Anna Yin wrote for the LCP’s the Poetry in Union – A Poetry Experience for Valentine’s Day
The following poems are that Anna Yin wrote for friends or upon requests.
To support the Poetry in Union – A Poetry Experience for Valentine’s Day
Category: Our Stories Co-creating
Introducing《Mirrors and Windows/镜子与窗户》
Videos for Poetry in Translation (2): A.F.Moritz and Anna Yin
A.F. Moritz and Anna Yin discussed poetry, translations and life experiences. They also talked about how other poets’ work had inspired their own writing. Here are videos from the event.
Main part:
Q/A part
Poetry in Translation: Molly Peacock and Anna Yin was a great success
Our first session: Poetry in Translation: Molly Peacock and Anna Yin was a great success. There were 91 people joined us. Thank you Molly, Yang and all poetry/translation lovers, book lovers for supporting. Thank the League of Canadian Poets for funding. Thanks Guerinca Editions.
Here also from Molly’s thank-you note:
The conversation between Anna Yin and Molly Peacock about poetry translation from English to Chinese launched lots of ideas, and we so appreciate your support, either in person or in spirit.
谢谢 /多謝
A partial list of over 90 Canadian and American attendees, from Boston to Maryland, from Ottawa to Costa Rica to Detroit, from Vancouver to Colorado and from New York to Toronto, with gratitude from Molly for your presence, oh poets and translators, lawyer and arborist, IT coder and actor, painter, print-maker & portraitist, financiers and fiction writers, therapists, nonfiction writers, teachers and editors–& scholar-husband:
Gary Alexander, Bernice Baeumler, Susan Boone, Cathie Borrie, Helen Bournas-Ney, Lara Bozabalian, Madeleine Brown, Amy C. Clark, Mike Curtis, Dana Delibovi, Alison Edwards, Cindy Frenkel, Davidson Garrett, Michael Groden, Rachel Hadas, Jenine Holmes, Bob Kaplan, Mary Louise Kiernan, Anita Lahey, Deena Linett, Ashley Mabbitt, Wendy Mark, Bronwyn Mills, Irina Nikolova, Dawn Hansen Pergakes, Craig Poile, Ellen Rachlin, Janet Read, Patria Rivera, Lindsay Royce, Dale Matthews Satorsky, Jane Seskin, Terrill Soules, Norman Stock, Tim Suermondt, Helen Tzagoloff, David Williams, Joyce Wilson, and Pui Ying Wong.)
Here are slides and chat file at the events.
George Elliott Clarke – Review Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac by Anna Yin
Anna Yin is a startling dreamer. Poems that seem Romantic veer into Surrealism or Symbolism. Tutored in Sylvia Plath and William Carlos Williams, among many other poets (mainly American and Canadian), Yin issues poems that are nightmare dreams or dreamy nightmares: Here’s a world where the natural becomes unnatural, the unnatural natural: “the police-monkey escorts a well-suited rat / followed by his cloned brothers…” Some poems are parables, such as the story of a man- a father-who refuses to leave his home, even while it and others are being reduced to rubble: “I received a copy of the photo in the local newspaper. / My father looked so small on the top of the ruins. / It was titled, ‘The Last Temple.’”
In another poem, the speaker says, “You are tired of his / molding, over and over, / thrashing, nailing / into you.” There’s a fierce feminism here, reinforced by readings of Dot Livesay and Dame Atwood. Though it’s tricky following Yin’s wicked, impressionistic juxtapositions, her painterly imagery is deliciously lustrous.
Yin is endlessly perspicacious, endlessly compelling: “The autumn gusts feel warm / as if it’s spring…. / last night by accident I cut my finger… / slowly, on the rice paper, red roses grew.” She brings to Canadian poetry a sense of classicism and aestheticism and minimalism, all nicely mixed up with sensuality.
Yin’s bravura poems – so exquisite and extraordinary – merit bravo upon bravo.
Publisher’s website:
The 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and the 7th Parliamentary/Canadian Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke is a revered artist in song, drama, fiction, screenplay, essays, and poetry. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960, Clarke was educated at the University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University, and Queen’s University. Clarke is also a pioneering scholar of African-Canadian literature. A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Clarke has taught at Duke, McGill, the University of British Columbia, and Harvard. He holds eight honorary doctorates, plus appointments to the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer. His recognitions include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry, the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (US), and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. Photo Credit of George Elliott Clarke : Harvard University.
