The Selected Poems

Fiction & Literature, Poetry
Cover of the book The Selected Poems by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po, New Directions
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po ISBN: 9780811223621
Publisher: New Directions Publication: May 17, 1996
Imprint: New Directions Language: English
Author: David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
ISBN: 9780811223621
Publisher: New Directions
Publication: May 17, 1996
Imprint: New Directions
Language: English

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. Legendary friends in eighth-century T’ang China, Li Po and Tu Fu are traditionally celebrated as the two greatest poets in the Chinese canon. David Hinton’s translation of Li Po’s poems is no less an achievement than his critically acclaimed The Selected Poems of Tu Fu, also published by New Directions. By reflecting the ambiguity and density of the original, Hinton continues to create compelling English poems that alter our conception of Chinese poetry.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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. Legendary friends in eighth-century T’ang China, Li Po and Tu Fu are traditionally celebrated as the two greatest poets in the Chinese canon. David Hinton’s translation of Li Po’s poems is no less an achievement than his critically acclaimed The Selected Poems of Tu Fu, also published by New Directions. By reflecting the ambiguity and density of the original, Hinton continues to create compelling English poems that alter our conception of Chinese poetry.

More books from New Directions

Cover of the book Ideograms in China by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Vampire in Love by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book The World Goes On by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog: Stories by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Your Face Tomorrow: Fever and Spear (Vol. 1) by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book In Her Feminine Sign by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Death on the Installment Plan by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book These Possible Lives by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Good Offices by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Stand Still Like the Hummingbird by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Spring Storm by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Collected Poems 1912-1944 by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book The Mongolian Conspiracy by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book Because I Was Flesh: The Autobiography of Edward Dahlberg by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
Cover of the book The Life of Monsieur de Molière: A Portrait by Mikhail Bulgakov by David Hinton, Bai Li, Po Li, Li Po
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy