time to exhibit the whole process and the artistic features of the new Chinese poetry by translating and introducing classic new Chinese poems to overseas countries. Based on this point, through discussions with renowned poetry critics, translators and scholars from 8 universities respectively located in Tianjin, Beijing, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Hunan, Anhui, and Fujian, etc., we have reached a broad consensus at the end of 2010, namely, to compile a Chinese-English textbook of selected new Chinese poetry, which is tantamount both to the brilliant achievement of 100 years of the new Chinese poetry and to the great tradition of Chinese poetry. Our target is: “with a copy of Chinese-English 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012) in your hand, you can get an overview of the history of 100 years of the new Chinese poetry and the representative pieces. Meanwhile, Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012) provides a new view point and breakthrough point for those who are engaged in the research of new Chinese literature, while providing text reference for the future development and construction of Chinese poetry. What is of particular importance is that the Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012), by dint of the extensive and effective international communication system established by IPTRC (The International Poetry Translation and Research Centre) through 18 years, the new Chinese poetry is brought into the whole process of world humanistic order, while providing a true, vivid, and profound landscape of language and mind for the 100 years of course of thought of the Chinese nation.”
We all know that since its birth in 1917, the new Chinese poetry is closely connected with the poetic art of foreign countries during its development. In the information age of globalization, the new Chinese poetry is to be more communicative and interactive with the international poetry circles in a more direct and extensive manner, and one of the most effective ways is to compile large-scale Chinese-English bilingual poetry readers. Which bespeaks our original intention to compile this Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012).
In my opinion, poetry writing is writing of the mind. In other words, we shall regard the Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012) as the miniature of 100 years of the spirit or the mind of the Chinese nation. Leafing through the Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012), we can feel the beat and rhythm of each heart: the powerful poetic force, like surging waves in the Yangtze River charging eastward, is exhibited in each poetic line …
Compared with other selections of the new Chinese poetry, this Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012) is found to have the following features:

 (1) In selecting poems, consideration is first given to their artistry and the construction of linguistic text form. While paying attention to the chosen works’ significance in literary history, the modern sense and artistic value (or aesthetic value) of the poems are highlighted.
 (2) In addition to poets from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, overseas Chinese poets are also included. The book is a thorough examination of the new Chinese poetry since 1917, which exhibits the free and independent human spirit. The book is a selection of the new Chinese poetry with the longest time span and the most extensive areas.
 (3) The included poets are in the order of their dates of birth and, after their poems, included is an introduction to the author.
 (4) In the context of global economy and information integration, the book endeavors, in bilingual form of Chinese and English, to exhibit the development and artistic achievement of the new Chinese poetry in the past 100 years objectively, thoroughly, and comprehensively.
 (5) The English translation of this book composes of two types: poetic translation and academic translation, in which poetic translation is dominant.

It is known that there are more common points than different points between two languages; therefore, interlingual translation is possible. The translatability between languages becomes the theoretical basis for translation. However, this does not exclude the differences between languages. Generally speaking, the translation of poetry, among all literary translations, is the most challenging. And if the translator happens to be a poet himself, his translation is usually superior to that done by a non-poet.
Translation, in a real sense, is for a poem or a life to be reborn in another context of words, like Phoenix Nirvana. It is my belief that this Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012), under the collaboration of Chinese and overseas poetry translators and sinologists, is to regain life in the world of English, sparkling with charming artistic rays.
Here, I would like to list the names included in the Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012)（The included poets are in the order of their dates of birth）:

