Xi’an Music Hall, Xi’an, China, Planet Earth, The Universe
Reflections on Returning to My Alma Mater
回母校有感
I drink the water and think of its source,
Roses lean beside the stone spring’s course.
Old marks on the steps still faintly glow,
Under parasol trees, green canopies grow.
Though things have changed, affections shift as well,
New blossoms bloom all through the campus dell.
Only the scent of printing ink remains,
Silent through long nights, no word it gains.
Written June 28, 2026
Xi’an Jiaotong University Education Foundation
Response Poetry By Ma Yongbo 马永波
Response Poetry Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波
A butterfly and wisteria flowers, by Xü Xi (c. 886 – c. 975), painted around 970
回母校有感
Reflections on Returning to My Alma Mater
饮水思源罢，
玫瑰倚石泉。
阶前旧痕闪，
梧下绿荫连。
物非情亦改，
满园新葩开。
唯余油墨香，
伴夜默无言
20260628于西安交大教育基金会
Friends since university days at Xi’an Jiaotong University, Tong Xiaofeng 仝晓锋 and Ma Yongbo 马永波 together at the Seminar on Ma Yongbo’s 马永波 ‘Collected Poems’ Held in Xi’an on the 28th June 2026
the city wall around the sky—for Yongbo, in Xi’an
环绕天空的城墙
the poet’s phone steers the bicycle,
the wall moves as fast as the spinning wheels,
catching the dawn at the crest of every slope.
The sky, as a century old ally, raises itself beyond
every marauder’s grasp.
Air is an unnatural captive, preferring wide white spaces
and the odd scooter as companion,
and this morning the sky asks the poet
to join her on his travels through time.
The wall grows exponentially,
every generation seeds her with even more mystery;
fuelling her daily re-imagining
of the art of building city walls
the circumference of the sky
29th June 2026, Celebrating Ma Yongbo returning to his alma mater for an interview as a distinguished alumnus with the Educational Foundation. An auspicious day !
Response Poetry By Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨
Response Poetry Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波
环绕天空的城墙
the city wall around the sky—for Yongbo, in Xi’an
——致在西安的永波
诗人的手机为单车导航，
城墙随旋转的车轮向后移动，
在每一道坡顶，与晨曦相遇。
天空，这位相伴百年的故交，
舒展身躯，挣脱所有掠夺者的魔爪。
空气是不甘被囚的俘虏，
偏爱辽阔的留白，
与偶尔掠过的踏板车为伴，
而这个清晨，天空向诗人发出邀请，
共赴一场穿越时空的漫游。
城墙在岁月中无限延展，
每一代人都在她身上种下更深的谜；
日日重塑着筑城的技艺，
以及苍穹的轮廓。
2026年6月29日，祝贺马永波重返母校，作为杰出校友接受教育基金会的访谈。真是个吉日！
马永波《诗歌总集》西安研讨会举行
Seminar on Ma Yongbo’s ‘Collected Poems’ Held in Xi’an, Chinese link here:
https://moment.rednet.cn/content/646040/63/16038520.html
Group photo of seminar attendees— Ma Yongbo’s 马永波 ‘Collected Poems’ Held in Xi’an
On the afternoon of June 28, the Seminar on Forty Years of Poetic Creation by Ma Yongbo: The Complete Poems, co-hosted by Zuilin Academy of Xi’an and the Literary Federation of Xi’an Jiaotong University Alumni, was successfully held at Zuilin Academy on the fourth floor of Zuilin Restaurant in Xi’an. The seminar was presided over by Tong Xiaofeng. Representatives from Xi’an Jiaotong University including Xu Zhuo, Zhao Li and Jia Xuchun, together with more than 30 local poets, writers and critics in Xi’an, conducted in-depth discussions centering on the newly published four-volume The Complete Poems by renowned poet Ma Yongbo and his over four decades of poetic writing.
