Opening up Minds
Tariq Ali on Hugo Chavez: I remember sitting next to an elderly, modestly attired woman at one of his public rallies. She questioned me about him. What did I think? Was he doing well? Did…
Category: World Literature
Happy Every Day
I take both grace and insult With cheerful equanimity — Du Fu Dear Wendy, Congrats on your decision to move to China and, as Kerouac advised, be in love with your Shanghai life. I marvel…
Neruda Night! Latin America Reading Group for March
“There is something about Neruda—about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion—that sets him apart from other poets. It is hard not to be swept away by the urgency…
Madwomen: Latin America Reading Group for February
Our dear friend Cheryl Sullivan is leaving soon for Santiago, Chile. Upon her recommendation, we will read and discuss Chilean writer Gabriela Mistral’s bi-lingual book of poetry, Madwomen: The Locas Mujeres Poems Of Gabriela Mistral….
Hedy & Heine
The year after Mev died I read a lot of literature– Poetry, novels, plays One volume I took refuge in Was a bi-lingual edition of Heine’s Songs of Love & Grief I have a favorite…
A Poem by Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ
Như lúa hỏi đất Anh có tốt không ? Như cây hỏi gió Anh có tốt không ? Như mấy hỏi trời Anh có tốt không ? Trời anh mênh mông Mây em bay lượn
The Cry of Vietnam
Published in 1968, The Cry of Vietnam is a short collection of heart-breaking poems and stirring drawings by Thich Nhat Hanh and Vo-Dinh. The book’s epigraph is taken from the classic Vietnamese work, The Tale…
On Ferlinghetti’s Americus, I
For Dianne Lee and Lynette D’Amico When I first read Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Americus,I just before The Book of Mev was published, I was energized by discovering how much it is a mish mash, full of…
A Poem by Heinrich Heine
Du bist wie eine Blume, so hold und schön und rein, Ich schau dich an, und Wehmut schleicht mir ins Herz hinein. Mir ist, als ob ich die Hände aufs Haupt dir legen sollt Betend,…
A Poem by Anryu Suharu
When, with breaking heart, I realize This world is only a dream, The oak tree looks radiant. –Kenneth Rexroth and Ikuko Atsumi, Women Poets of Japan