China's Second World of Poetry: Visuals

by Michael Martin Day

• Introduction
• Sichuan journals
• Out-of-province journals
• Poetry photos

Introduction

Here you will find illustrations that I feel complement China’s Second World of Poetry: The Sichuan Avant-Garde, 1982-1992, recently published on this site. Aside from scanning materials directly related to the book’s subject, I have included out-of-province journals, which are prominently referred to in the text or to which Sichuan’s poets contributed during the period in question.

I have scanned front and back covers, tables of contents, other editorial and organizational information, and pieces of internal artwork when this seems warranted. Unfortunately, there are not as many photographs as some may wish (I worked with words and not cameras during my years in China), but there are enough to afford a glimpse of some of the major figures in the e-book, both from the 1980s and in recent years. Additionally, photos can be easily found on the Internet.

Not all the journals referred to in the e-book can be found here, but more will be made available after I next make my way to my mother’s basement on Vancouver Island where some now molder, and to Minnesota where some materials rest in my parents-in-law’s home. What you see here are the relevant materials that Maghiel van Crevel has collected at the University of Leiden. Also, scanned pictures of journals not found here can be seen at sites noted on this website (such as The Woman’s Poetry Paper) or in my book’s bibliography (such as the cover of The Third Generation at the Internet address given for the Sichuan poet Deng Xiang).

While digging through Professor van Crevel’s treasure trove a final time, I (inevitably?) came across recent additions that could have been included in my book. While the book’s text is now definitive, and including them in the scanned material below accordingly presents something of an asymmetry, I have chosen to do so anyway. First is the second issue of a journal known as Brink 边缘, seemingly published in Chengdu in 1990. It is a university student publication (and possibly semi-official), and is indicative of the poets’ continuing dedication to their art, even during the cultural and political crackdown then occurring on university campuses everywhere in China. Secondly, I came across a copy of The Southern Poetry Review 南方评论, used on occasion as a subtitle to Zhong Ming’s Image Puzzle 象罔. Interestingly, this journal sees Zhong uniting with Xiao Kaiyu as an editorial team (previously Xiao had been producing Against 反对). Formatting, fonts, artwork, and even the contents, however, indicate that this Review was much less Against and much more Image Puzzle. Finally, Image Puzzle’s issues are marked by letters of the alphabet and not numbers, as the order in which the issues appeared remains unclear to me.

An anthology of the translated work of 20 poets - most of them not from Sichuan - will soon appear on this site as well. This will primarily consist of work written during the years 1982-1992, and allow readers to gain a better appreciation of the overall mainland-Chinese ‘avant-garde’ poetry scene throughout the country at the time. Some of the photos appearing here are in anticipation of this publication.

Sichuan journals

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Out-of-province journals

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Poetry photos

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