Chinese Erotic Poems

By Marge Piercy

Book Overview

A dazzling collection of Chinese erotic poems about deep love and pure lust, enticement and seduction, ecstasy and disappointment, that span nearly three thousand years and include many poems never before translated into English.

The ancient Chinese tradition of erotic poetry has been largely ignored in the west. Now, a vast continent of sensual verse is opened to us with this glorious collection spanning nearly Here are poems that express need, hunger, grief, and longing--for husbands and wives and for concubines and lovers; poems by turns explicit or subtle, light-hearted or desperate, written from both men's and women's points of view. The editors have drawn on a wide range of sources from 600 BCE to the present, including highly literary poems, popular verse, and folk songs, as well as poems that appeared in ancient Daoist sex manuals, in classical novels of the Ming Dynasty, and in collections of erotic prints. The result is an array of voices that speak the universal language of desire.

For the first time, all the major works of this beloved writer are gathered together in one hardcover volume.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307265676
• ISBN13: 9780307265678
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.4" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Speaking her mind

I was fortunate to hear Marge Piercy read her poetry at The Wisconsin Book Festival and I was blown away. What a joy to discover a new author to read and recommend. In "Tracks", Piercy portrays the multitude of roles we fill, not only with our relatives and friends, but also to the animals we interact with in our life journey. In "Hollywood Haircut" she wonders if a $400 haircut would change her life for the better but decides "No,I thought so. I'll stick to Sarah and my $35 trim." In "Mighty Big" Piercy considers the ramifications of our arrogant foreign policy. I am going to quote from "Swear It" regarding those who seem to be holier than thou. "It has always amazed me there are words too potent to say to those whose ears are tender as baby lettaces-often those who label us into narrow jars with salt and vinegar,saying, People like THEM, meaning me and mine. Never say the K or N word, just quietly shut and bolt the door. Just politely insert their foot in the Other's face."