Islands or Continents: An Excerpt from How Can I Call What is Between Us a Past?” by Adonis

Yesterday, as part of our National Poetry Month celebration, we introduced you to the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong (IPNHK) chapbooks. Published by the Chinese University Press, these chapbooks are written by each participant and include the poems in the author’s native language, English, and Chinese. Today, we’re featuring an excerpt from How Can I Call What is between Us a Past, by Adonis.

This chapbook is part of the collection that resulted from the 2013 IPNHK. Islands or Continents collects the finest contemporary poetry by some of the most internationally acclaimed poets today. The box set comprises eighteen pocket-sized chapbooks. Poets include: Adonis (Syria), Aase Berg (Sweden), Conchitina Cruz ((Philippines), Menna Elfyn (Wales), Lee Seong-bok (South Korea), Tim Lilburn (Canada), Zeyar Lynn (Myanmar), Dunya Mikhail (Iraq), Peter Minter (Australia), Tomasz Rózycki (Poland), Olvido García Valdés (Spain), Jeffrey Yang (USA), Raúl Zurita (Chile), as well as leading Chinese poets such as Natalia Chan, Han Dong, Lan Lan, Un Sio San, and Ye Mimi.