Poetry Book Launch in conjunction with National Poetry Month

Su Dong-Po represents the pinnacle of literary accomplishment from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). He is credited with transforming ci (a tune poem) from a minor form of poetry, written to match fixed tunes and often used to express amorous feelings, to a major form of poetry capable of expressing the full range of emotions and the human condition. It became the primary vessel for lyric poetry in China.

[Yung Wang’s] translations from the poetry of the great Song Dynasty master achieve the impossible: they are fine poems in English that are also accurate in the “carrying over” of the songs, language to language, culture from culture, that is, indeed, translation. I welcome this book with enthusiasm, admiration, and boundless gratitude. “ – Sam Hamill, poet (1943-2018)

YUN WANG has two other books of poetry, The Book of Totality and The Book of Jade, as well as two poetry chapbooks, Horse by the Mountain Stream and The Carp. Her translations of classical Chinese poetry have been published in a number of journals and magazines. She is a cosmologist at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

Wang spent over 20 years working on Dreaming of Fallen Blossoms, which she calls “a labor of love”. Besides her translations and notes, the book contains the Chinese originals and the Pinyin (romanization) to help English readers with pronunciation. Her introduction details the poet Su Dong-Po's life and times.