Description
* Leading figure in the first generation of Chinese poets to protest against state-controlled literature* Part of the 1970s avant-gard Menglong Shi Ren, or 'Misty Poets', reknowned for their abstract poems* In 1989 Bei Dao was exiled from China for his perceived influence on the Tiananmen Square protests* This memoir documents his eventful life in the lead-up to his exile* Internationally acclaimed for his engimatic, minimalist poems about love, death, freedom and exile
About the Author
Bei Dao (the pseudonym means 'north island') was born in Beijing in 1949. Educated into the beliefs of Communist China, his subsequent disaffection found its voice in poetry, for which he has been nominated for the Nobel Prize on several occasions. Since 1989 he has lived first in Europe, then in the USA, and finally Hong Kong, where he teaches at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His poetry in English translation includes The August Sleepwalker (1988), Old Snow (1992), Forms of Distance (1994), Landscape Over Zero (1998) and Unlock (2006). He has also published several collections of essays, including Midnight's Gate (2007).
Reviews
'One of the great poets of our time.' - Michael Hoffman; 'The maturing poetic voice of a highly talented, individual Chinese writer.' - TLS; 'This is a nuanced account of China in the era of the Cultural Revolution, seen through one young man's eyes. Since that young man became a poet, it is also beautifully textured, full of the sounds, sights, and scents of a Beijing that is no more.' Publishers Weekly of City Gate, Open Up (US edition, published by New Directions)
Book Information
ISBN 9781784104627
Author Bei Dao Translated by Jeffrey Yang
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Carcanet Press Ltd
Publisher Carcanet Press Ltd