A Poetry Reading by Yu Jian (in Mandarin with English translation)

Poet, author, playwright and filmmaker Yu Jian is from Kunming, China and is of the generation whose lives were disrupted by the Cultural Revolution. A factory worker when he began to write poetry, Yu Jian graduated from Yunnan University and has published seventeen books. His biographer, Simon Patton, writes, “Yu Jian’s down-to-earthness can be understood as an attempt to resist both the orthodox optimism of the older generation and the exaggerated individualism of his own. He rejects many devices conventionally considered to be ‘poetic.’ Yu Jian’s aim is to open poetry up to life in all its manifestations.” Yu Jian will read in Mandarin; English translation will be provided. Open to the public.