Ma Yongbo was born in 1964, Ph.D, representative of Chinese avant-garde poetry,and a leading scholar in Anglo-American poetry. He has published over eighty original works and translations since 1986 included 6 poetry collections. He focused on translating and teaching Anglo-American poetry and prose including the work of Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, Pound, Williams and Ashbery. He recently published a complete translation of Moby Dick, which has sold over half a million copies. He teaches at Nanjing University of Science and Technology. The Collected Poems of Ma Yongbo (four volumes, Eastern Publishing Centre, 2024) comprising 1178 poems, celebrate 40 years of writing poetry.

Please share your thoughts about the future of literature.

As long as the human spirit remains alive, literature (poetry) will endure, serving as the most faithful companion to the soul. The power of poetry to console and uplift the human spirit will always remain indispensable.

When did you start writing?

I began writing poetry, plays, and novels in 1979 during my first year of high school. My works were officially published starting in 1986. Writing poetry is a form of spiritual practice for me; my goal is not to secure a place in literary history.

The Good and the Bad.

Nature is good; humans are bad.

Who is winning nowadays?

Petty people dominate in every field. Yet evil only prevails temporarily, for Christ has already overcome the world.

How many books have you written?

I have published six poetry collections (including The Complete Collection of Poetry, which comprises four volumes), two essay collections, three academic monographs, two biographies, and two prose-poetry collections.

And where can we find your books?

Most of my 80 original and translated works have been published in mainland China, with a few released in traditional Chinese editions in Taiwan. They are available on Dangdang, JD.com, and in physical bookstores. Public libraries worldwide also hold copies. My bilingual poetry collections with Indian poet Anand, my another bilingual poetry collections with Greek poet Eva and Mexican poet Jeanette are sold on Amazon. A select few works, such as my three-volume bilingual translation of John Ashbery’s selected poems, can also be found there.

The book: E-book or Hardcover book? What will be the future?

Physical books will become increasingly expensive, eventually turning into collectibles for a small minority. E-books aid dissemination and conserve energy.

A wish for 2025.

May my friends find peace and joy, and may they write poetry abundantly. I also hope to leverage my translation skills to introduce more outstanding poets from other languages into Chinese, building a rainbow bridge to overcome cultural barriers.

A phrase from your book.

“Refining light from one’s own darkness.”