Amang: In the face of dramatic social changes, I always think that poets have the best to offer. Because they have the smallest burden to carry and are freest. I think a true poet can start from zero, and there is no time limit. They can invigorate language in response to social changes, and can also create their own language: vocabulary, syntax, structure, tone…

In the face of dramatic social changes, I always think that poets have the best to offer…. They can invigorate language in response…

I like to discover nature. On the one hand, I enjoy relaxing and refreshing myself in the mountains and near the sea, connecting with higher or unknown mysteries. On the other hand, I am very curious about life: plants, animals, and their interaction with nature. Of course it includes human beings, our biological nature, the relation and interaction among ourselves, and between ourselves and nature. Because of this, my observation and reflection of the current era and society are reflected in my writing.

I do respond to realities. My responses can be masculine as well as feminine, public as well as private. In other words, I do not consciously speak for the era, or with a sense of social responsibility. Instead, I speak from a sense of personal concern. It is a very distinct perspective. It originates from the “genetic code” of my personal evolution.

There is a marked difference between my writing and yours, which contains the so-called female consciousness. Recently, I’ve been writing a series of poems all entitled “…the female…”, and I realize that my male consciousness is very strong. Do you think your writing contains a female consciousness? I notice that most poets translated by Chen Yuhong are women.

Chen: Sappho (630-570 BC) is the first female poet with whom I identify in the Western literary history. Her work and life story offer a great example of infinite imagination. I do read a lot of Western female poets, such as Hilda Doolittle, Marina Tsvetaeva, Elizabeth Bishop, May Swenson, Patricia Kathleen Page, Wisława Szymborska, Denise Levertov, Phyllis Webb, Sylvia Plath, Margaret Atwood, and Louise Glück, among others. Facing different social realities, each of them had/has her own personality and fortune, though no matter what their surroundings were/are, they never gave/give up writing or insisting on their aesthetics of creation. The distinct feminine characteristics in their writings resonate for me. It is as if I can see a deeper self through those poets.

However, writings by male poets attract me too. For instance, John Keats, T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, A.R. Ammons, W.S. Merwin, to name just a few. Good poems appeal to heart and soul, and the author’s gender doesn’t matter.