Yangtze:
Sarah Howe's Journey of Identity and Memory
Sarah
Howe, born in 1983 in the United Kingdom to a British father and Chinese
mother, is a distinguished Chinese-British poet, editor, and researcher in
English literature. Her multicultural background profoundly influences her
work, infusing it with themes of identity, displacement, and cultural duality.
Having lived in China until the age of eight before migrating to the UK, Howe's
poetry often reflects the complexities of her bicultural heritage. Educated in
both the UK and the US, Howe has faced discrimination due to her Chinese
heritage, an experience that informs her exploration of belonging and otherness
in her writing.Her
first full poetry collection, "Loop of Jade," won the T.S. Eliot
Prize, marking a historic achievement as the first debut collection to receive
this honor. In addition to her poetic work, Howe founded the online poetry
journal Prac Crit and has made significant contributions to contemporary poetry
as a post-modern poet with a keen eye for blending personal narrative with
broader cultural commentary.
"Yangtze"
is the concluding poem in Sarah Howe’s acclaimed collection "Loop of
Jade," published in 2015. This poem serves as a reflective journey
back to mainland China, encapsulating Howe's experiences and memories of the
country she left as a child. Written in a style that balances dense,
descriptive language with a simple, evocative mode reminiscent of haiku, "Yangtze"
explores themes of identity, cultural heritage, and environmental change.
Through its vivid imagery and poignant reflections, the poem addresses the
profound transformations wrought by modernization on the Yangtze River and its
surroundings.
The
poem delves into the duality of Howe’s Chinese and British identities,
symbolized by the half-built bridge, and the haunting presence of submerged
traditions and lost communities. The refrain "journeying is hard"
underscores the physical, mental, and social challenges of navigating one’s
path in life, capturing the essence of the poet's exploration of belonging and
displacement. Through "Yangtze," Howe invites readers to
reflect on the complexities of cultural identity and the enduring impact of
environmental and societal changes.
"The moon glimmers
in the brown channel.
Strands of mist
wrap the mountainsides
crowded with firs.
Declining cliffs
sink beneath vast water."
The
opening lines set a serene yet sombre tone, describing a tranquil moonlit scene
along the Yangtze River. The "brown channel" contrasts with the
glimmering moon, hinting at the pollution and environmental changes in the
river. The imagery of mist wrapping the mountainsides and the cliffs sinking
into the water evokes a sense of natural beauty intertwined with a quiet,
ominous decline.
"By remote paths,
twisting pines.
Far downstream
two sides
of a half-built bridge
fail to meet."
The
poet introduces the theme of incompletion and fragmentation with the image of a
half-built bridge. The "twisting pines" and "remote paths"
evoke a sense of isolation and inaccessibility. The unfinished bridge
symbolizes unfulfilled promises and the gap between tradition and progress, as
well as the disconnect between different parts of society or between past and
future.
"Our crude boat
chugging
points to Chongqing.
As someone I now forget
once said
journeying is hard."
Here,
the poem shifts to a personal perspective, with the speaker aboard a
"crude boat" heading to Chongqing. The repetitive sound of the boat
"chugging" underscores the laborious nature of the journey. The
mention of a forgotten source for the quote "journeying is hard"
introduces a reflective tone, suggesting the challenges and uncertainties of
travel and life.
"My face greets
the evening breeze
I listen –
the dream of a place."
These
lines capture a moment of calm and introspection. The speaker's sensory
engagement with the evening breeze and the act of listening suggests a
connection to nature and a contemplative state. "The dream of a
place" alludes to an idealized or remembered location, hinting at
nostalgia and the elusiveness of such dreams.
"A cormorant dives
by trembling light.
From the white
eyelet of a star
the sound of ripples."
Here, the
poet uses haiku-like imagery to depict a delicate, fleeting moment in nature.
The cormorant's dive and the trembling light create a sense of movement and
fragility. The "white eyelet of a star" producing the "sound of
ripples" blends visual and auditory senses, emphasizing the
interconnectedness of natural elements and the subtle beauty of the scene.
