Brian Holton Podcast
June 9, 2011
Brian Holton on Yang Lian
Interviewing the Chinese poet Yang Lian’s thoughtful translator — Brian Holton — was a fantastic experience for me. Translating, I feel, is an art equal to the creation of a poem and – also – it is act that requires more faith, more worry, and more risk if you ‘get it wrong’. Holton’s translations are sensitive, imaginitve and creatively solve the problems inherent in working between two very different languages and styles. His ability to capture Yang Lian’s voice is illustrated here in this podcast. It was an absoloute pleasure to sit with Brian and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
— Ryan
We chat with the illuminating Brian Holton at the StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews. He gives us the chance to hear some of his superb translations into English and Scots of the Chinese poet Yang Lian and he discusses translation, ideas of exile and the evolution of modern Chinese poetry with Reader in Residence Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk@anonpoetry Music by Ewen Maclean. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com
“Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a poet with an exceptional ability to distill ‘amazing sense’ from ‘ordinary meanings.’ Her poetry is now considered among the finest in the English language.
Jane Wald is the Director of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Mass. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College, studied historical archaeology at the College of William and Mary and received a graduate degree in American history from Princeton University. Prior to her tenure at the Emily Dickinson Museum, Wald served as assistant director of development and marketing at Old Sturbridge Village and director of The Evergreens, under the Martha Dickinson Bianchi Trust. Upon the merger of the Homestead and The Evergreens in 2003, she became the museum’s associate director.
Tevis Kimball is the curator of special collections at Jones Library, Amherst, where she is also acting Director.
Henk lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A., where he’s studying towards his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts. Currently, he works as an adviser to undergraduate students.
