A groundbreaking anthology of classical Chinese translations by giants
of Modern American poetry. A rich compendium of translations, The New
Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry is the first
collection to look at Chinese poetry through its enormous influence on
American poetry. Weinberger begins with Ezra Pound's Cathay (1915), and
includes translations by three other major U.S. poetsWilliam Carlos
Williams, Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyderand an important
poet-translator-scholar, David Hinton, all of whom have long been
associated with New Directions. Moreover, it is the first general
anthology ever to consider the process of translation by presenting
different versions of the same poem by various translators, as well as
examples of the translators rewriting themselves. The collection, at
once playful and instructive, serves as an excellent introduction to the
art and tradition of Chinese poetry, gathering some 250 poems by nearly
40 poets. The anthology also includes previously uncollected
translations by Pound; a selection of essays on Chinese poetry by all
five translators, some never published before in book form; Lu Chi's
famous Rhymeprose on Literature translated by Achilles Fang;
biographical notes that are a collage of poems and comments by both the
American translators and the Chinese poets themselves; and also
Weinberger's excellent introduction that historically contextualizes the
influence Chinese poetry has had on the work of American poets.
