From one of China's most important poets after 1980, this is a stunning book of poetry, a poetry that is characterized by electric honesty and acute observation. In these pages, we hear Wang Xiaoni's candid and penetrating voice about contemporary China-all through her quiet but powerful verse. The translator Eleanor Goodman, herself a wonderful poet, should be congratulated for her brilliant translation.-Kang-i Sun Chang, Malcolm G. Chace '56 Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures, Yale University Wang Xiaoni is a revered Chinese poet who has been writing since her teens. Over the decades, her poetry has grown more resonant, marked with striking images and extraordinary associations, and characterized by a quiet personal voice. The poems in this volume embody a distinct sensibility and a major achievement. Eleanor Goodman's exacting translation makes them a pure pleasure to read and reread.-Ha JinThe jintian series of contemporary literature features new and innovative writing from mainland China and abroad. Titles in the series are edited by Bei Dao, Lydia H. Liu, and Christopher Mattison.