From Booklist
Mindful of Robert Frost's famous maxim, "Poetry is what is lost in translation," Seaton yet risks the loss for the sake of opening doors otherwise closed to readers lacking Chinese. This collection spans decades of Seaton's work and almost 4,000 years of Chinese poetry. It is strongest on T'ang Dynasty (618-905 C.E.) work, weakest on post-nineteenth-century poetry, hence best as a historical introduction rather than a window on contemporary China. Throughout, Seaton scrupulously adheres to his conviction that meaning--the "purpose" of the poem--takes precedence over music and form. That stance is a matter of heated debate among translators, for which readers can be grateful because of the new and different versions of old poems it engenders. Seaton's introductory essays place his selections in context, offer brief entree to some of the challenges Chinese poses to readers of English, and provide an overview of Chinese poetic forms. The essays as much as the translations make the book a fine gateway to China's long poetic tradition.
Steven SchroederCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Mindful of Robert Frost's famous maxim, 'Poetry is what is lost in translation,' Seaton yet risks the loss for the sake of opening doors otherwise closed to readers lacking Chinese. . . . The essays as well as the translations make the book a fine gateway to China's long poetic tradition."—Booklist
"Jerome Seaton is the finest living translator and explicator of Chinese poetry; beyond a genius for interpretation and impeccable scholarship. Seaton has that quality that can magically transcend intuition and learning: he is a poet."—Carolyn Kizer, author of Cool, Calm, and Collected: Poems 1960–2000
"Luckily for his readers, J. P. Seaton is also a considerable poet who wears his erudition lightly in his lively commentary to this great sweep of Chinese poetry."—John Balaban, translator, Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong
"J. P. Seaton's luminous translations are accurate in presenting the meaning and order of words and images from the original while revealing the true spirit of these poets."—Sam Hamill, author of Almost Paradise: New and Selected Poems and Translations
"This anthology, with its inviting introduction, represents the lifework of the translator and a heritage of scholarship. It is a great gift to the language and poetry of our time."—W. S. Merwin, author of Migration: New and Selected Poems