Lu Xun, Shen Yinmo, Liu Bannong, Hu Shi, Guo Moruo, Lai He, Xu Zhimo, Wang Duqing, Wen Yiduo, Li Jinfa, Bing Xin, Zhang Wojun, A Long, Wang Jingzhi, Liang Zongdai, Zhu Xiang, Luo Niansheng, Dai Wangshu, Sun Dayu, Feng Zhi, Zang Kejia, Li Guangtian, Su Jinsan, Yin Fu, Ai Qing, Bian Zhilin, Qin Zihao, He Qifang, Xin Di, Ji Xian, Zhong Dingwen, Tian Jian, Chen Jingrong, Hang Yuehe, Mu Dan, Du Yunxie, Cai Qijiao, Tang Shi, Peng Yanjiao, Tang Qi, Zheng Min, Zhou Mengdie, Hu Pinqing, Chen Xiuxi, Yuan Kejia, Huan Fu, Zeng Zhuo, Liang Zhihua, Lü Yuan, Yang Lingye, Tu An, Niu Han, Shi Tianhe, Lin Hengtai, Kong Fu, Xia Jing, Gong Liu, Yu Guangzhong, Luo Fu, Li Qing, Luo Men, Xiang Ming, Wen Xiaocun, Rong Zi, Yang Huan, Bai Hua, Shang Qin, Chiu Pin, Zheng Ling, Shu Lan, Chan Sirisuwat, Loiushahe, Zhang Mo, Ya Xian, Ma Boliang, Shao Yanxiang, Zheng Chouyu, Han Han, William Marr, Chang Yao, Lee Kuei-shien, Dai Tian, Wai-lim Yip, Wu An, Bai Qiu, Zhang Shijian, Lin Ling, Han Mu, Hsu Chicheng, Lin Huanzhang, Yang Mu, Shi Ying, Huang Xiang, Du Guoqing, Gao Ge, Ya Mo, Hua Wanli, Lan Haiwen, Yun He, Zhang Cuo, Xi Murong, Fu Tianlin, Zhou Tao, Fu Tianhong, Li Minyong, Shi Zhi, Zhang Ye, Leung Ping-kwan, Luo Qing, Mo Yu, Bei Dao, Jiang He, Mang Ke, Shen Qi, Duo Duo, Li Gang, Li Xiaoyu, Zhou Lunyou, Li Yufang, Shu Ting, Hai Shang, Yang Zongze, Yan Li, Wang Xiaolong, Yu Jian, Yang Ze, Liang Xiaobin, Yang Lian, Zhai Yongming, Wang Xiaoni, Mao Han, Gu Cheng, Bai Hua, Xia Yu, Lin Hua, Ouyang Jianghe, Zi Wu, Zhang Shuguang, Liu Cheng, Yang Ke, Da Xie, Zuo An, Wang Jiaxin, Yuan Changming, Liao Yiwu, Wang Shunbin, Yang Ran, Ye Shibin, Wei Ming, Yan Yuejun, Bei Ling, Lv De’an, Luo Yihe, Fang Wenzhu, Han Dong, Meng Lang, Jidi Majia, Chen Dongdong, Chen Kehua, Lu Yimin, Zhang Zao, Ding Dang, Liu Manliu, Xue Yang, Yang Li, Lin Yaode, Hong Ying, Aerdingfu Yiren, Liang Xiaoming, Xi Chuan, Huang Canran, Zhong Dao, Li Yawei, Zhao Xingzhong, Chu Zi, Jie, Chen Meiming, Hai Zi, Na Ye, Nan Ou, Mo Mo, Zhu Likun, Zang Di, Tu Ya, Diablo, Shen Wei, Yao Hui, Xiao Hai, Feng Chu, Shu Cai, Xie Yixing, Gu Ma, Ma Ke, Yi Sha, Wei Se, Zhang Zhizhong, Ye Zhou, Mo Xue, Pu Dong, Lei Pingyang, Yu Nu, Ma Qidai, Ge Mai, Hou Ma, Zhao Siyun, Xi Du, Tang Shi, Xu Jiang, Chen Xianfa, Lan Lan, A Mao, Yang Jian, Wu Touwen, Zhou Sese, Yang Lin, An Qi, Luo Guangcai, Zhou Yunpeng, Jin Lingzi, Meng Ling, Dong Yue, Di Bai, Zhao Weifeng, Lin Zhongcheng, Huang Lihai, Yao Bin, Yang Xie, Duo Yu, Yin Lichuan, Li Xiaoluo, Hai Xiao, Mu Cao, Jiang Fei, Yang Jun, Zhu Jian, Shen Haobo, Ding Cheng, Li Cheng’en, Wu Xiaochong

After three years of efforts, now the Chinese-English textbook of 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012) is to be published for the readers, both Chinese and overseas, to appreciate and criticize.
In the process of compiling this book, I have been encouraged and supported by Chinese and overseas poets, critics, translators, and sinologists, hence my homage and indebtedness to all of them!
Poetry is immortal, and art is eternal.
The foregoing is my preface.

