Feelings Above Sea Level: Prose Poems from the Chinese of Shang Qin

by Shang Qin, Steve Bradbury (Translator)

Shang Qin was born in Sichuan, China, in 1930, but has lived in Taiwan since the late 1940s, when he, like so many others, fled the mainland after the “fall of China.” The author of four volumes of poetry and an artist of significant accomplishment, he is among the first poets in Taiwan to have expressed a significant interest in surrealism and is, without question, one of the finest poets writing in Chinese on either side of the Formosa Strait.

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was only recently that I learned of contemporary China's prose poem tradition, and this book shows the form in the hands of a master. Shang Qin understand's the form's roots in fable, surrealism, and linguistic playfulness. This book is a delight.

[Victoria Tang · Rating 4 out of 5]

much is lost on me without context but the translator's notes were very helpful, even if I don't agree with many of the choices made to contextualize