Fifteen Indigenous-minority poets from China read their own short poems in their Indigenous-minority mother tongues. Most of these languages are severely endangered. Some of them may have never been heard of, such as Dagur, Yugu, Bonan, Nu, Derung, Lahu, and Mulao, even for people inside China. The recordings are put together based on the geographic locations of the poets/languages in a counterclockwise order: from Northeast to Northwest, down to Southwest, South, and up to the Southeast-East coast of China. Tracing backward, we see how languages are different from each other but also similar to each other in a continuous way, an illustration of languages around the world as a continuum, separated due to isolation after migration across mountains and oceans. Each language takes us back in the journey of human history. Each poem leads us to a unique world.
1. Wu Yingli (1967), Dagur from Inner Mongolia
2. Ha Mo (1973), Dongxiang from Gansu
3. A Marjen, Yugu from Gansu
4. Ma Xuewu (1972), Bonan from Gansu
5. Kulaxihan Muhamaitihan (1974), kazakh from Gansu
6. Abiba Yiminjan (1975), Tajik from Xinjiang
7. YomQung SangMo (1998), Tibetan from Ngari, Tibet
8. Pema Yangchen (1974), Tibetan from Shannan, Tibet
9. Danba Wangmo (1991), Rgyalrong Tibetan from Sichuan
10. Liu Wenqing (1984), Nu from Yunnan
11. Gao Qiongxian (1986), Derung from Yunnan
12. Lal Vet (1988), Lahu from Yunnan
13. Gebu (1964), Hani from Yunnan
14. Tong Yu (1978), Mulao from Guangxi
15. Lan Yongxiao (1982), She (Shan Ha) from Zhejiang
Produced and curated by
PoetryEastWest - Poetry Across the Oceans
The project is part of the subtheme Global unity and shared futures.
Author
Poetry Across the Oceans
Poetry Across the Oceans is a video channel for PoetryEastWest promoting translingual and transcontinental communications, previously collaborating with Lyrikline—China domain, PI—China domain, Poetry China and Beijing International Translation Workshops.
