Matt Merritt has reviewed Goldfish alongside two other poetry books – Pretty by Ahren Warner (Bloodaxe Books 2013) and Selected Poems by Peter Hughes (Shearsman Books 2013) – in the current issue of Magma Poetry (Issue 57) edited by Ian McEwen and Hannah Lowe. Below is an excerpt: It takes a little time in this lengthy second collection…
Category: City culture Hong Kong
Interview and a Chinese poem on Urban Diary
Urban Diary, an online journal supported by Oval Partnership, has featured my Chinese poem ‘Turtle Jelly’ from my poetry collection Goldfish and an interview on writing poetry in English. To read the full text in Chinese, please go to http://www.urbandiarist.com/012 For the benefit of non-Chinese speakers, an English version of the feature article is appended here: Urban Diary article…
CFCCA Curating China conference
Despite the downpour, the trip to Manchester to attend the CFCCA conference on curating china, was highly rewarding. In fact, I wasn’t at all surprised to see that it’s a sold-out event. This is the first time I visited CFCCA after their rebranding campaign. I’m not sure if I like the branding colour (yellow) much,…
West kowloon arts hub in Hong Kong part 1
Graham Sheffield, former artistic chief of Barbican Centre in London has decided to quit his role as CEO of Hong Kong’s HK$21.6 billion (£1.8 billion) West Kowloon arts hub project after five months. He has resigned due to health reasons, although many think that there must be more that triggered his abrupt decision to leave….
Good morning Hong Kong towel
I am thinking of an artpiece I did a while ago – Good Morning Hong Kong. This is the most traditional towel you can find in Hong Kong, with the Chinese words in red: ‘Wish you a good morning’. Although it is more associated with working classes, I like its down-to-earth character. Decorated with the…
Hong Kong’s favourite: Instant noodles
I was always teased for my love of instant noodles. The midnight cravings for the unhealthy food. The other day I took a close examination at it and manipulate the perspective, with some fascinating findings. The first image shows cooked instant noodles in its original, pure state. The choice of wooden chopsticks is used intentionally….
Time management: the art of juggling
Lately I have been reflecting on the art of juggling – the ways and implications of good time management. One interesting finding is that, most people I know are very busy. They give up going to places or trying out things on the grounds that they are busy. There isn’t enough time. You would think…
Thomas Heatherwick and his super-sculptures
Thomas Heatherwick and his art intrigue me. Years ago, my boss at Swire gave me an interview clip on Heatherwick’s childhood. I find out that Heatherwick, born into a family of artists, harbours a questioning mind since he was a child. He likes to find out new ways of doing things. It’s fascinating how the…
Racial equality in UK and Hong Kong
I find The Guardian’s politically correct way of describing ethnic races most fascinating. It is almost funny to me how much attention they pay to the linguistic terms. This is how it goes: Do not use ethnic to mean black or Asian people. In a British sense, they are an ethnic minority; in a world…
Chinese language: the imagery in slangs
I have been thinking about the fascinating gaps in meaning for English-Chinese translations and vice versa. Meanings hidden, those creeping up your side unawares and words paradoxical. Some of these slangs or catch-phrases commonly used in Cantonese are highly telling, and a plain translation of its meaning is almost impossible. Yet the mere attempt of…
