When reading Zhang Er’s verses on bird, I was, at first, distracted by her use of clichés, particularly around the common idea that words will always fall short of reality:
“the helplessness of language”
and
“Where can we find enough names to name all these things in front of our eyes?”
and
“All that ought to be said, they’ve said it already…”
I was similarly disappointed by phrases such as:
“jump out of your skin”
and
“strike a pose”
Er does, however, make exquisite use not only of birds, but bodies of water and flowers. The lotus appears again and again. As with Darwish, I like the repeated use of metaphors, and she does not exhaust the bird as I feared she might. What I would most like to emulate is Er’s immediacy. Everything takes place now, as she, herself, points to in her poetry: “This moment. Here.” This approach creates a compelling intimacy between the poet and reader. Furthermore, her writing is just matter-of-fact enough to let us in whereupon she spins into metaphor, as in the personification found in The Hardware Store:
“…knobs and handles covered with dust…
For the flood is coming, blue water marks
Painted above the roof: a mockery,
A grin, a pair of eyebrows forever knotted.
At the same time, I feel that Er is holding something back, and the reader does not like to feel cheated. Perhaps a photograph is not the best way for this poet to view the world. After all, it is a representation, a dilution, and the camera creates a distance between the photographer--or the poet--and the world. I cannot say that I culled a lot from her work in regards to influencing my own.
“the helplessness of language”
and
“Where can we find enough names to name all these things in front of our eyes?”
and
“All that ought to be said, they’ve said it already…”
I was similarly disappointed by phrases such as:
“jump out of your skin”
and
“strike a pose”
Er does, however, make exquisite use not only of birds, but bodies of water and flowers. The lotus appears again and again. As with Darwish, I like the repeated use of metaphors, and she does not exhaust the bird as I feared she might. What I would most like to emulate is Er’s immediacy. Everything takes place now, as she, herself, points to in her poetry: “This moment. Here.” This approach creates a compelling intimacy between the poet and reader. Furthermore, her writing is just matter-of-fact enough to let us in whereupon she spins into metaphor, as in the personification found in The Hardware Store:
“…knobs and handles covered with dust…
For the flood is coming, blue water marks
Painted above the roof: a mockery,
A grin, a pair of eyebrows forever knotted.
At the same time, I feel that Er is holding something back, and the reader does not like to feel cheated. Perhaps a photograph is not the best way for this poet to view the world. After all, it is a representation, a dilution, and the camera creates a distance between the photographer--or the poet--and the world. I cannot say that I culled a lot from her work in regards to influencing my own.
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