Wu Ang – Four Poems

Wu Ang, one of China's most notable contemporary poets and authors, was born in Fujian Province in 1974. She later attended Fudan University, and attained a postgraduate degree in contemporary Chinese fiction at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In addition to being a poet and novelist, Wu Ang is also known for her work as a former journalist and columnist. Her current focus is on Sù Writing Centre, an initiative that supports new and unpublished writers —“when written out,” Wu Ang explains, “the character sù [宿] represents a hundred [百] people [亻] under one roof [宀]”— which she founded in 2015. Wu Ang’s poetry is distinctive for the ways in which it blends a wry observational wit with understated poignance and finely modulated shades of emotion. Her poems engage with a broad range of themes, from death and ageing to love and sexuality. This selection of works, previously unpublished in English translation, are drawn from the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the exception of ‘Sculpture Theatre’, which was written in 2021.

Wu Ang – Four Poems

Paper Republic, (Online)

Aug. 2022