Sisyphus on the Wenyu River
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Goldwin Smith Hall, G64, Kaufmann Auditorium, Tompkins
Speaker: Xiao Hai Title: Sisyphus on the Wenyu River Abstract: A native of China's Henan province, Xiao Hai left home at the age of 15 to join China's migrant labor force. He traveled across southern China, making shirts, driving delivery, selling popcorn—22 jobs in all—and eventually becoming a prominent voice in China's generation of "new worker" poets. In this conversation, he'll read his original poetry, talk about his new memoir Adrift in the South, and take questions about the lives of Chinese workers today. Speaker's Bio: Xiao Hai was born in Shangqiu City in Henan Province in China. At fifteen he moved to Shenzhen to join the workforce, moving between cities and factory jobs while writing poetry in his spare time. He is the author of the poetry collection Sisyphus on the Wenyu River, and translations of his poetry have appeared in World Literature Today and Chinese Literature Today.