                                                                                        June 28, 2013; Chongqing, china

bionote of the Editor

Diablo (1965— ), whose original mane is Zhang Zhi, English name Arthur Zhang, and pen name Wuyuelou (Moonless Tower), with ancestral place of Nan’an of Chongqing, was born in Phoenix Town of Baxian County, Sichuan Province. He is doctor of literature and honorary doctor in humanism, and has successively been engaged in many professions. He is the current chairman of the International Poetry Translation and Research Centre, executive editor of The World Poets Quarterly (multilingual), editor-in-chief of the English version of World Poetry Yearbook, embassador in China of the International Poets Association in Chile, and foreign academician of Greek International Literature & Arts and Science Academy. He began to publish his literary and translation works since 1986. Some of his literary pieces have been translated into over twenty foreign languages, such as English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Danish, Hungarian, Bengalese, Italian, Swedish, Korean, Slavic-Mongolian, Serbian, Hebrew, Arabic, Slovak, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Albanian, etc., to be included into dozens of domestic and overseas anthologies. He has ever won poetry prizes from Greece, Brazil, America, Israel, France, India, Italy, Austria, Lebanon, and Macedonia. His main works include poetry collections such as RECEITA (Portuguese-English-Chinese), SELECTED POEMS OF DIABLO (English), POETRY BY ZHANG ZHI (German-English-Portuguese), Selected Poems of Diablo (Chinese-English), collection of poetry criticism entitled Series Essays on Avant-Garde Chinese Poets, etc. In addition, he has edited Selected Poems of Contemporary International Poets (English-Chinese), Selected New Chinese Poems of 20th Century (Chinese-English), A Dictionary of Contemporary International Poets (multilingual), The Book Series of World Poets (Bilingual), and Chinese-English Textbook 300 New Chinese Poems (1917—2012) , etc.

bionote of the tranlating editor

Zhang Zhizhong (1966— ), his ancestral place is Boai County of Henan Province. He successively obtained a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Zhengzhou University, a master’s degree in English and American literature from Tianjin Foreign Studies University, and a doctor’s degree in translation studies from Nankai University, and he has done his postdoctoral study in aesthetics of poetry translation at Henan University. He is now director of Translation Studies Center of Tianjin Normal University, and professor of Foreign Languages College of Tianjin Normal University. Meanwhile, he is guest editor of The World Poets Quarterly, vice chairman of International Poetry Translation and Research Centre, and translation reviser of New Poetry, a large-scale periodical sponsored by the Research Institute of Lierature & Art of Chongqing University of Technology. He has done a huge amount of translation, including over 50 classic American movies (English-Chinese), the 84 episodes of TV play The Romance of Three Kingdoms and the movie entitled The Tale of Sister Liu (Chinese-English), etc. Until now, he has published 44 books (11 in collaboration with others), 70 academic papers, and over 3,500 translated poems. Besides, he has published his own poems. In October, 2003, he received scholarship from Nankai University; in November, 2003, he obtained Excellence Award in the 15th National Translation (Chinese-English) Competition for Youth Sponsored by Han Suyin; in December, 2005, he was entitled as the Best International Translator for 2005; in November, 2006, he won the Prize for Distinguished Translator in the 2nd World Poetry Prizes Sponsored by Dr. CHOI Laisheung; in March, 2007, he was entitled as the academic leader for 2006 by Henan Provincial Educational Bureau, and in September, 2011, he won the Translation Prize of “Contemporary Chinese Poetry Prizes (2000—2010)”.

PP's Pushcart Nominations(2013) Announced

this is the official list of our PP's nominations for the Pushcart Prize for our publication year of 2013::

1. Robert Sheppard: Moby Dick
2. Koon Woon: A Season in Hell
3. Niall O'Connor: House
4. Stephen Page: Transformations
5. Diablo: The Doomsday
6. Allen Qing Yuan: China Charm: For Yuan Lai

in the next few weeks, we will feature the above individually on our facebook for our readers, friends, and/or associates.

