Doubled Shadows: Selected Poetry of Ouyang Jianghe

by Ouyang Jianghe, Austin Woerner (Translator)

Ouyang Jianghe belongs to the "third generation" of twentieth-century Chinese literature and the so-called "five masters from Sichuan"—poets who consciously distance themselves from the "Misty" (obscure) poets such as Bei Dao and Yang Lian. His writing advocates an intellectual model that is based on reflection and the expression of mature recognition rather than inspiration, sudden impulse, or spontaneous illumination, and is concerned with everyday themes, the insignificant, and the private. From "Handgun": you can take a-
part a handgun, break it
in two, into
a hand a gun paint the hand black, you've got
a faction—
put the gun on a that's
a means of persuasion you can take apart a faction
into further partitions
parties
ambitions
you can break it into act, or action—
the world divides in infinite fissions one eye you aim
at love; the other you ram
into the barrel of a gun
the bullets ogle
you level your nose at your enemies' Critics consider Ouyang Jianghe 's poetry some of the most challenging avant-garde verse written in China over the past few decades. His poems, which have the intricate, sculpted quality of fugues, are concerned with dissecting the layers of meaning that underlie everyday objects and notions like "doubled shadows." He is a prominent art critic and chief editor of the literary magazine Jintian ; he lives in Beijing. Austin Woerner graduated from Yale University in East Asian studies. In September 2009 he took part in a joint residency with Ouyang Jianghe at the Vermont Studio Center, where they were the first writer-translator pair in the literature in translation program. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Genres: Poetry

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2011

Reviews

[Barrie Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is more to say about this book of poetry then I can really give justice to you in a few sentences. This is the book I will come back to you again and again.

Ouyang Is writing about the recent history of China. A short period of time which saw market reforms that freed up the economic power of the country while the government cemented over the beginnings of a pro-democracy movement.

There is a repeated image of a leopard in here. More accurately, maybe it’s a leopard character that is both a legend, a symbol of animal hunger, and an image of the natural world. And because he’s writing about the way we view ourselves at this point in history, the leopard has gone a bit threadbare.

I think Ouyang is asking a question like, what is the strength of our animal instincts and our storytelling about human nature compared to the power of a globalized economy? Political leaders leverage that against us to maintain control and to determine the history of the next generation.

When I think of more that feels worth saying, I’ll add to this. I’d be happy to hear other perspectives on this book if you have something to share.

[World Literature Today]

"Ouyang’s aesthetic musings, philosophical meditations, or social critiques are always thought-provoking and often amusing. Of all contemporary Chinese poets, he is perhaps the most widely allusive, with his natural range of influences running from China’s classical philosophy through the contemporary US." - Josh Stenberg, Nanjing Normal University

This book was reviewed in the September 2013 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/1aAQg7A