Lyrical Experiments in Sinophone Verse: Time, Space, Bodies, and Things

Academia Sinica, Association for Asian Studies, Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, Beijing Normal University, European Association of Chinese Studies, Fudan University, Lingnan University, National University of Singapore, Swiss Asia Society, Universitat Zurich, University of Bonn DE, University of Freiburg, University of Göttingen DE, University of Heidelberg, University of Zurich, University of the Arts, Linz

The 1919 May Fourth movement was the breeding ground for experiments by authors inspired by new world literary trends. Under Mao Zedong, folk songs accompanied political campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward. Misty Poetry of the 1980s contributed to the humanistic discourse of the post-Mao reform era. The most recent stage in Chinese poetry resonates with contemporary concerns, such as technological innovation, environmental degradation, socio-political transformations, and the return of geopolitical Cold War divisions. In search of creative responses to the crisis, poets frequently revisit the past while holding on to their poetic language of self-reflection and social critique. This volume identifies three foci in contemporary poetry discourses: formal crossovers, multiple realities, and liquid boundaries. These three themes often intersect within texts from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan discussed in the book.