María Leticia del Toro García brings Zheng Xiaoqiong to English speaking audiences with a masterful flourish that brings, yet again, another amazing poet to my attention. Writing from the merciless assembly lines of China’s industrial sectors, Xiaoqiong gives us a glimpse into the laborious life of a teenage girl attempting to make a living in the horrendous conditions. The verses are almost Apolliniarian, with their broken rhythms and seemingly imprecise composition, stoic (though somehow surreal) critiques of modern life, but all this forms so perfectly an image of defiant persistence. It’s Ann Hyde Greet translating Apollinaire, and it is truly astounding how both translator and poet pull it off. Xiaoqiong and del Toro are two of the rare and gifted few, and they form quite a magnificent duo.
AzonaL Translations | María Leticia de Toro García Translating Zheng Xiaoqiong