[note: to be 'fair' to all our candidates in terms of time duration or readerly exposure, we select one poem from each issue/season, depending exclusively upon the number of pageviews it has received since its posting on our site. the other two are, as we made clear yesterday, 'editorial/political' choices, also based to some extent on the numbers of pageviews]
-------------------------

as we have upgraded PP to a publishing house, we will shortly announce our first publications. in the mean time, we will try to find someone to help construct a new website for the press.

PP's Pushcart Nomination Process

today we have just received the confirmation call from Pushcart Prize office that though a canadian-based online magazine, we at Poetry Pacific are eligible to make annual Pushcart nominations - this is really encouraging, since we have one more powerful way to promote the poets and poetic works featured on our Site.

tomorrow we will announce our nominees both here and at our facebook, before sending out all the six poems to the office in new york, which we have decided upon for the prestigious prize.

this is the way how we nominate the six poems in principle:
four of them will be exclusively determined by the number of pageviews they have ever received since their postings in the past publication year (from november 2012 to october 2013); in other words, they are actually nominated by our readers as they have had most pageviews. the remaining two will be chosen by PP editors in terms of their editorial preferences and the number of pageveiws each has received.

apparently, the first rule is based on the principle of democracy, while the second one is a bit more subjective and 'political.' we believe this nominating process or method is most appropriate for PP, at least for now.

Changming: Out of Order Temporarily

because of an impending hearing at Residential Tenancy Office on 17 sept, i have been suffering tremendously from acute anxiety disorders in addition to all symptoms of hcm and ischemia and, at the same time, fighting fiercely with two most unfriendly situations ever encountered or known of in my entire life. in consequence, i have almost completely stopped functioning as a literary person, no writing poetry, no making poetry subs, no reading/accepting poetry for Poetry Pacific, not even thinking about poetry/publication... first time in the past 10 years also.

one thing of note here, on the night of sept 7 (sat), i had a nightmare, where i carried my sick younger poet son in a large brown-colored paper bag trying to go to hospital in the rain, but somehow he shrank into two bones and then vanished. i cried my heart out in unbearable grief, until later i found him alive and back miraculously in a house where my mother appeared. suddenly thrown into such ecstasy, i could not help kneeling down and kowtowing to him. yesterday, i called my mother about this dream, who assured me that this is a good sign!

in early august, i did write about 20 poems, half of them about my most recent experience. hope i can find the time and energy to rework on them all, getting back to my normal creative life...
--------------------------

sept 16: the three crisis situations i have been facing at the same time since june perhaps result really from my failure to have visited the Puti center for the last year, where i used to do some volunteer work every wendesday from 2010 to 2012.  fortunately, one crisis was temporarily over in an official sense on 9 sept. of the other two, one will unfold significantely tomorrow...

on sept 13, friday, i had a talk with a fortune teller from taiwan, first time in my life. mr Liu said, born in the year of the rooster, my 'eight characters' show that i am a man of water-fate, who has strong water, but lacks wood. if i live/function like natural water, i will live a happy and accomplished life. as a water-fated rooster, i get support from wood, but should avoid anything associated with soil/earth. i can be prosperous and highly successful if i keep moving like water, especially towards the west, if i engage in educational/cultural  activities. by nature, i love anything or anyone associated with metal or wood.  according to him, i am extremely sensitive, and have natural powers to see and connect with the other world, like a shaman, but i need some master to help develop and bring out such powers. the fengshui with my house is not good, mainly because there is too much earth around my house, something bad for me. while alive, i should live in a house facing towards the east. between age 3 and 8, i should have some bad years; so did or will i between age 13 and 18, 28 and 33, and between 58 and 63 but i will have good years in general between age 53 and 78, when i get much 'wood'. i should be careful between june and july 2018, when i have to face much 'earth.'  my wife is a metal-fated woman, supposed to be a helpful source, just like my elder son, also a metal-fated man who will be rich and successful. my younger son is a fire-fated man, who should be particularly cautious about traffic or transportation from nov 2 to dec 3, 2013. -- all this is interesting enough for me to write some poetry about.

indeed, every time i feel relatively good and comforting about my existence, there is a big trouble waiting for me close down the road. so, i should try to overcome any feeling of satisfaction about my life.

every few years, i would be suffering from an unbearable hard hit, emotional, physical, financial, career-related, some or all at the same time. in 1980, 1988, 1994, 2001, (2008), and 2013 in particular. a really vicious pattern of profound suffering. i survived in 1980, so will i in 2013.

