Iron Moon: An Anthology of Chinese Worker Poetry
TRANSLATOR
Eleanor Goodman
The first anthology of Chinese migrant worker poetry translated into English (Thereadingwarehouse), this groundbreaking collection features 31 poets who labor on assembly lines, in coal mines, and factories producing goods for global markets. Taking its title from a visual metaphor linking the moon of classical Chinese poetry with iron, the anthology captures a collision of traditional Chinese culture with an explosion of capitalism (Biblio). These workers—many with only middle school educations—compose poetry on basic cell phones between 14-hour shifts, creating what one poet calls "a language of callouses." Their micro-narratives of mechanization offer intimate portals into worlds few of us know firsthand, despite our complicity in these systems (ThriftBooks). Award-winning translator Eleanor Goodman brings remarkable artistry to this White Pine Press edition, praised as a monumental achievement that redraws the boundaries of working-class poetry for the new millennium.
Reviews
“Iron Moon is a monumental achievement. It redraws the boundaries of working-class poetry for the new millennium by incorporating at its center issues like migration, globalization, and rank-and-file resistance. We hear in these poems what Zheng Xiaoqiong calls “a language of callouses.” This isn’t a book about the lost industrial past; it’s a fervent testimony to the horrific, hidden histories of the 21st century’s working-class and a clarion call for a more cooperative and humane future.”
—Mark Nowak, author of Coal Mountain Elementary
Eleanor Goodman is a writer and translator. Her translation of work by Wang Xiaoni, Something Crosses My Mind, won the Lucien Stryk Translation Prize. Her first poetry collection is Nine Dragon Island.