Command Me to Silence

沈浩波Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaMay 2015

Rating 3.6
Chapters
153
ISBN
9787533934781

Tags

Modern Poetry Family BondsSpiritual ComfortSlow ReadingTender SentimentSelf-Reflection

Summary

Apart from the preface, the afterword, and a chronology of Shen Haobo's career in poetry, this collection is made up of five chapters in total, gathering many outstanding poems written by the poet Shen Haobo across the fourteen years from 1999 to 2012. The first part, 'Please Let Me Hold You Tight,' collects the only thirty poems in which he writes of love and family; these works present to readers the most delicate and deeply affectionate side of Shen Haobo's inner life...

Editor's review

Command Me to Be Silent is a selection of essential poems by Shen Haobo written between 2000 and 2011, published by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House. The collection clearly traces the arc of Shen's poetic evolution from the sharp, subversive "Lower Body" period to an increasingly deep and introspective middle-period writing. Early poems such as "A Nice Pair of Breasts" assault the dullness and affectation of the poetry world of the time with direct bodily experience and provocative language; their coarse honesty and vital force remain striking today. Pieces included here such as "Chronicle of Wenlou Village" mark his turn from the body toward broader social reality and spiritual predicaments, adding the weight of compassion and contemplation to his brushwork.

As a central figure of the "Lower Body" poetry movement, Shen Haobo's writing has always wrestled with "the real." The value of this collection lies in the fact that it is not a simple compilation but a history of one poet's evolving aesthetics. Readers can see how a poet, in constant struggle with his era and himself, painstakingly expands the boundaries of language and the depth of expression. His poems reject beautiful ornamentation and are adept at cutting into life's absurdity and pain with narrative coolness; within seemingly crude or plain lines often lie sharp questioning and deep feeling. For readers seeking to understand the contemporary Chinese poetry scene—especially the turn toward the demotic and the concrete since the turn of the century—this book is an indispensable sample. It records not only one man's poetic path but also a generation's spiritual recklessness, exploration, and settling.

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Reading tips

  1. Read in chronological order to directly experience the poet's shift from "bodily rebellion" to "spiritual trek."
  2. Do not rush to seek the "meaning" of every poem; first feel its linguistic rhythm, the impact of its imagery, and the temperature of its emotion.
  3. Read the poems alongside the poet's essays on poetics published in the same period to gain a deeper understanding of his creative intentions and the context of the times.

