Category: Poetry

April 12, 2019

Book Excerpt! Thick and Dazzling Darkness: Religious Poetry in a Secular Age (introduction)

“Thick and Dazzling Darkness undertakes the daunting task of exploring spirituality (qua poetry) in a way that connects such otherwise dissimilar poets as the self-consciously backward-looking Robinson Jeffers, the peculiarly American modernism of Robert Duncan, and the (at)tendent postmodernism of Fanny...

April 11, 2019

Onno Oerlemans on the Poetry of Pets

In conjunction with National Pet Day, today’s National Poetry Month post comes from an excerpt of Onno Oerlemans’ Poetry and Animals: Blurring the Boundaries with the Human. In chapter 4 “The Individual Animal in Poetry,” Oerlemans discusses the poet’s challenge of conveying a meaningful experiences...

April 9, 2019

Book Excerpt! The Shahnameh: The Persian Epic as World Literature (preface)

“A major achievement. With wit and erudition, Hamid Dabashi has pushed open one of the great locked doors of world literature: the Shahnameh. In bringing the central work of Persian literature vividly to life, he also offers us a new way...

April 1, 2019

Book Giveaway! National Poetry Month 2019

In celebration of National Poetry Month we’ll be featuring media roundups and book excerpts from recent titles about poetry as well as highlighting works of poetry published by The Chinese University Press. In addition to these weekly features, we’re offering...

February 8, 2019

Book Excerpt! Poetry and Animals, by Onno Oerlemans (introduction)

“Oerlemans interrogates how poetry, as a specific form of writing, “reveals tendrils of meaning about animals that other kinds of writing and thinking do not.” His astonishing close readings of choice examples illuminate how poetry sustains a productive ambiguity and...

September 30, 2018

International Translation Day

Today, September 30th, isn’t just the last day of National Translation Month it is also International Translation Day. International Translation Day is a day to celebrate language professionals and the work that they do. Here on the Columbia University Press...

September 29, 2018

Book Excerpt! How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context

On Saturdays throughout National Translation Month we have been featuring poetry titles. Continuing this week’s theme of Chinese literature we have an excerpt from How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context edited by Zong-qi Cai. The book is latest addition...

September 22, 2018

Peter France On the Poet Konstantin Batyushkov

September is National Translation Month, a time to celebrate literature in translation. Throughout the month we have been sharing excerpts and guest posts but have devoted Saturdays to featuring poetry titles. Today we have a guest post written by Peter...

September 15, 2018

Book Excerpt! Ghalib: Selected Poems and Letters

September is National Translation Month. We have been sharing excerpts and guest posts throughout the month but have devoted Saturdays to featuring poetry titles in translation. Today we will be featuring selections from Ghalib: Selected Poems and Letters, translated by...

September 8, 2018

Book Excerpt! For Nirvana: 108 Zen Sijo Poems by Cho Oh-Hyun

September is National Translation Month. On Saturdays throughout the month we will be featuring our translations of poetry. Today, we are focusing on selections from For Nirvana: 108 Zen Sijo Poems by Cho Oh-Hyun, including section 2 from Kwon Youngmin’s...

August 11, 2018

Pity the Dewy Pearl Be Thrown

Here’s a haiku by Lady Den Sute-Jo (1633-98), translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, in honor of Women in Translation month. #haiku #womenpoets #womenintranslation #japanese #poetry A post shared by Columbia (@grangersworldofpoetry) on Aug 7, 2018 at 9:13am PDT

July 7, 2018

The Best Thing in the World

Browning was born in England in 1806, the oldest of 12, and grew up in a Turkish-style mansion. She secretly married Robert Browning, also a poet, amidst the melodrama of paternal opposition and romantic art. She published her first book...