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Sound and silence : my experience with China and literature / Yan Lianke ; translated an with an introduction by Carlos Rojas.

閻連科, By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Chinese Series: SinotheoryPublisher: Durham : Duke University Press, 2024Copyright date: ©2024Description: xviii, 174 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781478030393
  • 1478030399
  • 9781478026167
  • 1478026162
Uniform titles: 沉默與喘息. English Uniform titles:
  • Chen mo yu chuan xi. English
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Translator's introduction / Carlos Rojas -- Author's note -- He who has been selected by heaven and life to appreciate darkness -- National amnesia and literary memory -- The abjection of alt China and its literature -- The wild child that is American literature -- My thoughts on literary censorship and controversy -- My literary review book -- The distinctiveness of writing in China -- Fear and betrayal have accompanied me throughout my life -- Writing under a sky of concentrated power and relative laxity -- Living without dignity, but writing with honor -- My ideal Is simply to write a novel that I think is good -- A village's China and literature -- Afterword: Ripping open the dreamscape.
Summary: "Yan Lianke is a renowned writer of novels, short stories, and essays who became prominent in contemporary Chinese literature through works of fiction and literary criticism in the late 1990s. Yan's writing is provocative and nuanced, engaging Chinese history to highlight the reality of life for the people of China and to analyze the country's contributions to a worldwide literary canon. Working against increasing publication restrictions in China, Yan has sought out publishing opportunities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in translations from presses around the world. Sound and Silence, inspired by a series of lectures Yan gave during a North American tour and a 2014 acceptance speech for the Franz Kafka prize, encapsulates the author's groundbreaking perspectives on life, writing, and literary history. In these essays, Yan Lianke discusses how he understands his literary project, and particularly the role of literature as social commentary"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction New 895.1852 Y21 Available 33111011348071
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Yan Lianke is a world-renowned author of novels, short stories, and essays whose provocative and nuanced writing explores the reality of everyday life in contemporary China. In Sound and Silence , Yan compares his literary project to a blind man carrying a flashlight whose role is to help others perceive the darkness that surrounds them. Often described as China's most censored author, Yan reflects candidly on literary censorship in contemporary China. He outlines the Chinese state's project of national amnesia that suppresses memories of past crises and social traumas. Although being banned in China is often a selling point in foreign markets, Yan argues that there is no requisite correlation between censorship and literary quality. Among other topics, Yan also examines the impact of American literature on Chinese literature in the 1980s and 1990s. Encapsulating his perspectives on life, writing, and literary history, Sound and Silence includes an introduction by translator Carlos Rojas and an afterword by Yan.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Translator's introduction / Carlos Rojas -- Author's note -- He who has been selected by heaven and life to appreciate darkness -- National amnesia and literary memory -- The abjection of alt China and its literature -- The wild child that is American literature -- My thoughts on literary censorship and controversy -- My literary review book -- The distinctiveness of writing in China -- Fear and betrayal have accompanied me throughout my life -- Writing under a sky of concentrated power and relative laxity -- Living without dignity, but writing with honor -- My ideal Is simply to write a novel that I think is good -- A village's China and literature -- Afterword: Ripping open the dreamscape.

"Yan Lianke is a renowned writer of novels, short stories, and essays who became prominent in contemporary Chinese literature through works of fiction and literary criticism in the late 1990s. Yan's writing is provocative and nuanced, engaging Chinese history to highlight the reality of life for the people of China and to analyze the country's contributions to a worldwide literary canon. Working against increasing publication restrictions in China, Yan has sought out publishing opportunities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in translations from presses around the world. Sound and Silence, inspired by a series of lectures Yan gave during a North American tour and a 2014 acceptance speech for the Franz Kafka prize, encapsulates the author's groundbreaking perspectives on life, writing, and literary history. In these essays, Yan Lianke discusses how he understands his literary project, and particularly the role of literature as social commentary"-- Provided by publisher.

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