A Tower Built Downwards (Paperback)

Yang Lian

ISBN 10: 178037643X / ISBN 13: 9781780376431

Published by Bloodaxe Books Ltd, Tyne and Wear, 2023

About this Item

Paperback. A Tower Built Downwards is the latest instalment of poetry from one of the most innovative and influential poets from China. idely hailed in America and Europe as a highly individual voice in world literature, he has been translated into many languages. The different sections short poems, sequences, and one long poem form a single comprehensive statement of Yangs recent explorations. It is rooted in his living experience of the historical retrogression of Hong Kong, the disaster of Covid-19, the global spiritual crisis, as well as his personal sadness at events such as his fathers death. Yang Lian's work was criticised in China in 1983 and formally banned in 1989 when he organised memorial services for the dead of Tiananmen while in New Zealand. This edition of A Tower Built Downwards contains the full, unabridged collection, including poems that were removed for its publication in China. Written between 2019 and 2021, A Tower Built Downwards is rooted in Yang Lian's living experience of the historical retrogression of Hong Kong, the disaster of Covid-19, and the global spiritual crisis, with an extraordinary cover by Ai Weiwei as metaphor for the book's content. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781780376431

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Tower Built Downwards (Paperback)
• Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd, Tyne and Wear
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178037643X
• ISBN 13: 9781780376431
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

A Tower Built Downwards is the latest instalment of poetry from one of the most innovative and influential poets from China. Before and since his enforced exile from 1989, Yang Lian has been widely hailed in America and Europe as a highly individual voice in world literature, he has been translated into many languages. 

The different sections – short poems, sequences, and one long poem – form a single comprehensive statement of Yang’s recent explorations. It is rooted in his living experience of the historical retrogression of Hong Kong, the disaster of Covid-19, the global spiritual crisis, as well as his personal sadness at events such as his father’s death. 

Yang Lian's work was criticised in China in 1983 and formally banned in 1989 when he organised memorial services for the dead of Tiananmen while in New Zealand. This edition of A Tower Built Downwards contains the full, unabridged collection, including poems that were removed for its publication in China.

About the Author

Yang Lian was one of the original Misty Poets who reacted against the strictures of the Cultural Revolution. His work was criticised in China in 1983 and formally banned in 1989 when he organised memorial services for the dead of Tiananmen while in New Zealand. He was a Chinese poet in exile from 1989 to 1995, finally settling in London in 1997, also living for some periods in Berlin. Translations of his poetry include five collections with Bloodaxe. He is co-editor with W.N. Herbert of Jade Ladder: Contemporary Chinese Poetry (Bloodaxe Books, 2012), and was awarded the International Nonino Prize in 2012.