Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 722: The Motherland is a Local Accent

He was wearing a grey windbreaker and had a stern look on his face.

Fang Minghua remembered that the last time he saw him was 9 years ago. At that time, Bei Dao was in his thirties, at the golden age for a man. His face was as stern as it is today, but his spirit could not be concealed.

But now, deep fatigue was revealed under his stern face.

In recent years, mainland poetry has experienced a process as short as a summer flower, from its emergence to prosperity and then rapid decline.

The same is true of Bei Dao's life.

From being a poet admired by the whole nation to being forced to leave his hometown, now he can’t even go back to his hometown!

When Bei Dao saw Fang Minghua, a smile appeared on his face and the two shook hands.

There were more and more people in the hall, about twenty or so, all Chinese with yellow skin and black eyes. They were sitting or standing, holding coffee, chatting in low voices with people they knew. Of course, there were also some who sat alone in silence, like Bei Dao.

Fang Minghua and Li Tuo were chatting casually. They were quite familiar with each other and had something in common.

Although Li Tuo cannot be considered a writer, he is indeed an outstanding editor and literary critic.

"Li Tuo, after the selection for the second World Chinese Literature Award began, I was planning to invite you to participate in a reading class to review manuscripts. Later, I heard that you resigned and went abroad. I felt so sorry." Fang Minghua said.

"I feel like it's boring to stay in China, so I want to come out and see the world." Li Tuo smiled and glanced at the audience. "Look at the people who came today. Most of them have the same idea as me. Don't you think the same?"

"Me? I still have some personal matters to deal with, but I will be returning home soon. Although it's not bad here, I think I'll be freer back home."

After listening to Fang Minghua's words, Li Tuo sighed slightly: "Yes. The material life here is much richer than in China, but in terms of spirit. Those who go abroad for scientific research, they do experiments and calculations wherever they go. But we are different. We are engaged in literature. The culture and language of your motherland are your roots. If you give up your mother tongue and get close to it directly, your inspiration will easily wither. This is also the reason why we get together from time to time."

"Your words remind me of a line from Bei Dao's 'Hometown Voice'." Fang Minghua was also touched.

"He wrote: 'I spoke Chinese in front of the mirror and felt that my motherland was a local accent, so I was terrified by the alienation I felt from my motherland.'"

"Yes, that's what I mean." Li Tuo nodded, then looked up at Bei Dao who was sitting alone on the sofa, and spoke in a low voice.

"Bei Dao wanted to return to China two years ago, but he was detained when he arrived in Beijing and was refused entry, so he had no choice but to return. He was unwilling to tell others the specific reason and it was difficult for others to ask."

Fang Minghua was silent.

Before coming to this era, he had read Bei Dao's resume on the Internet and it seemed to be true.

It was not until after the millennium, when his father passed away, that Bei Dao was allowed to return for the funeral.

"Li Tuo, should it be okay for you to return to China?" Fang Minghua asked again.

"I don't have any problem. I can go back whenever I am told." Li Tuo's expression became relaxed.

"But what can I do if I go back? I definitely can't go back to Yenching Literature. As for other magazines, to be honest, generally no one wants a "troublemaker" like me, and I don't like them either."

"Hey, if you want to go back, there's a magazine company that I think would be a good fit for you." Fang Minghua suddenly thought of something and said with a smile.

"Which magazine?"

"Tianya, published by the Hainan Writers Association."

"Where to go?!"

"Don't you know? Tianya has been revamped! Han Shaogong is the president now, and he asked me to write an article some time ago." Fang Minghua told Li Tuo in detail what Song Tangtang had told him.

Li Tuo was somewhat moved after hearing this.

"Han Shaogong is an interesting person. He is not only a writer, but more like a thinker. The Hainan Documentary magazine he published a few years ago was very good, but it's a pity that he was born at the wrong time." Li Tuo said with a smile.

"If he were to direct The End of the World, it would probably give people a refreshing feeling."

"If you are interested, you can talk to him. I have his contact information. I think he would also welcome a literary critic like you."

"Okay, then give it to me." Li Tuo said.

"Everyone, everyone, please be quiet." At this time, Bing Ling said loudly: "Now that everyone is here, the literary salon officially begins. First of all, we would like to thank Mr. Liu Junjie for providing us with such an environment!"

After saying that, Bing Ling led the applause.

Liu Junjie was very modest, saying that we were all famous writers and that I felt honored to be a guest here, and that I would not disturb everyone's work, and that if there was anything I could do, I could just let him know.
There was warm applause in the living room again.

Finally, Bingling talked about the theme of this literary salon, which turned out to be poetry!
"Not long ago, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Irish poet Seamus Heaney. This is the second time a poet has won the Nobel Prize in Literature, two years after Saint Lucia poet Derek Walcott won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 92. This shows that poetry, the jewel in the crown of literature, is still very popular. However, our Chinese poetry has begun to decline. What is the problem? How can we change the current situation?"

"Many of you here are poets, or write novels and poems at the same time. Please share your opinions," Bing Ling said finally.

After hearing this, Fang Minghua noticed that there were quite a few poets participating in the salon this time.

Yang Lian, Duo Duo, Huang Xiang, Zhai Yongming, Ouyang Jianghe and Bei Dao accounted for almost half of the participants in the salon.

It can be said that a large number of outstanding poets in the domestic poetry world have now moved abroad.

"I attended the Rotterdam International Poetry Festival last year." The first person to speak was a man in his forties, with the pen name Duoduo and his real name Li Shizheng. He is also one of the representatives of Misty Poetry and has written poems such as "Courtesy: 38 Poems".

Duoduo is from Yanjing, and speaks Mandarin with a Beijing accent: "At this poetry festival, the famous Canadian poet Slote gave a speech titled "Defending Poetry", which was very interesting. He said that due to the game and conspiracy between commercialization and ideology, there is a serious disconnect between words and objects. Today's writing is like "bubbles that grow and die on their own and flowers that reproduce without soil."

Duoduo repeated Slote's speech, and Fang Minghua listened quietly.

When Duoduo mentioned the term "protecting poetry", he suddenly remembered that before this era, there was also a "protecting poetry" campaign in China, but it was a farce.

A poetry reading entitled "Support Zhao Lihua in Defending Poetry" initiated by poet Yang Li was held at the Third Pole Bookstore in Yanjing. Halfway through the reading, the obese poet Su Feishu (a man) began to take off his coat and pants.

When he stripped down to just a white vest and black underwear, someone in the audience started to boo. Before most of the audience could react, the naked Sophie Shu had already walked to the microphone in the center of the stage, holding a few pages of manuscript paper, ready to recite poetry, but was immediately stopped by the management, causing chaos in the venue.

When Fang Minghua saw the news on the Internet, he felt a chill down his spine. Damn it! Is this defending poetry or destroying it?

Damn it, now if anyone says he is a poet, he would be embarrassed to say hello to others.

So sad.
Quoting Slote's speech frequently immediately resonated with everyone.

The rampant materialism caused by modern industrial civilization has impacted the existence of ancient culture in all countries. This is especially true in China. After only ten years, the prosperous poetry has declined so quickly.

Fang Minghua didn't feel much emotion.

It’s still okay now.

Whether in China or in salons like today, at least there are still people who talk about poetry openly. Let’s wait and see in a few years?
(End of this chapter)