Yi Sang’s “Fortunetelling” describes something similar to Saju divination method (Ba-Zi in Chinese), known in English as “Four Pillars of Destiny.” It is based on East Asian astrology that divines the querent’s destiny from the eight Chinese characters that are assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour. The fortuneteller writes these characters down on blank paper and interprets them for the querent to understand their past, present, and future.
Jack Jung on "Fortunetelling" |
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"Must-Read Poetry: November 2020"
Nick Ripatrazone discusses new releases from Margaret Atwood, Yi Lei (translated by Tracy K. Smith and Changtai Bi), Karina Borowicz, Valzhyna Mort, and more. Together in a Sudden Strangeness, edited by Alice Quinn, collects American poets' responses to the pandemic: "It is what all great anthologies must be: comprehensive, contradictory, stirring."
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| | Poetry Daily stands with the Black community.
We oppose racism, oppression, and police brutality.
We will continue to amplify diverse voices in the poetry world.
Black Lives Matter. |
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What Sparks Poetry:
Forrest Gander on "It Must Be a Misunderstanding"
"I chose to translate this whole book rather than another selected edition because, although composed of individual poems, It Must Be a Misunderstanding is really a deeply affecting book-length work whose force builds as the poems cycle through their sequences. The 'plot' follows a general trajectory—from early to late Alzheimer’s—with non-judgmental affection and compassionate watchfulness." |
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