This Just In

Our friend and sometime guest blogger Eleanor Goodman writes to tell us about the Simmons College International Contemporary Chinese Poetry Festival, which will take place on the campus of Simmons College in Boston on October 4th and 5th:

The conference will feature an exciting mix of over twenty poets from the mainland, Taiwan, and throughout the Chinese diaspora. Look forward to a mingling of perspectives and poetic styles that will no doubt make for a weekend of illuminating discussion and exchange.

Conference topics range from translation and how it is practiced and mis-practiced to how creative writing is being taught and not taught here and in China. Special focus will also be given to the situation of women poets, historically a neglected group, a bias which some would (and probably will) argue continues today. Anyone with an interest in China, Chinese literature, translation, poetry, or the human condition will find ample reason to attend. In short, everyone is invited to join the already rich pot of participating poets, translators, and scholars. All events are free and open to the public.

At the risk of namedropping, let me drop a few names for you: Illustrious poets Zhou

Zan, Chien Cheng-chen, Leung Ping-kwan, Chen Dongdong, and many others. Accomplished translators such as David Mair, Wang Ao, Andrea Lingenfelter, and Jennifer Feeley. Leading scholars, including Professors Michelle Yeh, Christopher Lupke, and Huang Yibing. The weekend will be headed by the Conference Chairman and organizer Professor Afaa Michael Weaver, himself a distinguished poet, translator, and inveterate Sinophile.

But don’t come only for the famous people. Come to hear the lively discussions and constructive disagreements. Come to watch the mingling of the creative and the scholarly. Come to witness cultural and linguistic differences being negotiated on the spot.

If conference panels aren’t your style, please check out the bilingual poetry reading that will take place on Saturday October 4th at 7 PM, where you’ll hear some of the most interesting poetry being written today across the Chinese diaspora. And if you can’t attend in person, please check back here for conference updates throughout the weekend.

–Eleanor Goodman 顾爱玲

Eleanor Goodman will be posting here during the conference.  Read more of her posts about China and translating from the Chinese here, here, and here.