Hi all--
just got Prynne's _Pearls That Were_--I can only register my great
enthusiasm for the book at the moment & hope that maybe someone'll chip in.
Thought I'd mention, however, that the 7th poem is a hilarious
quasi-translation of a poem by Che Qianzi--Jeff Twitchell many years ago
sent me his own translation, which I'll append below. -- This is all by way
of saying: does anyone have Jeff's current address? He's continent-hopped
a lot in the last few years, & I lost track of him.
all best --N
---
Che Qianzi
WHITE BRIDGE
Orange. Lobster. Tobacco. It's a small world. Tranquility.*
"Struggle in youthful years." The desire for improvement and sex. Not new
fish
As well as contact. Spring mountains done in red ink. Doggerel. What
joy.
Scream. Get together. Orange peel blind-gut, hung-up
On evil spirits. Bright. Strict. The newly cut out patrolling young
woman.
Che Qianzi jots down
Splash-ink landscape egg-roll no. 4:
Nostrils, white bridge, chorus. People sit around _m_
--Jesus! we ate milk**
After that, chairs. All are, tables.
* Jingjing (Tranquility): the name of a Suzhou karaoke club manager. When
her father named her, he split the Chinese character jing into two
characters, meaning "Struggle in youthful years."
** In Suzhou dialect, "cow's milk" sounds like "Judas".
Nate & Jane Dorward
[log in to unmask]
109 Hounslow Ave., Willowdale, ON, M2N 2B1, Canada
ph: (416) 221 6865
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