Exactly ten years ago, I...
The Poems of Basil Bunting
Despite periodic attempts to spread the word among the uninitiated, the English poet Basil Bunting (1900-1985) remains far less well-known than he des…
Archives: Works
Chinese through Poetry: An Introduction to the Language and Imagery of Traditional Verse
This posthumously-published volume by a professor at Durham University in England strikes me as a pedagogical masterpiece. I worked my way through it …
How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology
This book is a must-have for students trying to learn Chinese poetry on their own. Together with two subsequent volumes edited (or co-edited by Cai), …
The Shambhala Anthology of Chinese Poetry
A wonderful collection by a translator whose work is marked by its vigor, delicate aural patterning, and avoidance—at almost any cost!—of the comm…
The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century
Burton Watson (1925-2017) played a crucial role in expanding the audience for
classical Chinese (and Japanese) literature in the United States. This …