Chen Xiaochun

654789759@qq.com

POETRY and music have always gone hand in hand. Both art forms have the ability to capture a single experience or moment in time in a very visceral way.

On the afternoon of Sunday, melodious poems filled Hutaoli Music Restaurant & Bar, touching the heartstrings of the audience after they listened to the recitation and dramatic performance of the poems at “The First Reader” event.

As the first cross-boundary poetry pilot project in China, “The First Reader” was sponsored by the Shenzhen Publicity and Cultural Development Special Fund, organized by the Research Center of Chinese Poetry, the Publicity Department of Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPC and Shenzhen Federation of Literature and Art Circles, and undertaken by Shenzhen Association of Dramatists.

Themed “Shenzhen Reads for You,” the event is on its sixth edition now, as it aims to continually explore the interconnection between poetry and drama, poetry and images, and poetry and exhibitions.

A total of seven special activities are now rolling out at Shenzhen Book City and Hutaoli Music Restaurant & Bar between August and October this year. Established poets this year include Wang Yin, Jiang Tao, Tan Chang and You Zijin.

Around 10 young people dressed in long black robes performed with the long black cloth band while they stood up in turn to recite poems such as “Before Time Flies Away” by You Zijin and “Girl’s Diary” by Tang Chang.

Hui Lei, a male Chinese singer who ranked 11th at the national final of the popular “Super Boy” singing competition, turned the poems into beautiful songs, presenting the audience with a new sense of the poems.

An exhibition, “The First Reader: First China Contemporary Poets’ Poetry Manuscript Exhibition,” is also on show at Hutaoli Music Restaurant & Bar, which presents over 200 poetry manuscripts from over 80 poets. Apart from performances and poem recitals, citizens can also take a look at the manuscripts to get a glimpse into how poets find inspiration and create poems.

“Shenzhen is a city that has gathered the dreams of our generation. I have traveled to this city many times for things that have mattered a lot to me. Today, I feel really touched because Shenzhen calls me back with poems. For me, it is not only a place where you can realize your dreams, but also a place that can nourish you spiritually,” said You, who won the best poet award.

For You, poetry is not a tool for obtaining material things. “It’s not RMB and it cannot provide you with bread when you feel hungry, nor weapons to defend against invasion. Rather, it’s like a kind of nutrition, which will gradually nourish you.”

For Tan, another best poet award winner, the penetrating power of poetry gets stronger when combined with music, drama and visual presentation. “Music can bring out our sentiments and feelings normally hidden deep. When a poem is adapted into a song, the short and long lines of the poem are highlighted, which makes the original poem more touching,” said Tan.