Born in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province in 1964, Ma Yongbo holds a postdoctoral degree in Literary Theory. He is a pivotal figure of Chinese avant-garde poetry, as well as a leading domestic scholar and translator specializing in Anglo-American postmodern poetry. Since 1986, he has published more than 80 volumes of original works and translations, including American Poetry After 1940, John Ashbery’s Selected Poems, and Moby-Dick. Currently a faculty member at the Poetics Research Center of Nanjing University of Science and Technology, he also serves as President of the Literary Federation of Xi’an Jiaotong University Alumni and Editor-in-Chief of Yearbook of Regional Chinese Poetry — the personal bond that laid the groundwork for the joint hosting of this seminar by the alumni literary federation.
The core text under discussion, The Complete Poems, was published by the Oriental Publishing Center in 2024, edited by Tong Xiaofeng. The four-volume set spans 2,172 pages, chronologically divided into four instalments: 1983–1999, 2000–2017, 2018–2024, and Long Poems and Poem Cycles. Collecting 1,178 poems distilling forty years of his creative output, it stands as the magnum opus of his literary career.
At the seminar, Tong Xiaofeng, poet, film director and editor of this anthology, first elaborated on the editorial philosophy of the four-volume collection and Ma Yongbo’s triple-track creative path spanning original writing, translation and poetic research. Ma Yongbo then shared reflections on his forty-plus years of poetic journey.
Afterwards, established local Xi’an poets and critics including Di Guanglong, Wang Fangwen, Wang Ping, Fu Shishan, Zhang Tiehu, Xu Chungang, Shi Leiming, Ling Xiaochen, Chu Mei, Shi Fengmei, Feng Jiani, Wang Lijuan, Wang Nianjun, Su Huanjia and Sun Xiaolong delivered speeches in succession. They engaged in fervent dialogue around Ma Yongbo’s identity as a representative contemporary Chinese avant-garde poet and a major translator of Western modern and postmodern poetry, tracing the evolution of his core poetic philosophies over four decades.
During the academic summary session, Song Ninggang, Associate Professor from the School of Liberal Arts, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, commented that from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, Ma Yongbo pioneered and practiced a narrative poetics centred on presenting complex individual experiences, strengthening Chinese poetry’s capacity to engage with reality. In the mid-to-late 1990s, he was the first to propose the concept of “metapoetry”, echoing the self-reflexive consciousness of postmodern literature. Faced with the rampant prevalence of desire-driven and superficial writing in the new century, he further advocated “difficult writing”, rectifying prevalent literary drawbacks through spiritual elevation, broadened experiential scope and profound ideological depth. Meanwhile, his sustained translation project covering Whitman, Dickinson, Pound, Stevens and Ashbery, forming a full spectrum of Anglo-American postmodern poetics, creates intertextual resonance with his own creative writing. Many participants deemed this intertextual dialogue the key reason why The Complete Poems transcends the scope of a mere personal anthology, bearing unique value as a specimen for dialogue between Chinese poetics and the English literary world.
During the seminar break, distinguished painters and calligraphers Shen Dawei and Zhang Tiehu presented original calligraphy scrolls to Ma Yongbo. In addition, Li Xuemin, founder of Zuilin Academy, mentioned the academy’s quarterly tradition of donating books to children in remote mountainous regions. Many attending poets donated their spare personal collections on-site, which will be delivered to teachers and young students in mountainous areas alongside the next batch of donations. This heartfelt gesture infused the rigorous academic discourse on forty years of poetics with warm, tangible compassion within the down-to-earth hybrid space integrating academy and restaurant.
