Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 569: Manuscript from an American Writer

Li Bihua's representative work is "Farewell My Concubine", which was made into a movie by Chen Kaige and won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival.

In addition, "Green Snake" and "Dumplings" were later adapted into movies. "Dumplings" was starred by famous film and television stars such as Miriam Yeung and Tony Leung Ka Fai, won the Hong Kong Film Awards, and set the highest box office for genre films of the year.

Qi Jun's "The Oranges Are Red" was later adapted into movies and TV series. The most famous one is the one directed by Li Shaohong and starring Gui Yalei, Zhou Xun, Huang Lei and others.

Luo Fu also submitted an entry for the award with his poetry collection "Moonlight House"!

A famous modern poet, he is known as the "Poetry Demon" in the poetry world! He is a Taiwanese poet who is as famous as Yu Guangzhong and Zheng Yuchou.

Oh, Luo Fu’s poetry collection is also participating in the award, and Haizi’s “Selected Short and Medium-length Poems of Haizi” is facing a huge threat!
It turned out that the literary work that Shengshi Book Publishing Company sent to the jury on behalf of Hainan Publishing House was the "Selected Short and Medium-length Poems of Haizi" published in 90.

It is a strong contender in the poetry category of this award.

Originally, Shengshi Books had two other books that were worth showing off, namely Fang Minghua's novel "Skywalker" and the essay collection "Fragments of Civilization", but Fang Minghua was a member of the reading class so they had to give up.

To be honest, Fang Minghua is still very optimistic about Haizi's collection of poems.

But with Luo Fu's collection of poems, will there be any changes in the future?
Of course, this is the jury's business and Fang Minghua cannot interfere.

Fang Minghua simply flipped through the books and said with a smile: "Most of these works are written by female writers. I suggest that you guys study them carefully."

"Let me take a look at this book "Dumplings" first!" Wang Zi took the book without hesitation.

Li Yinghong took a look and found that the painting she picked up was Xixi's "Mourning the Breast".

Fang Minghua only makes suggestions and never forces.

With these works from Hong Kong and Taiwan, he believes that other publishing houses in Hong Kong and Taiwan will also come up with their own masterpieces.

Now he is thinking about overseas.

Are there any submissions from Japan, the United Kingdom, or the United States?
San Francisco, U.S.

After finishing her last class of the summer literature camp at her university today, Li Li took her handouts, went to the school parking lot, and drove her Ford car back to her residence.

Fang Minghua gave her 8.6 US dollars to buy the house, which cost her US dollars. It was an -square-meter bungalow with a small yard.

Located in a community near Lake Merced Avenue east of the school, although the house is not big, the environment is beautiful and Li Li likes it very much.

Although nominally married, she actually lives here alone.

It was no different from before I got married. Apart from attending classes, I would occasionally hang out with my good friend Demi who was studying in London, and I spent most of my time translating novels from China.

She, Howard Goldblatt and his wife, as well as several colleagues, formed a translation team that used their spare time to translate a large number of works by emerging Chinese writers, such as Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Can Xue, Su Tong, etc., allowing foreigners to see the literary power of the new generation of Chinese writers.

Of course, the works she translated the most were those of Fang Minghua. She just finished translating "Twilight".

Li Li couldn't understand why Fang Minghua could write such a touching love novel?
The Bridges of Madison County, Ghost.
Regardless of her understanding of Fang Minghua or her cousin Tangtang's words, Fang Minghua did not seem to be a man with very rich emotions.

His interests and hobbies are more like those of a middle-aged man: drinking tea, playing mahjong, practicing calligraphy, listening to songs and Qinqiang, and reading books.

Dance halls, video halls, and the card halls that are now emerging in the country are almost isolated from him.

But no matter what, Li Li just likes to read what he writes.

There are serious works as well as more popular novels.

Li Li found her Ford car, opened the door and was about to get into the driver's seat when she suddenly saw a middle-aged white man with an unshaven beard walking towards her.

The face looked unfamiliar, not like a teacher from school.

Li Li suddenly became a little nervous.

San Francisco's security is not good, so she rarely wanders around alone, especially at night. But this is a university campus, so it's relatively better.

The man walked to her car and stopped. He seemed very polite and asked in English with a western accent: "Are you Miss Li Li?"

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"My name is Robert Olen Butler, and I'm a writer." The other party introduced himself.

Robert Olen Butler?

Li Li was surprised when she heard this.

She had heard of this name.

Butler is also a very famous writer in the United States. His short stories have been selected for the annual "Best American Short Stories" and have won awards such as the National Magazine Fiction Award.

His novels have a common feature, which is related to an experience of his.

In the late 1960s, he enlisted in the army to participate in the Vietnam War, and worked in intelligence and translation for the US military stationed in Vietnam.

This experience became the source of his writing, so many of his works are about the Vietnam War.

Since the other party was a writer, Li Li slowly put away her vigilance and asked with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Butler, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Ms. Li Li, I heard that you are a famous translator who is very good at translating Chinese and English works. So I would like to ask you to translate one of my novels. I want to participate in a literary award held in China."

After saying that, Butler took out a newspaper from his briefcase and handed it to Li Li. It was the New York Times that published the call for articles.

great.
My brother-in-law is still worried about whether there will be any foreign writers submitting their works!

Li Li was secretly happy, but she still kept a calm smile on her face: "Can you give me your novel to read?"

Butler immediately took out another stack of manuscripts from his briefcase and handed them to Li Li.

It’s still a printed version and hasn’t been published yet!

She looked at the title of the novel again: A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain

It is a short story, not very long. Li Li roughly glanced through it. It is written in the first person, in which a Vietnamese immigrant narrates their life in the United States and the pain brought to them by the war.

啊呀
Isn’t my cousin currently filming a TV series called “Yanjing People in New York” in New York?

This short story is about the life of Vietnamese in the United States, a reflection on the Vietnam War and the pain of separation in the world.

Well, it looks pretty good at first glance.

Li Li looked up at the other person after reading it. "Mr. Butler, I can translate it into Chinese for you."

"Great! I hope it can be done as soon as possible. I will pay you for the translation." Butler said hurriedly.

"OK! I'll do my best."

The two exchanged phone numbers, and Li Li said she would call him after the translation was finished.

"thanks, thanks."

After Butler left, Li Li was also very happy.

Translate it quickly and send it back to China!

(End of this chapter)