I Can Almost See the Clouds of Dust, by Yu Xiang
I Can Almost See the Clouds of Dust differs from other poetry anthologies due to its simplicity. However, that doesn't mean this collection is easy to understand.
by Yu Xiang (translated by Fiona Sze-Lorrain)
Chinese University Press
3.5 stars
Keira Lu Huang
I Can Almost See the Clouds of Dust differs from other poetry anthologies due to its simplicity. However, that doesn't mean this collection is easy to understand.
Yu Xiang, a post-1970s Chinese poet, injects her feelings of fury, loss and love into her poems which, to her, are like her children. She lives the figurative interpretation of her own poems.
This poet obeys no grammar rules or rhetorical order. Freedom, voluntary imagination, and randomness are the three keywords to summarise her style.
In Street, Yu writes: "We dress simply, love simply/so simply that we fall in love/once we meet/Love someone/anyone, bring/their sorrows to the street."
This doesn't follow traditional poetic rhythms or even the cadences of normal conversations; it's like reading a woman's tangled thoughts. It's hard to understand unless you immerse yourself in it.