"Being a non-native speaker of English, a Chinese born and raised in Hong Kong and educated in the United States, and a resident of Wales from January 2008 to May 2015, I somehow find my adventure in English poetry a most fascinating experience. I suppose the rich legacy of Chinese poetry which I have inherited, and the Welsh bardic tradition that I was exposed to have certainly played a part in forging my creative urges. Now looking back, it all started as an escapade."
Sau Y. Chan
作者
陳守仁（Sau Y. Chan）
Sau Y. Chan was born, raised and educated in Hong Kong. He later went to school in USA, worked in Hong Kong and lived in Talgarth from 2008 to 2015. He is now a writer based in Hong Kong. This, his first poem collection, is dedicated to Antonia Spowers, Jenni Rule, Roy Powell and Peter Brooke.
目錄
Contents 1. Graveyard 2. Carol of Blaenavon 3. Janet Dancing in Silence 4. On Her Return 5. 往事如煙 6. Dear Ma and Ba 7. Summer Daydream 8. Crying Reaper 9. 失去的妳 10. Antonia 11. Bright Stars of Talgarth 12. High Street in a Welsh Village 13. The Smallest Room 14. 海玻璃女孩 15. Mayhem 16. Echo my Words 17. In that Remote and Distant Place 18. See You Next Life 19. Lullaby for Jenni's Birthday 20. 過客 21. Sound Sounds Slow 22. The Scent of Shadow 23. A Journey of Breathing 24. Roy the Painter-cum-Dancer 25. Bell Rings in Rains 26. 姬莉的生辰 27. Tea Dance at Upper Chapel 28. Beth in a Nutshell 29. In Retrospect 30. Get Ready for a Pull 31. 終於見到妳 32. That Chinese Girl of Narberth 33. On Joan's Birthday 34. Ken Bowen the Firewood Man 35. Jenni 36. 聾舞孃珍納 37. Lonely Traveller 38. Nine Pounds Forty 39. Lorac's Rough Game 40. Captain Morgan 41. 瑪利曼女生 42. Remarkable Episodes 43. Whisper 44. Cindy Wearing Tattoos 45. 髮 46. Wesley 47. Emma of Honey 48. Reading History 49. 待放苗苗 50. Scratch 51. Countdown 52. Things I Can't Do 53. 不因我們不能 54. Tears and Petals Rustle 55. Love Transcends Words 56. Dear V 57. 晚安 58. Friendlessness 59. Life 60. 望 61. Marymount Girl 62. Maybe I'm Still May 63. 天后、長平 64. Ever and Ever 65. Not Because We Couldn't 66. 再在稻香舉杯 67. Wooing Song
序／導讀
Prologue
Not only that none of the poems in the present collection has been published, I am also a “poet” who has never published any poem, though a number of my pieces were recited or sung in the meetings of Swans of Usk, the poetry group based in Brecon of mid-Wales, to which I belonged.
I wish to thank the late Hilary Scott-Archer and my good friend Peter Brooke for helping me through the revision of this collection; without them, it would not have come into existence. I am also indebted to my other friends Jenni Rule, Roy Powell, Antonia Spowers, Patricia Evans, Mike Scott-Archer, and Chris Meredith who have read or heard some of the drafts and have given me inspiring suggestions and encouragement, and to Amy who was always the first person to read the early drafts and to realise my poetic writings were worthwhile. Now looking back, it all started as an escapade.
Other than being my good friends, Jenni, Roy and Peter have been my poetry tutors, Antonia was our former neighbour and one of our first friends in Talgarth who always took care of us, cooked us good meals, allowing us to share her bathroom whenever we had a boiler problem, reading my manuscripts, and introducing her friends to us. And Mike and Hilary were generous hosts of our poetry group meetings.
Being a non-native speaker of English, a Chinese born and raised in Hong Kong and educated in the United States, and a resident of Wales from January 2008 to May 2015, I somehow find my adventure in English poetry a most fascinating experience. I suppose the rich legacy of Chinese poetry which I have inherited, and the Welsh bardic tradition that I was exposed to have certainly played a part in forging my creative urges. Now looking back, it all started as an escapade.
I would also thank my friend Chor Koon-fai for the translation of 5 of my English pieces into Chinese. Above all, I must offer my heartfelt gratitude to Peter Jay who has edited and commented on 5 of the most favourite pieces of my own. Also, my thanks to Suk Lee who introduced Mr Jay to me.
The present collection contains 60 poems written from 2011 to 2019, 15 in Chinese and 45 in English. Also there are my English translation of 7 classical and contemporary Chinese poems, and Mr Chor’s Chinese translation of 5 of my English pieces.
May I thank all those friends and people who have posed, though inadvertently, for my portrayal.
