Ouyang jianghe biography of christopher

The poem “The Burning Kite” by Ouyang Jianghe served as a guide as they chose the artists for the exhibition.

The poem speaks with a kind of ironic toughness, distrustful of consoling illusions.  The works in this group explore uplifting feelings and the freedom to create, while at the same time acknowledge the difficulty of letting go; a mood of the times.  Ouyang’s poem offers a way to process this moment of living during the pandemic; to reflect not only on what has been lost, but also on what has been given and transformed during this past year.

Ouyang Jianghe
The Burning Kite
Translated from the Chinese by Austin Woerner

What a thing it would be, if we all could fly.
But to rise on air does not make you a bird.

I’m sick of the hiss of champagne bubbles.
It’s spring, and everyone’s got something to puke.

The things we puke: flights of stairs,
a skyscraper soaring from the gut,

 the bills blow by on the April breeze
followed by flurries of razor blades in May. 

It’s true, a free life is made of words.
You can crumple it, toss it in the trash, 

or fold it between the bodies of angels, attaining
a permanent address in the sky. 

The postman hands you your flight of birds
persisting in the original shape of wind. 

Whether they’re winging toward the scissors’ V
or printed and plastered on every wall 

or bound and trussed, bamboo frames wound with wire
or sentenced to death by fire 

you are, first
and always, ash. 

Broken wire, a hurricane at each end.
Fire trucks scream across the earth. 

But this blaze is a thing of the air.
Raise your glass higher, toss it up and away. 

Few know this kind of dizzy glee:
an empty sky, a pair of burning wings.

On view at Geary Contemporary, Millerton, NY, and Kristen Lorello, New York, NY

Geary, Millerton, NY, June 12 – July 25:
Scott Alario, Eve Biddle, Olivier Catté, Lisa Corinne Dav

Ouyang Jianghe
The Burning Kite
Translated from the Chinese by Austin Woerner

What a thing it would be, if we all could fly.
But to rise on air does not make you a bird.

I’m sick of the hiss of champagne bubbles.
It’s spring, and everyone’s got something to puke. 

The things we puke: flights of stairs,
a skyscraper soaring from the gut,

 the bills blow by on the April breeze
followed by flurries of razor blades in May. 

It’s true, a free life is made of words.
You can crumple it, toss it in the trash, 

or fold it between the bodies of angels, attaining
a permanent address in the sky. 

The postman hands you your flight of birds
persisting in the original shape of wind. 

Whether they’re winging toward the scissors’ V
or printed and plastered on every wall 

or bound and trussed, bamboo frames wound with wire
or sentenced to death by fire 

you are, first
and always, ash. 

Broken wire, a hurricane at each end.
Fire trucks scream across the earth. 

But this blaze is a thing of the air.
Raise your glass higher, toss it up and away. 

Few know this kind of dizzy glee:
an empty sky, a pair of burning wings.

As the three organizers began their collaboration, they discovered emotional and philosophical resonance in a poem by a member of a group of Chinese writers referred to as the Misty Poets.  The poem “The Burning Kite” by Ouyang Jianghe served as a guide as they chose the artists for the exhibition.

The poem speaks with a kind of ironic toughness, distrustful of consoling illusions.  The works in this group explore uplifting feelings and the freedom to create, while at the same time acknowledge the difficulty of letting go; a mood of the times.  Ouyang’s poem offers a way to process this moment of living during the pandemic; to reflect not only on what has been lost, but also on what has been given and transformed during thi

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Number of items: 43.

Authored Books

Bruno, Cosima (2012) Between the Lines: Yang Lian's Poetry through Translation. Leiden: Brill. (Sinica Leidiensa)

Edited Book or Journal Volume

Bruno, Cosima, Klein, Lucas and Song, Chris, eds. (2023) The Bloomsbury Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature in Translation. London: Bloomsbury. (Bloomsbury Handbooks)

Bruno, Cosima and Tarocco, Francesca, eds. (2008) Made in China: nuovi scrittori. Milano: Mondadori.

Book Chapters

Bruno, Cosima (2024) ''It Can't Be All in One Language': Poetry in the diverse language.' In: Codeluppi, Martina and Gallo, Simona, (eds.), Mother Tongue and Other Tongues: Translation and Creation in Sinophone Poetry. Amsterdam: Brill. (Forthcoming)

Bruno, Cosima (2023) 'The Form of Music: Polyphony and Contra-dictions in Ouyang Jianghe’s Poetry.' In: Santone, Laura, (ed.), Rimediare, performare, intermediare: il corpo sonoro della scrittura. Roma, Italy: Roma TrE-Press, pp. 197-213. (Prismes)

Bruno, Cosima, Klein, Lucas and Song, Chris (2023) 'Introduction. Mapping Modern Chinese Literature in Translation.' In: Bruno, Cosima, Klein, Lucas and Song, Chris, (eds.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature in Translation. London, New York, Dublin: Bloomsbury, pp. 1-12. (Literary Studies)

Bruno, Cosima (2023) 'Translation in a Multilingual Context: Six Authors Writing the City.' In: Bruno, Cosima, Klein, Lucas and Song, Chris, (eds.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature in Translation. London, New York, Dublin: Bloomsbury, pp. 319-331.

Bruno, Cosima (2023) 'La traduzione del testo poetico. Il suono nell'immagine, l'immagine nel suono.' In: Pesaro, Nicoletta, (ed.), La traduzione del cinese: Riflessioni, strategie e tipologie testuali. Milano: Hoepli, pp. 73-97.