Selected Poems of Li Po (Poetica 31 31) - Softcover

Li Po

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0856462918 ISBN 13: 9780856462917

Publisher: Anvil Press Poetry, 1998

Synopsis

Li Po (AD 701-762) and Tu Fu are traditionally celebrated as the two greatest poets in the Chinese canon. David Hinton's translation of Li Po's poetry is no less an achievement than his critically acclaimed "The Selected Poems of Tu Fu", also published by Anvil. Li Po's work is suffused with Taoism and Zen Buddhism, and the pure lyricism of his poems has awed readers in China and Japan for over a thousand years. Called 'the Banished Immortal', Li Po was seen as an exiled spirit moving through this world with an unearthly ease and freedom from attachment. David Hinton's versions reflect the ambiguity and density of Li Po's originals. They are compelling English poems that alter our conception of Chinese poetry.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Li Po (A.D. 701-762) lived in T'ang Dynasty China, but his influence has spanned the centuries: the pure lyricism of his poems has awed readers in China and Japan for over a millennium, and through Ezra Pound's translations, Li Po became central to the modernist revolution in the West. His work is suffused with Taoism and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism, but these seem not so much spiritual influences as the inborn form of his life. There is a set-phrase in Chinese referring to the phenomenon of Li Po: "Winds of the immortals, bones of the Tao". He moved through this world with an unearthly freedom from attachment, and at the same time belonged profoundly to the earth and its process of change. However ethereal in spirit, his poems remain grounded in the everyday experience we all share. He wrote 1200 years ago, half a world away, but in his poems we see our world transformed.

About the Author

David Hinton studied Chinese at Cornell University. He has also translated many Chinese poets, including the companion volumes of this book, 'The Selected Poems of Po Chu-i' and 'The Selected Poems of Tu Fu'. His anthology of the wilderness poetry of ancient China, 'Mountain Home', appeared in 2005. He lives in Vermont.

Edition details

• Publisher: Anvil Press Poetry
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0856462918
• ISBN 13: 9780856462917
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160