HK International Poetry Nights held in Xiamen

"It is time for poetry to reveal the secret of heaven," said Bei Dao,  the pen name of Chinese poet Zhao Zhenkai.

 
On November 27, a group of international poets from across the world, including Shuntaro Tanikawa, Bei Dao, Hirata Toshiko, Javier Bello, Tian Yuan and Ke Xiazhi participated in the fifth “Hong Kong International Poetry Nights” in Xiamen.

 
Hong Kong International Poetry Nights is an international poetry festival founded by the poet Bei Dao. It is held every two years. Since 2009, nearly 100 international poets have been invited to come to Hong Kong and Chinese mainland cities for poetry readings and poetry exchanges. At present, Hong Kong International Poetry Nights has become the most influential international poetry event in China.

This year’s theme is "Ancient Enmity", a line from a poem by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, which read, “For somewhere there is always an anmity between life and the great work."

The readings and discussions were conducted multilingually. During the poetry recitations, English and Chinese versions of the poems were projected on a screen for easy reference. The organizers also published a poetry collection, which included selected poems of the participating poets in English, Chinese and their original language. 

“For me, the verse is like a stirring and lasting echo.” said Bei Dao. “In an era of globalization, especially in a heterogeneous and isomorphic counterbalance, we must dare to face ourselves honestly. If we follow the festival’s theme we can ask if, in the writing of poetry,  there is still an ancient law.”

Bei Dao believes that there is an ancient hostility between life and poetry because suffering is not only the source but also the driving force of poetry. It is, according to him, the suffering and oppression of life that makes poetry transcend history, nation, religion, ideology, and even language boundaries.

By Echo