New Writing from China: A Preview of Glossolalia Issue 3
Glossolalia, PEN America’s translation magazine, released its third issue in the spring of 2017. We Agree on Nothing: New Writing from China features uncensored fantasy, micro nonfiction, and poetry from contemporary writers in mainland China. The following are select pieces from the magazine: a sci-fi story on invisibility from Han Song; Wang Xiaoni’s essay on student protestors that was cut from her book for being too politically sensitive; and poetry from Mu Cao, one of the few openly gay poets living and writing in China, and Chi Lingyun, a poet largely unknown in the English-speaking world.
The Right to Be Invisible
When he woke up, the sun was gone and so were the stars. The entire universe had turned invisible. More
Two Poems by Chi Lingyun
But you must be able to see the rope around my waist / as I circle the coffin that’s adorned with multicolored streamers; More
Class Notes: A Protest March
September 2012, they chose to take to the streets, band together, and shout as much as they liked. It fulfilled an inner need for which other people abandoned rationality… More
Two Poems by Mu Cao
Your brain is stuffed with / garbage from books the System crams into you / Since grade school you’ve been mastering songs of praise / —Oh, you busy bees More