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The August Sleepwalker

Bei Dao

Translated by Bonnie S. McDougall

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Imprint: Anvil Press Poetry
Publisher: Carcanet Press
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  • Bei Dao
    Bei Dao, pen name of Zhao Zhenkai which means ‘northisland’, was born in Beijing in 1949. Hailed as ‘the soul of post-Mao poetry’(Yunte Huang) and praised for his ‘intense lyricism’ (Pankaj Mishra), Bei Daois one of contemporary China’s most distinguished poets and the cofounder ofthe landmark underground literary journal Jintian ... read more
    Bonnie S. McDougall
    Bonnie S. McDougall is Visiting Professor in the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics at the City University of Hong Kong. She has previously taught at the Universities of Edinburgh, Sydney, Harvard and Oslo. From 2006-8 she was Research Professor in Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. During the ... read more
    Praise for Bei Dao 'The language of Bei Dao's memoir, seamlessly translated by fellow poet Yang, is elegantly simple and guilelessly accessible....Winter white cabbage, vinyl records, pet rabbits, banned books, and first and last 'I love yous'€ provide intimate glimpses that 'open up'€ to reveal extraordinary, immediate testimony of challenges survived in a life intensely lived.'
    Booklist of City Gate, Open Up (US edition, published by New Directions)
       'This is a nuanced account of China in the era of the Cultural Revolution, seen through one young man'€s eyes. Since that young man became a poet, it is also beautifully textured, full of the sounds, sights, and scents of a Beijing that is no more.'
    Publishers Weekly of City Gate, Open Up (US edition, published by New Directions)
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