Clear

Clear is a city-themed poetry collection by young poet Bao Huaqi, written against the backdrop of the author's several years working in Pingxiang, Jiangxi. Its greatest highlight lies in its perspective: an outsider observing a city, writing both of Pingxiang's long and splendid culture and of its new appearance and soaring momentum, creating a portrait and biography for the city. The book offers both a three-dimensional presentation of a region's land and waters and praise and record of the people who live there; the language is clear, the observation meticulous, carrying the freshness of a walker and the warmth of a resident. For readers familiar with Pingxiang, it is like an invitation to rediscover their hometown; for unfamiliar readers, it provides a window into the culture and scenery of a mountain city in western Jiangxi. When reading, one need not treat it as a geographical gazetteer, but should follow the poet's gaze as it moves among streets and alleys, mountains and waters, and crowds, and experience how an outsider's perspective transforms into affectionate record. Overall, this is a poetry collection with regional roots and universal human warmth, suitable for reading before or after travel or when one wishes to understand a city.