Two micro-reviews, one of a new edition of the Carmina Burana poems, and one of a new translation of Ruan Ji and Xi Kang

https://rhinopoetry.org/reviews/carmina-burana-ed-david-traill-reviewed-by-anthony-madrid

 

https://rhinopoetry.org/reviews/the-poetry-of-ruan-ji-and-xi-kang-trans-by-stephen-owen-and-wendy-swartz-reviewed-by-anthony-madrid

 

Teaser quote: Granted, these poems, even the best of ’em, aren’t for everybody. “Spring is returned, and lo! the birds…,” “That pert lady with her heart-gladdening eyes…,” and so on. A guy I knew in grad school summarized the whole thing as “titties and beer.”

 

[originally posted Tuesday 5 June 2018]