Poetry Bridging Continents IV: Bringing Together Chinese and American Poets, Scholars, and Cultural Ambassadors
Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/28 - 10/31
All Day
Categories
Poetry Bridging Continents IV
October 28-31, 2019
New England College
Simon Center Great Room
98 Bridge Street
Henniker, NH 03242
This event is free and open to the public.
Poetry Bridging Continents IV: “Rivers … were made in heaven” R. Frost is a four day international gathering open to the public at New England College that brings together New England and leading Chinese New Pastoral poets, scholars, and cultural ambassadors to explore ways to build bridges between two distinct cultures and communities using Pastoral Poetry and literary scholarship as a guide.
The symposium continues the alternating annual gatherings between American and Chinese poets and scholars in the New England region and in China that builds upon the environmental creativity of the New Pastoral scholarship which the Twenty-first Century has birthed on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The New Pastoral Poetry is evolving in the 21st Century into the poetry of The Anthropocene: The geologic period when human activity is the dominant force on the planet’s environment. Pastoral Poetry’s central focus is concerned with the ways language can be used to preserve and care for natural landscapes, history, and place, in times of human-induced change—a common need for both cultures to address.
For additional information please contact: Maura MacNeil: mmacneil@nec.edu or Rodger Martin: rodgerwriter@myfairpoint.net
The symposium is made possible through the support of the Division of Humanities at New England College, the Monadnock Writers’ Group, the Highland Center of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the New Hampshire Poetry Society, and the Worcester County Poetry Association
Schedule of Events at New England College
Monday October 28
9:30-11:30 a.m.: Opening Renga Ceremony
Renga is a call and response form of collaborative poetry including both written text and brush strokes. The thematic elements of the poem are focused on images and ideas about the natural world. Participants will be in groups and led by a Renga Master poet and will create a Renga presentation poem with others that will be displayed throughout the duration of the symposium.
Note: Spaces are limited for the participation in the Renga Ceremony. Please contact Rodger Martin or Maura MacNeil at least two weeks prior to the symposium to secure a space: rodgerwriters@myfairpoint.net or mmacneil@nec.edu
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: Lunch
1:00-1:30 p.m.: Welcoming Remarks
1:30-2:45 p.m.: Panel Discussion One: From the Shepherd to the Planet: New Pastoral Poetry
Participants: Mark Long, Keene State College, Gene McCarthy, College of the Holy Cross, emeritus; Poets: Susan Roney-O’Brien, Claire Golding, Maura MacNeil, and Rodger Martin
Moderator: Kate McIntyre: Editor, Worcester Review
2:45-3:00 p.m.: Break/Refreshments
3:00-4:15 p.m.: Panel Discussion Two: The Arc of Poetry
Presenter: Chen Yihai is Professor and Dean of the Department of Social Studies at Yancheng Teachers University and widely published poet. He is a member of the Chinese Writers Association and Chair of the Association of Critics of Yancheng.
4:30 p.m.: Closing Tea Ceremony
Tuesday October 29
9:30-10:45 a.m.: Panel Discussion Three: Collecting and Preserving Poetry
Presenters: Rodney Obien: Archivist, Keene State College; Chelsea Hanrahan: Director of the Raymond Danforth Library, New England College; Yue Qi: Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Literature & Arts of Taicang and Director of the Taicang Art Gallery; Kate McIntyre: Editor, Worcester Review
Moderator: Rodger Martin
Translator: Benjamin Landauer
11:00-11:45 a.m.: Panel Discussion Four: Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese Poetry
Presenter: Zi Chuan is a writer and the director of the Poetry Work Committee of Jiangsu Writers Association and a Council member of Jiangsu Writers Association. He serves as theVice President of the Chinese Poetics Research Association of Jiangsu Province and is a member of Chinese Writers Association as well as a council member of China Poetry Society.
Translator: Chen Yihai
11:50 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: Lunch
1:00-1:45 p.m.: Panel Discussion Five: The “flower” Images in Li Qignzhao’s Poetry
Presenter: Wang Yuqin is a professor of creative writing of Yancheng Teachers University. She is currently chairing a project of the National Social Science Fund.
Translator: Benjamin Landauer
2:00-3:15 p.m.: Student Poetry Performance
Poets: Rebecca Curtis, Bonnie Shinn and Cai Yingming
3:30 p.m.: Tea and Closing Remarks
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Poetry Reading of Chinese and American Poets
Bu Lanchen, Terry Farish, Benjamin Landauer, Jennifer Militello, Zi Chuan, Henry Walters, and Chen Yihai
Wednesday October 30
9:30-10:45 a.m.: Calligraphy Demonstration by leading calligrapher poets from China
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the art of calligraphy and practice the techniques with ink on paper.
Note: Spaces are limited for the participation in the Callilgraphy Demonstration. Please contact Rodger Martin or Maura MacNeil at least two weeks prior to the symposium to secure a space: rodgerwriters@myfairpoint.net or mmacneil@nec.edu
7:30-8:30 a.m.: Reading of American and Chinese Poets
John Hodgen, Andrew Morgan, Claire Golding, Yue Qui (Stacey), Kong Xiangjing
Thursday October 31
9:00-9:50 a.m.: Panel Discussion Six: Writing the Anthropocene: Language as Ecological Consciousness
Participants: William Homestead, Associate Professor in Communication Studies; Mark Long, Professor of English at Keene State College; Jennifer Militello, Poet and Director of the New England College MFA in Creative Writing program; Benjamin Landauer, student and Chinese scholar, Harvard University
Moderator: Maura MacNeil
Translator: Chen Yihai
10:00-10:50 a.m.: Panel Discussion Seven: Final Reflections
Participants: American and Chinese Poets
Moderator: Mark Long