Anjali Tsui
on translating Liu Xiaobo
Every year, around June 4, Liu Xiabo writes a series of elegies to commemorate the incident and those who lost their lives. Liu's "June Fourth Elegies," written between 1990 and 2009, were translated into English and published in their entirety for the first time last year. Each poem is stamped with a record of where and when it was composed. "What Can I Say" was written in 2001 as part of the series. Composed in Beijing, the poem reflects on the author's failed attempts to tackle the subject of death.
about the author
Liu Xiaobo was a poet and activist. Going on a hunger strike to support the 1989 student protests in Tiananmen Square, Liu was arrested for speaking out when government troops massacred those protesting students on the fourth of June. He remained imprisoned or in labor camps for almost the rest of his life, and in 2017, he died of liver cancer. Liu was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China," though the Chinese government did not allow him to receive it.
about the translator
Anjali Tsui grew up in Hong Kong, where she constantly translated between English and Chinese. She graduated from the University of PennsIvania in May 2013 and majored in Creative Writing. She's back home, working as a journalist for CNN International.