although i never trouble trouble, but troubles always troubles me - that's the most troublesome part of life.

the biggest or most serious issue i am facing now is that i am afraid of having to face an issue.

i feel nervous and anxious about anything that is out of my control, such as a red light, a telephone ring, a knock at the door.

how i wish to be left alone, forever!
--------------------------------

sept 17: the hearing between 9:00 and 10:00 am today was successful in the sense that both parties and witnesses got connected to the conference call and attended, but the decision made by the arbitrator was surprising: he upheld my two-month instead of 1-month notice but extended the date until the end of november, exactly 2 months later than expected. that means, our situation will be continuing.

3 surprises about the hearing that can teach me a lot about the canadian sociolegal system: 1) the hearing procedures were greatly different from what we had expected or read about when we did case studies;2) the arbitrator seemed to act more like a mediator than like an arbitrator, as he tried to find a common ground between the 2 parties, rather than uphold a principle; 3) the arbitrator appeared to make his decision in favour of the other party because he chose to ignore my witnesses' testimonials and statements, not to mention circumstantial evidence.

given our mental and health conditions, we simply cannot afford to apply for a review or another hearing, nor do we have enough social, legal or financial sources to go ahead with it. besides, i dislike this kind of exhausting game.

considering we have actually lost today, i just hope us two parties to be on good terms as before. i always believe 'friendly come, friendly go'. am i wrong trying to follow this typical chinese social or interpersonal principle?

a little wonder: how come this site has had 245 pageviews today, way more than ever before?
---------------------------------

Changming: Hall of Fame Certificate -TL (2013)

on august 15, i received an email from Torrid Literature, informing me that i have been listed as an official Hall of Fame member for 2013:

 

link::http://torridliterature.com/Changming_Yuan.html

page:: http://torridliterature.com/Hall_of_Fame.html

web:: www.torridliterature.com | http://shop.torridliterature.com

Facebook | Twitter  

Snakeland: Changming's Daily Ordeal

as there are several crisis situations in my personal life that are all taking place at the same time, i have been experiencing perhaps the very most difficult time in my entire life, which started towards the end of june. while there is no simple, easy or fast solution to any of them, i am suffering both physically and psychologically in an unbearable way - today i am beginning to receive acupuncturist treatment, drink traditional chinese herbal medication, and take ativan or lorazepam pills to fight against acute stress disorder. (my own diagnosis is ischemia-based cardiac neurosis, which my family doctor said she had no idea of). overwhelmed with the fear of personal/family safety as well as with financial, physical and psychological hardships, i feel extremely nervous, especially when talking, even with a friendly acquaintance. but for the past couple of weeks,  i have been dealing with lawyers, government officials, police officers, accountants, realtors, insurance representatives, in addition to half a dozen of individuals concerned. the only good thing about what has been going on in my recent life is that i have come to realize this:

i am (perhaps we are all)  living in a snakeland, where there are as much blue sky, golden sunlight, fresh air as many smiles or good-looking human figures as cobras, mambas, taipans, adders, kraits and vipers...

as before, i will survive eventually, as all this is becoming bygone with every passing minute. after all this, i will write more poetry about such daily ordeal; and begin to write my novel, long conceived, tentatively entitled home leaving.

TRAFFIC LIGHT: Allen's first poetry book just released

around 6:30 pm today, we released Allen's first poetry collection, 50 pages, titled TRAFFIC LIGHT, via lulu.com, only 6 dollars per copy, readily available at http://www.lulu.com/shop/allen-qing-yuan/traffic-light/paperback/product-21138162.html.

this is the very first publishing project in hard copy undertaken by Poetry Pacific as a press. in the future, we will place open calls for manuscripts, and try to publish more, better, and more frequently...

today is also the first day of paid work Allen has even done since he was born.

but today is also a nightmarish day for the poetry author as a man in real life: here in vancouver, as in any other part of north america, the western hemisphere, or the entire world, today's human society is becoming more and more like a true snakeland, a place where we can get bitten by deadly poisonous snakes anytime, anywhere, despite of the sunshine, blue sky, green trees, flowers, even smiles...