Tong Xiaofeng, award winning filmmaker and long term friend of Ma Yongbo reciting ‘Love Poem’ by Ma Yongbo, written 13th December 1985, when Yongbo was 21, and first published with English translation, 41 years later, in International Times on the 13th July 2024
https://internationaltimes.it/love-poem-by-ma-yongbo-⻢永波/
Tong Xiaofeng 仝晓锋 reading ‘Love Poem’ by Ma Yongbo 马永波
https://youtube.com/shorts/XmyOPha6czI?feature=share
Tong Xiaofeng 仝晓锋, born in 1963 in Xi’an, is a poet and film director. He began publishing his works in 1982 and released a bilingual poetry collection titled “Sixty-Six Poems” (Hong Kong High-grace Publishing House, 2010). Tong is the chief editor of the “Ithaca Film Translation Series,” which includes “The World of Nolan’s Films” and “The World of Quentin’s Films” (Commercial Press, 2023). He independently directed the films “Kids in the Wind” (awarded the “Lily Award” for Best Children’s Film by the National Radio and Television Administration in 2005) and “Chang’an Treasure Map” (2017). He is the compiler of Ma Yongbo’s four-volume poetry collection (Shanghai Oriental Publishing Centre, 2024 edition)
仝晓锋，1963年生于西安，诗人，电影导演，1982年起开始发表作品，出版中英双语诗集《诗六十六首》（香港高格出版社，2010）。主编“伊萨卡电影译丛”（《诺兰的电影世界》《昆丁的电影世界》等，商务印书馆，2023）。独立编导拍摄电影《童年游戏》（2005年获国家广电部数字电影“百合奖”最佳儿童片）和《长安藏宝图》（2017年）。他是马永波四卷本《诗歌总集》的编者（上海东方出版中心，2024年版）
Helen Pletts reads the English translation of ‘Love Poem’ by Ma Yongbo
https://youtube.com/shorts/zYOStd_4SOg?feature=share
6月28日下午，由西安醉霖书院与西安交通大学校友文学联合会联合主办的“马永波诗歌创作四十年《诗歌总集》研讨会”在西安市醉霖餐厅四楼“醉霖书院”成功举办。研讨会由仝晓锋主持，西安交通大学代表徐卓、赵力、贾旭春等和西安本地30多位诗人、作家、评论家，围绕著名诗人马永波最近出版的四卷本《诗歌总集》以及他40多年的诗歌创作展开深度研讨。
马永波1964年生于黑龙江伊春，文艺学博士后，中国先锋诗歌代表人物，也是国内领先的英美后现代诗歌学者与翻译家。1986年起至今已出版原创及译著80余卷，译有《1940年后的美国诗歌》《阿什贝利自选诗集》《白鲸》等，现任南京理工大学诗学研究中心教师，同时担任西安交通大学校友文学联合会会长、《汉语地域诗歌年鉴》主编——这也正是本次研讨会由“西安交大校友文学联合会”联合主办的身份纽带。
此次研讨的核心文本《诗歌总集》由东方出版中心于2024年推出，仝晓锋编选，全套四册共2172页，按时间线索分为《1983—1999》《2000—2017》《2018—2024》《长诗与组诗》四卷，收录马永波四十年创作精华共1178首，是其个人写作生涯的集大成之作。
研讨现场，诗人、电影导演仝晓锋（本书编者）首先介绍了四卷本编选思路与马永波横跨创作、翻译、诗学研究的“三线并行”路径。马永波现场阐述了他40多年来的创作历程和感想，随后，第广龙、王芳闻、王平、付士山、张铁虎、徐淳刚、史雷鸣、凌晓晨、初梅、史凤梅、冯佳妮、王丽娟、王年军、苏桓稼、孙小龙等西安本土诗界与评论界熟悉面孔相继发言，围绕马永波作为“当代汉语先锋诗人代表及西方现代和后现代诗歌主要翻译家”等话题，沿着他四十年个人核心诗学理念的探索展开热烈讨论。
西安财经大学文学院副教授宋宁刚在学术总结环节认为，上世纪80年代末至90年代中期，马永波倡导并实践以“呈现复杂个体经验”为主导的叙述诗学，强化汉语诗歌触碰现实的能力；90年代中后期他又率先提出“元诗歌”概念，呼应后现代文学的自反意识；新世纪以来针对欲望化、平面化写作泛滥，他再倡“难度写作”，以精神高度、经验宽度、思想深度矫正流弊。与此同时，他从惠特曼、狄金森、庞德、史蒂文斯到阿什贝利的整条英美后现代译介脉络，又与自身创作形成互文——这一点被多位与会者视为《诗歌总集》之所以能超出“个人作品集”范畴、而具备某种“汉语诗学与英语世界对话标本”的价值关键。
研讨会间隙，著名书画家申大伟和张铁虎，将书写的墨宝赠与诗人马永波。另外，醉霖书院创始人李学敏提及书院每季收书捐赠边远山区孩子的惯例，让与会不少诗人顺手将家中闲置藏书留下，随下一批捐赠送往山区孩子和老师手中——这一细节让这场围绕“四十年诗学”的严肃讨论，在书院与餐厅混融的市井空间里，多了一片实际落地的感人温情。
Happy Birthday Bear ! 17th July 2026 !
