The Tenth National Congress of the Chinese Writers Association is being held in full swing, and another important task of this congress is to elect a new leadership group of the Writers Association. On December 12, 2021, at the ninth meeting of the Ninth Presidium of the Chinese Writers Association, the vice chairmen in attendance included Ji Di Majia and Gao Hongbo.
Gideimaga (Image from the Internet)
However, on December 16, 2021, that is, yesterday, the list of members of the Tenth National Committee of the Chinese Writers Association was elected, there was no Ji Di Majia and Gao Hongbo. Mo Yan, who is also the vice chairman, is still among them. In this list, of course, there are new members to join, Li Shaojun, Zhang Zhihao, Hu Xian are among them.
In the list of members of the Ninth National Committee of the China Writers Association, there are no names of Li Shaojun, Zhang Zhihao, and Hu Xian, of which Lei Pingyang is one. That is to say, Li Shaojun, Zhang Zhihao, and Hu Xian were elected for the first time, and Lei Pingyang was re-elected. Why do I care about these people? Because I have recently written some articles on modern poetry, I am somewhat "familiar" with them.
Li Shaojun (Image from the Internet)
Li Shaojun is the editor-in-chief of poetry journals and the author of the "famous" modern poems "Flowing Water" and "Song of Breaking the Sea". Zhang Zhihao, executive editor of Han Poetry, has countless poems. Lei Pingyang, author of "The Process of Killing Dogs" and "Thirty-Seven Tributaries of the Lancang River in Lanping County, Yunnan". Originally, Ji Di Majia, vice chairman of the Writers Association, was an important figure in the poetry world, and Gao Hongbo, who was also vice chairman of the Writers Association, was the editor-in-chief of the original Poetry Journal.
Now it seems that in the new vice chairman of the Writers Association, there are almost no poets, and only one Li Jingze is left, barely a poetry critic, and he has also touched the edges. Among the members of the presidium, there was only one poet, Jank. Among the members of the National Committee, there are only a few poets, li shaojun, Zhang Zhihao, Hu Xian, Chen Xianfa, Gong Xuemin, and Lei Pingyang. There may be poets I don't know, and all I know is these.
Yang Ke (Image from the Internet)
At a time when "famous poets" are all over the world, it is obvious that the number of modern poets among the members of the plenary committee of the Writers Association is really too small. What does this mean? Is there less truly famous poets, or are modern poetry marginalized in the Writers' Association? Modern poetry is not only unpopular among the people, but also unpopular in the Writers' Association?
Don't we see now that a famous poet's work has won an award? Has the publication of a masterpiece by a famous poet received unanimous praise? Why are so few poets on the committee? This should cause the poetry world to ponder. Modern poetry has almost become the object of everyone's shouting, why is this? "Poet" has almost become a derogatory term, why is this?
Lei Pingyang (Image from the Internet)
At present, most of the only committee members are the editors-in-chief of the journal, and you can say that you hold the power of life and death in the poetry world, and you determine the direction of modern poetry. Obviously, in you, you bear the heavy responsibility of the development of the poetry world. What kind of poetry is good poetry? What kind of poems should be published? You have the right to decide. How to choose really good poems from the vast sea of poetry works, this is your responsibility.
Therefore, Yang Ke, president of "Works" magazine, Li Shaojun, editor-in-chief of "Poetry Journal", Zhang Zhihao, executive editor of "Han Poetry", Gong Xuemin, editor-in-chief of "Star Poetry Journal", and Hu Xian, editor of "Yangtze River Poetry Journal", must keep their eyes open and find a way to select really good poems. Only here did I find that these committee members were actually leaning on a publication, Chen Xianfa was behind xinhua news agency, with the exception of Lei Pingyang. Does this mean that there is no way out simply by writing poetry? Think about some chills.
Zhang Zhihao (Image from the Internet)
Poetry has always been hailed as the jewel in the crown of literature, but now it seems that this pearl has been eclipsed. Among the 168 members of the Whole Committee of the Writers Association, there are less than 10 members related to poetry, less than one-tenth of them. It's just the rest of the scraps. Poets, editors, don't toss and turn anymore, toss and turn, lest people forget that there are poets.