a day to remember, to think, to write

LANDSCAPING Just Released from Flutter Press

my second poetry collection titled Landscaping was released from Flutter Press on 17 july 2013. here are the links to the press, as well as to lulu.com [39 pgs, 25 poems, $7.50]::
1. flutter press: http://flutterpress2009.blogspot.ca/search/label/Changming%20Yuan;
2. lulu.com:http://www.lulu.com/shop/changming-yuan/landscaping/paperback/product-21118231.html     

 There is lush beauty and fierce restraint in the poetry of Changming Yuan. He has a finely-honed sense of nuance, a sensibility that embraces both nature and  mankind. The musicality of his words draws us in, its intimacy lingers in our hearts. “Close your eyes,” he writes in Landscaping, “Stay still/ And you can feel/ The moon’s silver needles/ Softly pointed/ Penetrating tranquility. . . .”

--Susan Terris, Author of Ghost of Yesterday: New & Selected Poems and Editor of Spillway & In Posse Review

I found Changming Yuan's collection of short poems to be inspiring even through the darkness found everywhere in nature; there is also a soft, uplifting tone to his words that resonated throughout the read.

--Sandy Benitez, Editor of Poppy Road Review and Flutter Press


"On a cloudless day. The tone of soft rain on hot asphalt. Landscaping is another world within this one. A beautiful book."
--DeWitt Brinson Asst. Editor The Exquisite Corpse, PANK

unfortunately, my books never sell well, but at least i have finally had this first chapbook out. submitted on 11 may 2013 and accepted on 13 may, this collection contains actually most of my 'best' nature/landscape poems.

i have written and published enough reasonably good poems for at least another 10 collections, from more traditional (personal /philosophical/cultural /sociopolitical) to highly experimental (ideographic /logographic /lexcal), but i do not know when, where or how i can get them published. for me, it seems easy to publish individual poems, but almost impossible to publish my poetic work in the print book form.

in particular, canada has refused to support or even encourage me in this respect - that's why i have refused to be identified as a 'canadian poet'; rather, i am a self-exiled international poetry scribbler.

9 interview questions for poetry editors

today, i hit upon the idea of asking 9 fundamental questions of every poetry editor i can find, who is welcome to answer only one or all the nine questions in anyway s/he prefers to. instead of raising questions for its chatroom only, i will introduce this section to my magazine Poetry Pacific (2.2), to be released on august 5. hopefully we can get some interesting responses. ( i have come up with another organization idea, but i want to see how this interview idea goes first.)

pasted below are the questions i have just finished preparing - '9' being the maximum number that implies 'enduring' or longevity' in traditional chinese culture::

9 FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS FOR POETRY EDITORS

1. Given the ways contemporary authors have been trying to compose all kinds of poetry, how would you define ‘poetry’?

2. Many people say poetry is dying. Do you agree or disagree with this statement, and why?

3. What defining features do you think ‘best’ poetry should possess? In other words, what is your personal or working definition of ‘best’ poetry?

4. What are the most important makings of a ‘great’ poet? – please name 3 greatest poets the world has produced thus far.

5. Who are the 3 most important or noteworthy contemporary poets according to your personal/working criteria.

6. Considering the contemporary poetry writing/publishing reality, what are the most important changes that you think should be made to promote poetry as a worthy cause?

7. Which 3 poetry editors or magazines would you like to recommend to all poetry lovers? Or, which 3 are your most favorite poetry editors/journals?

8. What are the most important or interesting things that you have you learned about poetry writing/publishing as a poetry editor?

9.  What is the most or least enjoyable part of being a poetry editor?

Traffic Light - First Poetry Collection by Allen Qing Yuan

on my way to send out an important mail to cra yesterday morning, i decided to upgrade Poetry Pacific into a real publishing house sooner than originally planned.  as soon as i got home, i registered with lulu.com, and began to learn how to publish paperback books via lulu.

at the same time, i decided to publish Allen Qing Yuan's short collection, tentatively titled TRAFFIC LIGHT, as our very first paperback book. once i become familiar with all the production procedures, i will place an open call for poetry manuscripts, and then other materials...

now i have finally plunged into print publishing on my own, something i have always been wanting to do since 1990 when i began to publish/edit Saskatchewan Chinese News in saskatoon. -c