Abyss Book by John Balcom UAE-Bookswagon
Abyss

Abyss


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



International Edition


About the Book

A seminal work from the second wave of Chinese modernism.

So great is Ya Hsien's influence on younger generations of Taiwanese and Chinese writers that he is sometimes referred to simply as The Poet. Yet he never wrote a second book after Abyss appeared in an expanded edition in 1971. This single book's variety and virtuosity have made it a modern classic and the poet something of a legend. A new documentary, Ya Hsien: A Life that Sings, was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2015 Taipei Film Festival.

Under the Barber Pole

The barbers sing

Always it's the same wheat-harvest festival
Always an abundance of rye without ears
Always it is reaped, reaped
On the land of inspiration
A small southern path leads to ears of grain
And it's also a kind of horticultural school
A kind of beauty
A kind of agricultural reform
A kind of taste for something other than Greek sculpture

The barbers sing

Ya Hsien's poetry runs the gamut from realism to surrealism, incorporating elements of folksong and modernist poetics, expressing a wide emotional range, and deftly capturing the critical spirit of the times. The sixty poems are divided into seven sections that present differing styles and themes, including Wartime, Songs without Music, and Wild Water Chestnuts. The pen name Ya Hsien (his given name is Wang Ching-Lin) means mute string. Ya Hsien lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Award-winning translator John Balcom lives in Monterey, California.


About the Author: Ya Hsien (Ya Xian) is the penname of Wang Ching-Lin (Wang Qinglin). Born in Nanyang County, Henan Province, he was active in Taiwan's Modernist Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for a single collection of poetry titled Abyss, published in 1968, and an expanded edition in 1971. He stopped writing poetry altogether in the mid-1960s. In 1968 he attended the Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa, and later attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from which he received an MA in East Asian Studies. After retiring in 1971 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he taught and edited at a series of magazines, eventually editing the influential literary supplement of the United Daily News. He now calls Vancouver home but spends a good deal of time in Taiwan and China.

John Balcom is an award-winning translator of Chinese literature, philosophy, and children's books. He teaches in the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, a graduate school of Middlebury College. Balcom conducted translation workshops and has lectured on literary translation in the US, Europe, and Asia. He is a past president of the American Literary Translators Association and has also served on the Literary Translation Committee of the International Federation of Translators. Recent publications include Grassroots (Zephyr 2014), Stone Cell by Lo Fu (Zephyr 2012) and Trees without Wind by Li Rui (Columbia University Press 2012). His translation of Huang Fan's Zero won the 2012 Science Fiction and Fantasy Translation Award in the novel/novella category. He lives in Monterey, California.


Best Sellers



Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781938890215
  • Publisher: Zephyr Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Zephyr Press
  • Height: 213 mm
  • No of Pages: 112
  • Series Title: English
  • Weight: 254 gr
  • ISBN-10: 1938890213
  • Publisher Date: 13 Dec 2016
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: Y
  • Spine Width: 10 mm
  • Width: 150 mm


Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
Abyss
Zephyr Press -
Abyss
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

Abyss

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    New Arrivals



    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!