Mither Tongue by Jidi Majia
This collection of Jidi Majia's poetry in Chinese and Nuosu (a lesser-spoken language in China, though there are around two and a half million speakers) has been translated into the three strands of the Scots language: Lallans by Stuart Paterson, Doric by Sheena Blackhall and Shetlandic by Christine de Luca. These translations will be face-to-face with an English translation by the eminent translator from Chinese, Denis Mair, who will also provide a preface on the context of Jidi Majia's heritage and poetry. Jidi Majia's Scots translators have undoubtedly brought his vitality into alignment with the power of the Scots tongues, as does Denis Mair's excellent and erudite rendering into English. Aimed at two linguistic communities and coming from two linguistic communities at the other side of the planet, this collection presents a perfect symmetry in a globalized world where we need a dialogue not only between the powerful but also and perhaps even more rewardingly between the local and marginalized. The infinite is often to be encountered in the circumscribed.
Jidi Majia's work, while translated into other European and Asian languages has never before been seen in the UK. This is a unique presentation of his work in both Scots and English, bringing to readers a view of the work of this eminent ethnic poet from China's Sichuan region. He has published numerous poetic anthologies since the 1980s and has won national literature awards, and is considered one of the greatest poets of minorities in China. He is the President of the China Minority Literary Association. His themes, while embedded in his Nuosu culture, are timely explorations of what it means to be at one with nature and with his fellow humans. He writes with humility and compassion, with a wide-ranging knowledge of all Chinese literatures, across the dynasties and embracing present day Chinese poetics. His assimilation of the world's great literatures, together with expertise in Chinese and Nuosu literatures leads to an astonishing tour de force of poetry in which In everything that Jidi Majia writes there is this dual orientation: on one hand it is rooted in the land-based, tribal sensibility of the Nuosu, and on the other hand it is characterized by expansive subjectivity reaching out into the modern world.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781913212315 |
| ISBN 10 | 1913212319 |
| Title | Mither Tongue |
| Author | Jidi Majia |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vagabond Voices |
| Year published | 2021-04-05 |
| Number of pages | 200 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |