LiT’s Poet, Ouyang Jianghe, and his American translator, Austin Woerner

The 2009 Visiting LiT Poet is Ouyang Jianghe, from China, who came to VSC with the American translator, Austin Woerner. We are happy for the opportunity Oujang has extended for us to share his work here on the blog, and to show Austin’s work in translation here, as well. The video below shows the two: Oujang reads his poem, “Handgun,” in Chinese, and Austin translates it into English.

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Ouyang Jianghe’s Poem, “Handgun,” with a translation by Austin Woerner:

手枪

手枪可以拆开
拆作两件不相关的东西
一件是手,一件是枪
枪变长可以成为一个党
手涂黑可以成为另一个党

而东西本身可以再拆
直到成为相反的向度
世界在无穷的拆字法中分离

人用一只眼睛寻求爱情
另一只眼睛压进枪膛
子弹眉来眼去
鼻子对准敌人的客厅
政治向左倾斜
一个人朝东方开枪
另一个人在西方倒下

黑手党戴上白手套
长枪党改用短枪
永远的维纳斯站在石头里
她的手拒绝了人类
从她的胸脯拉出两只抽屉
里面有两粒子弹,一枝枪
要扣响时成为玩具
谋杀,一次哑火

Handgun

you can take a-
part a handgun, break it
in two, into
a hand a gun

paint the hand black, you’ve got
a faction—
put the gun on a boat: that’s
a means of persuasion

you can take apart a faction
into further partitions
parties
ambitions
you can break it into act, or action—
the world divides in infinite fissions

one eye you aim
at love; the other you ram
into the barrel of a gun
the bullets ogle
you level your nose at your enemies’
parlors: persuasion
becomes sinidextrous.
you take your hand-
gun, shoot into the west—
in the east
a man falls

the Black Hand put on white gloves
gunboats volley in private rooms
in stone, eternal Venus stands
her hands rejecting humanity
from her breasts she pulls
a pair of drawers—
two bullets a gun

pull the trigger: it becomes a toy
snap
silence

The Literature in Translation Program (LiT) , launched in 2009 by the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics (ALSC) together with VSC, is an exciting new addition to the Studio Center’s growing Writing Program. LiT brings writers and translators to the Vermont Studio Center for month-long residencies of intensive solitary work, collaboration, creative fellowship, and bilingual readings. To read more about the LiT progam and upcoming events, click here.

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