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This week on Poetry Club, Du Fu survives an intense civil war, makes his way across the country to offer the emperor his service, is part of the imperial entourage during the triumphal re-taking of the capital, is overly-conscientious about his ministerial job, and gets demoted. Lots happening, for Du Fu.
Finally some juicy exegesis. Excellent translator David Hawkes carefully takes you through 35 hits of the Tang poet Du Fu, with historical context and analysis of the poetic techniques, choices and language in play.
Here's the first five poems; I've also sourced sound files for everything.
Here's the first five poems; I've also sourced sound files for everything.
Poetry Club: Up Next
Sep. 24th, 2021 02:15 pmAfter this week, Poetry Club will be done with Nomad Flute. We have to make a decision about that to tackle next. There's the choices from last time, a short book about translating Wang Wei's Deer Park over time by Eliot Weinberger and Octavio Paz (50 pages, 1-2 weeks), or the well-regarded Little Primer of Tu Fu (35 poems, with significant exegesis: could be about 7 weeks, unless people wanted to go faster).
If you'd like to participate, feel free to weigh in here.
If you'd like to participate, feel free to weigh in here.
This week, Dank Odes is finishing Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute. The captive princess finally returns home, but in so doing she must forever separate from both her children.
This week we're doing the middle stage of a short poem-scroll that recounts the abduction and eventual return of Han poetess Wenji. After twelve years in captivity and the birth of two children, Wenji gets word that the imperial court has negotiated a ransom for her.
This week poetry club is starting Eighteen Songs of A Nomad Flute, a Tang picture scroll with poems in calligraphy about a Han-dynasty poetess who was bride-abducted in a raid's long, and eventually successful, quest to get home.
Poetry Club: The Ballad of Mulan
Sep. 4th, 2021 04:38 amPoetry Club is doing The Ballad of Mulan this week. It's just one medium-length poem with some accessible, linked contextualising information, so if you wanted to get on board, this is the easiest time for it.
Poetry Club: Nineteen Old Poems
Jul. 10th, 2021 11:43 pmPoetry Club will reconvene in mid-August for Nineteen Old Poems. This will be a two-week 'easy win' for us, followed by Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute (similar).
There are six possible translations, so I worked up a little sampler here.
There are six possible translations, so I worked up a little sampler here.
This FINAL WEEK OF THE SHI JING!!, Praise-Odes Of Lu and Sacrificial Odes Of Shang, is unduly interested in fat horses, and then seems confused about whether a horse can be green, scaly, and have eyes like a fish.
Poetry Club: Decade of Chen Gong
Jun. 15th, 2021 10:50 pm This week, the Decade of Chen Gong hits us with anachronistic potatoes (?) and the 'eyebrows of longevity' (??).
Poetry Club: Decade of Qing Miao
Jun. 11th, 2021 08:46 pm With four total weeks left of the Shi Jing, poetry club hits the Decade of Qing Miao: songs written to accompany Zhou shamanistic rites. Weirdly short&straight-forward?
Poetry Club: Where To Next?
Jun. 3rd, 2021 11:09 pmWe only have a month of Shi Jing left in poetry club, so I thought we should open a discussion of what to do next. It also serves as a round-up of classic Chinese poetry resources, names and collections to explore.
Poetry Club: Decade of Wen Wang
May. 18th, 2021 06:17 pmThis week poetry club hits the Decade of Wen Wang: a heavily historical week, chronicling the story of the Zhou dynasty. The song below attempts to reconstruct some of the poems' original musical accompaniment.
Poetry Club: Decade of Du Ren Shi
May. 11th, 2021 07:38 pmThis week in poetry club we do the Decade of Du Ren Shi. If you'd asked me at the start of this, 'hey, how big a presence do you think rhinos will have in the Shi Jing?' I'd have said, 'they have fucking *rhinos* in China?'
Poetry Club: Decade of Sang Hua
May. 3rd, 2021 07:25 amThis week poetry club does Decade of Sang Hu, which includes some love poetry, some guys we all hate, and no fewer than three accidentally really insulting comparisons of the King to a variety of crappy animals.
Poetry Club: Decade of Bei Shan
Apr. 27th, 2021 03:56 amThis week, poetry club is covering Decade of Bei Shan, which includes poems about ghosts enjoying sacrificial meals held in their honour and some neat, thousands-of-years-old commentary on how land is domesticated over generations.
Poetry Club: Decade of Xiao Min
Apr. 20th, 2021 05:25 amThis week in poetry club we hit Decade of Xiao Min, which is actually a banger with some strong bitter break up poems.
