June 2023 MBR The Literary Studies Shelf

The Literary Studies Shelf

Poets of the Round Table
Jidi Majia, author
Huang Shaozheng, translator/editor
Regent Press
https://www.regentpress.net
9781587906503, $36.00, HC, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Poets-Round-Table-Conversations-Eco-Writing/dp/1587906503

Synopsis: "Poets of the Round Table: Jidi Majia in Conversations with Sixteen World Poets on Poetics, Poetry and Eco-Writing" is collection of interviews, spanning eight years, and consists of dialogues with 16 world poets, revealing Jidi Majia as an internationalist, well steeped in the played-out values of the Enlightenment civilization of the West, its latest strands of eco-enterprise, land ethics and cultural diversity, modernist poetics and post-contructionist rhetorics.

In "Poets of the Round Table" we are shown, for the first time, that much of Jidi Majia's theme, thinking and inspiration is drawn from Hispanic, Russian, Eastern European and African literary heritages (in order of importance and weight to his poetic oeuvre). The questions and answers, taken together, form a truthful profile of the heart and soul of China's most celebrated ethnic poet who has achieved world renown through his quasi-epic writings (running to 200-400 lines) like "I, The Snow Leopard" (2010), "The Great River" (2014), "To Mayakovsky" (2015), "The Belated Dirge" (2016), "The Split Planet" (2021), "The Promised Land" (2022), etc. in recent years.

The international poets who have been interviewed here are: Simon J. Otiz (USA); Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Russia); Peter Racz (Hungary); Graham Mort (England); Adonis (Syria); Tomas Venclova (Lithuania); Chehem Watta (Djibuti); Zdravka Evtimova (Bulgaria); Mark Tredinnick (Australia); Philippe Tancelin (France); Yvon Le Men (France); Cassian Maria Spiridon (Romania); Guido Oldani (Italy); Ataol Behramglu (Turkey); Eduardo Espina (Uruguay); Freddy Nanez (Venezuela).

These are veritably 16 exceptional excerpts of literary history. 16 exceptional poets, recalcitrant, dismissive, depressed about the status quo, in a spirit of mutually affirming comradeship, unveil their intriguing life experience, dubious opinions, political fury, eco-fervor--montages that constitute an engaging record of modern poetry, furnishing a valuable look into the minds and work of a wide spectrum of great writers and poets (Non-western sources in particular) on earth.

Critique: A seminal, ground-breaking, informative, well organized and presented study, "Poets of the Round Table: Jidi Majia in Conversations with Sixteen World Poets on Poetics, Poetry and Eco-Writing" is ably translated into English for an American readership by Huang Shaozheng and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, college, and university library Literary Studies collections in general, and supplemental Contemporary Chinese Poetry curriculum lists in particular.

Editorial Note: Jidi Majia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jidi_Majia), is one of the most eminent poets and the sole cultural activist initiating several cultural events in China today. He was born into a great family of Yi nobility in the Daliangshan Highland, west of Sichuan Province. With a four-year formal schooling in Chinese language and world literatures, he graduated from Southwest Nationalities University. At the age of 24, he was the recipient of the highest state honors, much coveted by any would-be literary aspirants. Instant formal recognition has ensued. Sustainable quality output, with over 80 publications of poetry and prose, translated into over 40 languages, home and abroad, distinguishes him as a cultural icon across the Yi community (and indeed, the whole ethnic community) as well as one of the leading poetic voices of international status in contemporary Chinese poetic writing.

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