About the publisher

Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House is a Chinese publisher specializing in literary publishing. Judging from the 808 titles in the database, its publishing areas cover world classics, foreign literature, social novels, folk literature and classic works, as well as modern and contemporary literature and prose. Representative titles include foreign literary translations such as Anna Karenina, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, In Praise of Shadows and The Complete Tragedies and Comedies of Shakespeare, alongside classic works by Lao She and Lu Xun such as Camel Xiangzi, Teahouse and Wandering. Its authors and translators include Leo Tolstoy, Cao Ying, Lao She, Yukio Mishima, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Zhu Shenghao. The press emphasizes the translation and introduction of classic texts and the compilation of native literary works, giving equal weight to Chinese and foreign literature. Owing to limited public information, its specific series and editorial policies are not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 代序：当代中国诗歌中的四种虚荣心
  3. 一、请让我紧紧地抱你
  4. 离岛情诗之伤别离
  5. 1976
  6. 昆明小街
  7. 请让我紧紧地抱你
  8. 我爱你什么呢
  9. 你的孤独
  10. 爱情是一首诗
  11. 数星星
  12. 婴 儿
  13. 战 书
  14. 凶 器
  15. 狗日的美好
  16. 妻子想再生一个
  17. 你必须记住你爹的家乡
  18. 侥 幸
  19. 我在你的身上寻找
  20. 妻
  21. 苏 北
  22. 天下无戏言
  23. 甜 头
  24. 我在你和神之间
  25. 奶奶的愤怒
  26. 温暖的骨灰
  27. 外婆去世
  28. 外婆的葬礼
  29. 父亲
  30. 家族赋
  31. 二、少女赋
  32. 每一幢楼里，都有一个弹钢琴的女孩
  33. 舞 者
  34. 疲惫之诗
  35. 我见过
  36. 老猫之心
  37. 鬼开门
  38. 我想看见光
  39. 穿 过
  40. 福莱轩咖啡馆，点燃火焰的姑娘
  41. 少女赋
  42. 玉兰赋
  43. 右边的月亮
  44. 令人迷恋的一生
  45. 故人入梦
  46. 油画家的谎言
  47. 鸦 巢
  48. 舌头重于灵魂
  49. 妇科医院
  50. 她 们
  51. 胎 记
  52. 姐姐去了南方
  53. 舌钉少女
  54. 她叫左慧
  55. 原 谅
  56. 雪 灾
  57. 玛丽的爱情
  58. 三、我们那儿的生死问题
  59. 寂静的乡村
  60. 墙根之雪
  61. 屋 檐
  62. 炉灰之城
  63. 我们聊起童年
  64. 清明：想象中的雨
  65. 我们拉
  66. 熟睡的猫
  67. 中国家庭
  68. 我们那儿的生死问题
  69. 繁 殖
  70. 爱 意
  71. 老 人
  72. 他不吃螃蟹
  73. 停尸间里仨老头
  74. 大灾之中，朋友诞生一子，闻之悲欣交加
  75. 川音祭
  76. 下岗女工
  77. 都市宠物
  78. 没有人
  79. 坟茔记
  80. 后海盲歌手
  81. 春天来信
  82. 云南上空的云
  83. 普照寺
  84. 成吉思汗
  85. 鲨鱼来信：写给一个不知道的人
  86. 进入河北省
  87. 流水汤汤
  88. 江 湖
  89. 教堂墓园
  90. 深夜
  91. 棉花厂
  92. 自我出生以来
  93. 文楼村纪事（组诗选章）
  94. 从武汉到随州的长途汽车中
  95. 秋风十八章
  96. 四、诗人在他的时代
  97. 自画像
  98. 心藏大恶
  99. 你妈贵姓
  100. 饮酒诗
  101. 一个人老了
  102. 世界，你好
  103. 说说我自己
  104. 我爸和我聊家乡发财的人
  105. 海风吹过
  106. 坐在湘江上
  107. 牛的禅
  108. 与上帝的羔羊晓贤兄谈谈敬爱的上帝
  109. 在夏天时想起秋天
  110. 诗人在他的时代
  111. 猎人笔记
  112. 河 流
  113. 我想变成一匹马
  114. 一切事物都在前进
  115. 时代的咒语
  116. 身体与诗歌
  117. 它用石头，雕成泪水
  118. 老枪赋
  119. 心是一尊虚伪的神
  120. 隐者的空旷
  121. 我怎么知道……
  122. 绍兴路的黄昏
  123. 情人的房间
  124. 熟悉的事物令我感恩
  125. 烟民礼赞
  126. 三月之鸦
  127. 梯子不用请横着放
  128. 苹果挂在苹果树上
  129. 柔软赋
  130. 火车记
  131. 游刃有余
  132. 少年时代的春节
  133. 换频道
  134. 我喜欢那些颓废的人
  135. 飞翔与迈克尔·杰克逊
  136. 德国拒绝一个诗人
  137. 约翰不吃煮鸡蛋
  138. 送杨黎
  139. 岂曰无钱？
  140. 老孙家的羊肉泡馍
  141. 死者赋
  142. 岷江赋
  143. 在冬日的群山中
  144. 伏尔塔瓦河
  145. 布拉格在阳光下
  146. 玲珑宝塔
  147. 民国的夜晚
  148. 五、蝴蝶
  149. 第一辑
  150. 第二辑
  151. 第三辑
  152. 编选手记：这本诗集对于我的意义
  153. 沈浩波诗歌创作活动年表

FAQ

How does this book differ from Shen Haobo's other collections, such as Butterfly and Night of the Lotus? Command Me to Be Silent is an important interim summation of Shen Haobo's work before 2012, with a concentrated time span that clearly presents the formation and evolution of his early style. Later collections such as Butterfly and Night of the Lotus include more recent work, with a poetics that may be more complex and integrated. This book is key to understanding the foundations of his writing.
What exactly is "Lower Body" poetry? Is everything in this book that kind of poem? "Lower Body" was a poetic trend that emerged around 2000, emphasizing authentic writing grounded in bodily experience and opposing the excessive encroachment of knowledge and culture on poetry. The first half of this book collects representative poems by Shen Haobo from that period, but the collection as a whole is not limited to them; it fully includes the poet's work over the following decade, demonstrating the richness and deepening of his style.
Is this book suitable for beginning poetry readers? It is somewhat challenging. Shen Haobo's language is direct and even offensive, and his themes often involve the coarse surfaces of reality. Beginning readers are advised to keep an open mind and treat it as a unique, intense text for observing the spiritual condition of contemporary people. They might start with the more narrative short poems in the book.

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About the author

沈浩波 Author

Shen Haobo is a contemporary Chinese poet. The library holds five of his works, commonly classified as modern poetry. Representative titles include Night at Hualien, Order Me to Be Silent, In This World, For Real: Selected Poems by Five Poets (Vol. 1), Declaring War on Mediocrity: Chinese Avant-Garde Poetry, Vol. 2, and Chinese Avant-Garde: 2019 Poetry Annual. These works show that his writing centers on poetry while also involving the editing of poetry anthologies and the promotion of Chinese avant-garde poetry. His themes often revolve around lived reality, personal experience, and linguistic experimentation, and his style is direct and sharp, marked by colloquialism and a rebellious edge. Public information is limited, and his biography, nationality, and awards cannot be confirmed; from the available works, however, he is a recognizable presence in contemporary Chinese poetry and takes part in avant-garde poetics through both writing and editing.