Anna Yin was Mississauga’s Inaugural Poet Laureate (2015-2017) and has authored five collections of poetry. Her poems/translations have appeared at ARC Poetry, New York Times, China Daily, CBC Radio, World Journal etc. Anna won the 2005 Ted Plantos Memorial Award, two MARTYs, two scholarships from West Chester University Poetry Conference, three grants from OAC and 2013 Professional Achievement Award from CPAC. She performed her poetry on Parliament Hill and has been featured at 2015 Austin International Poetry Festival and 2017 National poetry month project etc. She teaches Poetry Alive at schools, colleges and libraries. Her website: http://www.annapoetry.com/
© George Elliott Clarke/Anna Yin
Poetry in Translation /East Meets West (Ongoing…)
A series of online events focus on poetry and translation by reading and discussing original poems then translations between poets and translator. The poets are George Elliott Clarke, Molly Peacock, Alice Major and A. F. Moritz, and the translator is Anna Yin
Each session lasts 90 minutes and involves one English-language poet and the Chinese translator to discuss techniques and adaptability required and close-reading poems of different styles and subjects.
- Aug 14, Molly Peacock and Anna Yin (see video)
- Aug 29, A.F.Moritz and Anna Yin (see video)
- Sept 11, Alice Major and Anna Yin (see video)
- Sept 25. George and Anna Yin (see video)
Oct 3, 15:00-16:30 the group session on Zoom -a summary with the above poets and open mic
Molly Peacock’s latest poetry collections are The Analyst and Cornucopia: New and Selected Poems. She is the series founder of The Best Canadian Poetry and the co-founder of Poetry in Motion on New York’s subways and buses. Her poems appear in leading literary journals such as Poetry, The Malahat Review and The Hudson Review, and are anthologized in The Oxford Book of American Poetry. Author of a one-person play about poetry, The Shimmering Verge, she is working on Form with Feeling, a collection of essays.
A. F. Moritzis the 6thPoet Laureate of Toronto. His most recent books are As Far As You Know (2020) and The Sparrow: Selected Poems (2018), both from House of Anansi Press. In 2015, Princeton University Press republished his 1986 volume in the Princeton Series of Contemporary Poets, The Tradition. He has published nineteen books of poems, and several volumes of poetry translated from French and Spanish. His poetry has received the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award in Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Beth Hokin Prize of Poetry magazine, and other awards.
Alice Major‘s 11th poetry collection is “Welcome to the Anthropocene”. published by the University of Alberta Press. Science has been a source of inspiration for much of her work, including an award-winning collection of essays: “Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science.” Alice served as the first poet laureate for her home city of Edmonton and her honours include an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Alberta. www.alicemajor.com
The 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and the 7th Parliamentary/Canadian Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke is a revered artist in song, drama, fiction, screenplay, essays, and poetry. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960, Clarke was educated at the University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University, and Queen’s University. Clarke is also a pioneering scholar of African-Canadian literature. A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Clarke has taught at Duke, McGill, the University of British Columbia, and Harvard. He holds eight honorary doctorates, plus appointments to the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer. His recognitions include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry,, the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (US), and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award.
Anna Yin’s online poetry alive workshops for schools and Haiku workshop
Anna is a participating poet for the League’s Poets In The Schools Program, and she has thoughtfully made her “Poetry Alive” classroom workshops available on Youtube. Check out her workshop. it’s poetry fun for the whole family!
Anna Yin’s Online Haiku workshop
Anna is a participating poet for the League’s Poets In The Schools Program, and she has thoughtfully made her “Poetry Alive” classroom workshops available on Youtube. Check out her workshop. it’s poetry fun for the whole family!
Poems about COVID-19/抗疫诗歌分享
Waiting for You in the Sunlight
News of epidemic spread everywhere;
our anxiety and worries grow .
Yet the sun shines brightly and warmly,
birds are seen here and there.
Masks mailing to you are still on their way;
my heart waiting for you has set out flying.
I hope the spring will soon blossom,
and folks sing happily and freely.
Wandering in the woods at the moment,
I stare at the setting sun;
opening my hands to catch the distant light,
I long for a new day to come.
