丝蕊 The Silk Stamen and Pistil: Three Ways to Rethink the Meaning of Sound in Translation

It is one thing to try to translate the meaning of a text from a language as different from English as Chinese. Trying to capture the sound of a poem in translation is something else entirely. In a presentation that is part lecture, part performance, Jonathan Stalling will demonstrate different ways to hear the problem of sound in translation and explore some of his solutions. In a series of “experiments,” Stalling will discuss, chant, and recite Chinese poetry in Chinese, English, and in both at the same time.

Dr. Stalling is Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Oklahoma specializing in American and Transpacific Poetry and Poetics. He is the co-founder and an editor of Chinese Literature Today magazine (CLT), and the editor of the CLT Book Series (at the University of Oklahoma Press).

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, the LSA Translation Theme Semester, the Department of Comparative Literature, and the Center for Chinese Studies.