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If you don't know Zhong Fang, you should know it; if you haven't read Zhong Fang's poem, you should read it. A poet who knows the end of his life uses poetry to express his love and attachment to life, his understanding and thinking about the world.
On October 5, 2016, poet Zhong Fang died of sudden pulmonary infarction due to dialysis from kidney disease at the age of 27. "Selected Poems of Zhong Fang" is not only a commemoration of Zhong Fang, but also a summary and presentation of his writing life, this book is selected and compiled by Zhong Fang's friend, the poet Kun Bird, in chronological order to sort out the more mature works of Zhong Fang in various periods, and strive to present a complete zhong fang. ”
However, for us readers who read "Selected Poems of Zhong Fang", its significance has long gone beyond "commemoration", "summary" and "presentation". In Zhong Fang's poetry, there is spring, there is coke, there is disease, there is love... If we can have an independent, profound, and serious understanding of life in the present, then we must be able to draw the power of support from Zhong Fang's poetry.
Recently, the New Yellow River reporter interviewed Kun Bird, the editor of "Selected Poems of Zhong Fang". In his opinion, many things poured into the soul of zhong fang were not worth mentioning.
New Yellow River: When I read "My Left Hand is a Snake", I was so impressed by the arterial blood vessel described by Zhong Fang that I stereotyped that only a thin person can have such a clear perception, until I read that you wrote in the "Afterword": "A fat man with a long scarf around his neck." After seeing Zhong Fang, is the name "Zhong Fang" consistent in your mind?
Kun Bird: Before we met, we didn't think about Zhong Fang at all, because at that time we didn't know each other. I met Zhong Fang through Huang Sheng of the Open Poetry Bookstore (now called "Killer Bookstore"). His bookstore was in Shanghai, and he was in Beijing for those few days, living in my house, so we were always together.
That day we went out to go home, Huang Sheng said that there was a friend who wanted to meet him in the evening, I said to go to my house, he said to make an appointment to meet at the Wanshou Road subway station, we just passed there. We met and said a few words and went back to my house together. They all like to write, talk about literature together, and read poetry (reading poetry on the spot is a good way to get to know friends). I remember that he read the unfinished "Praying for the Night" (but this collection of poems was confiscated), and there was no title at that time.
Friends who have seen Zhong Fang recite will like his recitation very much, his voice is very good, reading poetry is very state, and the rhythm is very good. He is not a performance plus a convulsion, but gives people a very solemn but extremely comfortable feeling.
Many of our friends envied his temperament, a kind of nobility, but without a trace of pride, it was an innate thing, just right. A poem that is generally written, for him to read, can be added to eighty points, not to mention that the poems he wrote himself are catchy in language and rhyme a lot, so it sounds very emotional. I hadn't seen anyone read poetry like that in a long time, so I was very shaken.
New Yellow River: "He brought me endless joy, and in front of him, I felt that I was opened up, not to become a better person, but more and more like myself." No matter how cold your heart is, the bell can melt you. Is there more detail about the "melting" here? Did you know anything about his illness at the time, and did he treat it the same way in the poem?
Kun Bird: Zhong Fang almost doesn't ask any requirements for people, and he likes all kinds of friends, even if everyone is very ridiculous. And he's too understanding to notice where you're in the right mood, even if it's just a little. He was the youngest of our friends at the time, but I always felt he was the most inclusive person.
I rarely see such a person, he can accept anyone, I secretly have an analogy, the little goods in the hearts of those of us, poured in the bell and put in the soul is not worth mentioning, we are the container of man, he is the container of God. It may be too much to say this, but it is rare to be able to do so, and only such a person can make friends in the soul. With Zhong, I would often reflect on myself, if I were him, would I be able to do what he did?
Zhong Fang cares most about two things, one is poetry, the other is a friend, and for his illness, he basically routinely takes medicine and checks. We all know of his illness, but it doesn't help much.
New Yellow River: There are many poems in this anthology that write about spring and cola, written in the past, but closely related to our lives in the present. In the past year, especially in recent months, have you often thought of Zhong Fang and his poems?
Kun Bird: I don't want to think of a person for me is not affected by the season, from time to time, many friends often think of him, as long as they meet, they will talk about him without saying a few words, it is really a very good person. When we're together, it's just a few things, writing, chatting, walking around together.
I wrote about Coke because his body didn't allow him to drink carbonated drinks, but he liked Coke and would drink it occasionally. This is a reflection of temperament, he is a casual person, often unable to give up all kinds of pleasures. To say that it is good is to "long for life", and to say it is not good, it becomes no self-control. In this regard, the poet generally does not perform very well, how comfortable and how to come, but it is also cute because of it.
Spring and the flu, what a very magical combination, I don't know how to say it, maybe there is a literary explanation - what we fear is flourishing, that is also a beautiful possibility, to paraphrase Rilke, such a terrible thing, we can bear it for the time being.
New Yellow River: Your writing of poetry in the "Afterword" is Zhong Fang's faith. In the process of reading this selected poem, I truly saw the meaning of poetry for a person's life. What was an important effort you and Zhong Fang made for poetry, or what was the most fanatical thing? In your opinion, what does poetry mean for life today?
Kun bird: I dare not say what we have done for poetry, what can we do for poetry? Poetry doesn't need anyone, but it supports those of us a lot of times. Of course, we love poetry, but personally, I am not fanatical, Zhong Fang is more fanatical than me. Sometimes in order to find a book of poetry, he can find a way all over the world, and he does not forget to find a poetry collection everywhere he goes.
I have always felt that the importance of poetry is that it preserves the direct and true feelings of a person of an era for the world in which he lives, and with poetry, the feelings of those who have lived will not be lost, and people's emotional transmission and connection are very core things in civilization, not just logic and routine. Poetry is an essential preservation, of course, only good poetry can do.
New Yellow River: After the publication of this "Selected Poems of Zhong Fang", do you think this is an explanation of yours to Zhong Fang? If you were asked to recommend another poem for your readers from this anthology, which one would you recommend and why?
Kun Bird: If you take a book of poems to do an explanation, it is not worthy of Zhong Fang, for Zhong Fang, there is only one thing that can be called an explanation, that is, everyone has become more like a good person, I did not do it. If this collection of poems is an account, it is not given by me, Velvet Meteorite, Huang Sheng, Lin Weike originally contributed to this collection of poems, and several editors of the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House have worked hard to have this explanation.
There are many good poems in Zhong Fang, especially after 2013, there are many works whose texture is enviable, it is really difficult to cite a single poem, and every time I pick it may be different. But still look for one, not necessarily the best, can only choose the last few days to touch me.
On page 144 of the collection of poems there is a poem "I Know, Only Animals and Gods", which no one has mentioned much before, but I think it is particularly indicative of Zhong Fang's attitude toward life in the last few years. There are two sections that I want to put here, I don't know if you want to publish them, they are too well written.
I never clash with the world
Nor has he ever stepped out of his legs to separate from the world
I'm going to walk to your home
Leave everything behind and bring only the soul
These two verses have expressions about your beliefs, but whatever you believe in, it can impress you. "I'm going to walk to your house" is not only a sign of piety, but also of acceptance of the torment. A fat man, dragging his sick body, walked step by step to God's house, if God also needs a home, then doesn't Zhong Fang need it? He didn't know where that home was, so many of us, probably didn't know, and if anyone knew, hopefully he wasn't crazy.
(This article was originally published in "New Yellow River", reporter Jiang Dan)
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