A Dialogue in Chinese and English Poetics

A group of seven Chinese poets and poetry scholars visited the Princeton campus to participate in a week-long seminar (March 26-31) organized by Professor Susan Stewart and devoted to “A Dialogue in Chinese and English Poetics.” Professor Lei Yanni from Sun-Yat Sen University, Professors Chen Xiaohong and Li Zhimin from Guangzhou University, Professor Wang Zhou from Shandong Normal University, Professor Qingji He from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Professor Dong Feng from Qingdao University, and the poet Yixiao Wang joined Princeton faculty in discussing traditional and Modernist poetic forms, conducting translation experiments, and traveling to poetry centers and Modernist art collections in New York City and Philadelphia. Also participating were Princeton scholars, poets, and students--both undergraduate and graduate--from English, Creative Writing, French and Italian, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, and Slavics. The discussions were led by English professors Bradin Cormack, Jeff Dolven, Joshua Kotin, Esther Schor, and Susan Stewart. On Friday, the event culminated in a gala poetry reading, with contributions ranging from Tang Dynasty poems to recent works by the readers themselves. The program was sponsored by a David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Grant from the Humanities Council, with support from the English Department and the Program in East Asian Studies.

Photo by Susan Stewart