Poetry
我的記憶
Not translated into English
Dai Wangshu · 1929
Synopsis
The poet's first collection, the book brings together, among others, The Lane in the Rain and the poem that gives it its title, My Memory. In the former, a man walks alone, an oiled-paper umbrella in his hand, in a long rainy lane, hoping to meet a girl laden with sadness, like the lilac, who passes close to him in silence; seven stanzas of six uneven lines, in which a rhyme recurs at regular intervals, carry its music.
Context
The collection appeared in April 1929 from the Shuimo press. The poem of the alley, praised by Ye Shengtao, earned its author the nickname of the poet of the rainy alley, an image that stayed with him although he did not regard that poem as his major work; Bian Zhilin heard in it a melody that resounds and a fluid rhythm. A short story by Mu Shiying takes up almost the whole of the title poem. In French, poems by the author appeared in 1980 in an anthology by Michelle Loi and in 1982 in a selection published in Beijing.
Who it is for
Short poems, readable separately; in French, a few pieces by Dai Wangshu appear in the volume of the Panda collection.
Prizes and reception
Ye Shengtao immediately welcomed the song of the alley and the young girl, and the poem has remained attached to the name of Dai Wangshu.