"A fisherman
skirting shore
in his high-prowed skiff
crossing bamboo oars
comes up with a jolt –
nets catch not fish
but the wizened finger
of a submerged branch
for below
a sunken valley persists –"
The
narrative resumes with a detailed description of a fisherman's encounter with
the submerged landscape. The "wizened finger of a submerged branch"
suggests remnants of a once-thriving ecosystem now underwater. The "sunken
valley" evokes the profound transformation of the river's environment,
hinting at human impact and loss.
"slick bare trunks
furred in wafting fronds
have water for sky,
ghost forest.
Roots rot deep in the hill
where buried rock
is still dry."
The poet
continues the underwater imagery, describing the "ghost forest" with
"slick bare trunks" and "wafting fronds." The reversal of
"water for sky" highlights the unnatural state of the submerged
trees. The imagery of roots rotting while buried rock remains dry suggests the
ongoing decay and disconnection from the original ecosystem.
"Windows film,
doors drift open
in the empty concrete
shells of houses
towns that once
held hundreds
of thousands
slowly filling with
what, what is it
they fill with?"
The
poem shifts to the abandoned human settlements, depicting the "empty
concrete shells of houses" and ghost towns that once held large
populations. The repetition of "what, what is it they fill with?"
underscores the uncertainty and the haunting absence in these spaces, inviting
readers to ponder the consequences of displacement and environmental change.
"Someone I now forget
once said
journeying is hard.
The moon glimmers
in the brown channel."
The
refrain "Someone I now forget once said journeying is hard"
reappears, reinforcing the theme of memory and the difficulty of the journey.
The return to the image of the moon glimmering in the brown channel creates a
cyclical structure, linking the poem's end to its beginning and emphasizing the
persistence of these issues.
Sarah
Howe's poem "Yangtze," the concluding piece in her acclaimed
collection "Loop of Jade" (2015), encapsulates the poet's reflective
journey back to mainland China, where she lived until the age of eight. Howe, a
Chinese-British poet with a unique bicultural perspective, shares her nuanced
exploration of the country through personal memory and broader cultural and
environmental landscapes.
The
poem opens with the moon's reflection on the Yangtze River, setting a serene
yet melancholic tone. The image of the moon glimmering in the "brown
channel" hints at the pollution and environmental degradation of the
river, contrasting natural beauty with underlying decay. "Strands of
mist" and "twisting pines" evoke a timeless, mythical landscape
steeped in legend and half-memories.
Howe’s
writing reflects her dual heritage and resulting sense of duality. The
half-built bridge symbolizes the incomplete connection between her Chinese and
British identities and the clash between tradition and modernity. This image of
the bridge that "fail[s] to meet" underscores fragmentation and
unfulfilled potential. Similarly, submerged trees represent sinking Chinese
traditions and cultural essence, leading to an inability to fully understand
oneself.
The
poem’s structure, reminiscent of haiku with precise, transparent diction and
free verse, mirrors the river's natural flow. Fluidity is emphasized by
avoiding symmetry and seamlessly transitioning between scenes. Howe’s use of
minimal punctuation and an asterisk after the fifth stanza creates a deliberate
rhythm, allowing pauses for reflection, akin to natural pauses in a journey.
The
refrain "journeying is hard," possibly echoing Li Po, reminds us of
physical, mental, and social challenges in navigating life's path. This
refrain, coupled with repetitive imagery of the glimmering moon and brown
channel, creates a loop reflecting cyclical memory and experience. The
inability to recall who said "journeying is hard" points to
fragmentation and wandering from roots, common in diasporic experiences.
Howe’s vivid, haunting depiction of the Yangtze River's environmental impact includes a "ghost forest" of submerged trees. The fisherman's net catching a "wizened finger of a submerged branch" highlights changes from hydroelectric plants like the Three Gorges Dam, evoking loss and displacement for nature and affected communities. The poem's elegiac tone mourns this while capturing the river’s resilience and enduring beauty.
