Lady of the Fallen Air: Poems from the Chinese

by Christopher Howell

Poetry Chapbook. Translated from the Chinese and with a preface by Christopher Howell. Fourteen lyric poems by ten different Chinese writers, including Li Po and T'ao Ch'ien, accompanied by ephemeral, almost pointillist illustrations, make up this elegant sweet-to-the-touch chapbook. Chinese remains Chinese, writes Christopher Howell of the difficulties of translating these works, one of the world's most wonderful and difficult languages, no matter what alphabet is employed to express it. As elegant as the chapbook itself, the poems are slow, stately gazes upon various topics that might be considered traditional to Chinese poetry.

30 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Christopher Howell is the author of seven previous books of poetry, most recently Just Waking. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, the Helen Bullis Prize, the Washington State Governor's Award, and fellowships from the Artist Trust and the Oregon Arts Commission. His work has three times been awarded the Pushcart Prize. He is professor of English and creative writing at Eastern Washington University and senior editor at Eastern Washington University Press. He lives in Spokane.

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Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Christopher Howell poetry that I have read. It is a small chapbook of fourteen translated Chinese poems. It is a beautiful chapbook with calligraphy and drawings that are illustrated throughout this small book.