Ma Yongbo 马永波 exhaling cigar smoke in a pink pullover of disdain, 25th May 2026, Nanjing, China, Planet Earth, The Universe.
Video of Ma Yongbo 马永波 smoking cigar in a pink pullover with impromptu vocals by Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨
man exhaling in a pink pullover of disdain
一个男人穿着粉色套头衫，吐着带着恨意的气息
even the smoke is tetchy,
and the music is a guitar
with an exposed jugular—
nobody lives forever
is the smoke’s mantra.
In the pink
is a trembling heart of a found colour.
Passion coils like a pink anaconda,
experiencing the effect of leaving
the genie’s bottle without a ticket—
there is no room for loitering here…
25th May 2026, after watching
small WhatsApp video of Yongbo
smoking a cigar in a bright pink jumper,
to punchy rocking theme in Nanjing
‘I harbour a condescending bias
towards the world [Grinning face emoji]’ Ma Yongbo 马永波
Response Poetry By Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 for Ma Yongbo 马永波
Response Poetry Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波
Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 reading ‘man exhaling in a pink pullover of disdain’ for Ma Yongbo’s 马永波 birthday
‘When I first saw Yongbo’s 永波 pink pullover video, I instantly knew it had to be a companion piece to my poem for Yongbo 永波 written back in 2024—‘the poet’s collar as a black razor’ and published in International Times in September 2024
https://internationaltimes.it/the-poets-collar-as-a-black-razor-for-ma-yongbo/
We both work very seriously on transnational poetry but as best friends we also have a lot of fun, our creativity never stops’ Helen Pletts, 7th July 2026.
Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 and Sox, 8th January 2026, Cambridge, UK, Planet Earth, The Universe
一个男人穿着粉色套头衫，吐着带着恨意的气息
man exhaling in a pink pullover of disdain
就连烟雾也透着焦躁，
音乐是一把吉他，
颈脉全然袒露。
“无人永生”，
这是烟雾反复念叨的话。
在这片粉色之中，
是一颗因撞见这般色彩而颤动的心。
激情如粉色森蚺般盘绕，
如同精灵无凭无据逃出魔瓶，陷入这般境遇——
这里不容驻足徘徊……
2026年5月25日，观WhatsApp短视频有感：视频里永波身着亮粉色上衣，伴着节奏强烈的摇滚乐曲抽着雪茄。
Dan Leighton, close friend and Editor of Cambridge Poetry magazine joins in Yongbo’s 永波 birthday fun—here is his YouTube link 😉
https://youtube.com/shorts/ExISZFFqUJM?is=RWZKImdgG-6yuAZP
Dan Leighton @danleighton is a poet, lyricist and musician. He is an engaging performer and exceptional poetry reader who loves to communicate with his audiences with humour and compassion. He writes regularly on themes of redemption, loss, longing and incompleteness. He also has a fine line in comic poetry and song and can be persuaded to read or sing them occasionally. His poetry is deceptively simple, often with multiple conflicting meanings and layered with intense rhythmic patterns honed close to the intent of the poem. He loves a good romcom, is obsessed with k-dramas, makes cheese and sews clothes.
Dan Leighton, Cambridge, December 2024, Cambridge, UK, Planet Earth, The Universe
All images and poetry under individual copyright © to either Ma Yongbo 马永波 or Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨
.