My dear, remember-
I am waiting for you in the sun light.
在阳光下等你/@2020/3/15
到处是疫情的消息,
到处充满焦虑。
而阳光温暖地照耀着，
鸟儿又四处可见。
寄去的几个口罩还在路上，
等你回来的心却在飞翔。
但愿那时春暖花开，
人们敞开心扉歌唱。
此刻在林中散步的我，
注视着即将降落的太阳，
伸出手掌去捕捉远去的光亮，
期待新的一天早早到来，
亲爱的，请记住，
我在阳光下等你。
写在雨水之后/星子安娜 02/19/2020
立春过后，便是雨水。
老黄历又撕下了一页。
灌木丛中心急的鸟雀飞出去，
像一把撒向空中的种子，
只是不知飞落何方。
江南的水乡无边寂寞，
一叶扁舟雾里来，雾里去，
昨夜漂在我的梦里。
北方的雪还是没有融化，
心中的诗句删了又写，
写了又删，就像田里的野草
割了又长，长了又割——
留下屋檐一串串冰凌，冷冷地闪光。
漫长的夜里，谁与我以雪煮梦，
忘记世间百态，忘记歌舞盛世，
再次记起那卖火柴的小女孩，
和那为众人抱薪的无名者?
在干净的雨水里，素面朝天，
等待春暖，等待阳光刺透?
songs from Nature
I pause to listen…
in this cold winter
*
feathers rise somewhere
I hope you
land safe
*
spring returns
sick and tired souls
weeping no more
-anna yin /2020/02/11
Ask /Anna Yin
Who has covered the Mouth of Truth?
Now all the invisible souls
wearing masks weep…
天問 /星子安娜
誰給真理之口戴上了口罩？
所有隱形的靈魂呀，
戴著口罩哭泣。。。
A Song for Nameless Heroes/無名的守護
A Song for Nameless Heroes (trans by Anna Yin)
When our city is hushed by infection,
storms smash it with no prediction;
but fearless heroes rush to rescue
even knowing danger waits ahead.
When we say goodbye to theaters
and pause gathering for the moment;
so many nameless volunteers race
to offer their hands to save our lives.
At the moment of departure,
each one’s eyes are tearful.
Remember the vows in your heart;
each minute passing,
each silent effort,
we all promise “So long for now”.
Facing the camera, you smile.
your smiles are so bright.
But being shorn isn’t easy for you;
in fact, you are also scared,
yet you pretend to be brave…
So many touching stories like this,
Each story is a warm sun for us.
No matter worn and exhausted
you say you’re used to it –
for the cold world, there must
be someone to warm it up.
I think I see a star not afar.
I know the star is each of you.
No need to be afraid anymore.
No need to be afraid.
When we lay down yesterday ’s troubles,
we will embrace more stunning wonders.
Rainbows appear after storms for a reason,
for you give out your warmth all the time.
Perhaps dawn is almost ahead,
your smile is even sweeter.
Yet dare not relax for a moment.
Regardless of wind and rain,
no matter how difficult it is,
remember the smiling faces in your heart.
And we remember your warmth in our hearts.
You are our heroes.
You are the bright stars.
Thank you for your rescue.
Thank you for your warmth.
cherry blossom and those wings (a trip to Washington DC)
cherry blossom and those wings
1.
in morning rain
picking up fallen petals
i think of you
2.
once in blossom
now still
the light to my path
3
carried by winds
or resting in my hands
each bears a dream
4.
separated journeys to be…
home-
the same
5.
in my dream
like a child holding your hands…
i have this sweet sleep
6.
words pass through
the bird’s songs
stars are listening…
7
those wings, yours or mine?
rise up
without a sound
Anna Yin 2019/4/5
Chinese version published in Taiwan the next year.
樱花以及这些翅膀
1。
晨雨中
拾起飘落的花瓣
我想到你
2。
曾经盛开着
现在依然
照亮我的路
3
被风吹走
或在我手中栖息
每一片一个梦想
4。
相异的旅程…
家-
同样
5。
梦中
像一个小孩牵着你的手……
我有着这甜蜜
6。
私语飘过
鸟儿的歌声
星星在听……
7
这些翅膀，你的还是我的?
升起
寂静无声