The first publication of the poetry of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo, with a Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
June Fourth Elegies
Poems
- “These are the words of a man who will never forget. Here is a book that will compel you to join him.”—Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Liu Xiaobo has become the foremost symbol of the struggle for human rights in China. He was a leading activist during the Tiananmen Square protests of June 4, 1989, and a prime supporter of Charter 08, the manifesto of fundamental human rights published in 2008. In 2009, Liu was imprisoned for “inciting subversion of state power,” and he is currently serving an eleven-year sentence. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for “his prolonged non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” Liu dedicated his Peace Prize to “the lost souls from the Fourth of June.”
June Fourth Elegies presents Liu’s poems written across twenty years in memory of fellow protestors at Tiananmen Square, as well as poems addressed to his wife, Liu Xia. In this bilingual volume, Liu’s poetry is for the first time published freely in both English translation and in the Chinese original.
June Fourth Elegies presents Liu’s poems written across twenty years in memory of fellow protestors at Tiananmen Square, as well as poems addressed to his wife, Liu Xia. In this bilingual volume, Liu’s poetry is for the first time published freely in both English translation and in the Chinese original.
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About the Author
Credit: Meredith Heuer
Praise
- “The reason to read Liu Xiaobo’s poetry is the life he leads outside that poetry: his actions make the straightforwardness and honesty that the poems strive for . . . like an article of faith.”—Boston Review
- “Liu creates a dialectic that cannot promise a successful outcome but can show the world what it is to be a successful human.”—Washington Independent Review of Books
- “Published in Chinese alongside the English translation, these poems contain a haunting repetition that mimics the brutality of that day. . . . Though Liu laments a collective loss of memory regarding past events, these verses will stand as witness to the future.”—Time Out New York
- “The highest calling of poetry might be in witness. . . . June Fourth Elegies is a stellar example of this, a work that is an unflinching catalogue of government-induced misery, a testament to the human spirit’s capacity and a creative work of the highest order.”—Shelf Awarenessfor Readers
