I attended the launch of my Macedonian poet friend Marijana Kotevska Georgieva’s new poetry book, “Everything happens when nothing is happening,” in Shanghai. The event held at Fotografiska, a beautiful spot in Shanghai, the event combined beautiful poems with jazz music. The Sihang Warehouse, featured in the movie 800 (The Eight Hundred -2020) and a symbol of resistance during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, is just 200 meters away. Although I’ve been here before, I regret not discovering this beautiful place sooner. With the Suzhou River flowing beside us, we listened to Marijana’s poems in Macedonian, Chinese, and English, accompanied by clarinet and electric guitar. One of the most delightful moments of the night was when an 84-year-old Chinese man read one of Marijana’s poems, “The December of His Youth.” And perhaps the most beautiful moment and surprise of the night was when a young singer, Chen Yixin, turned one of the poems into a beautiful jazz song. The hall filled with applause after this successful performance by the young singer.
Autumn
The map of the word laid on the floor
released all oceans and seas
and they spilled out…
Running from the window
and down from the balcony,
headed to the street…
(From the back cover of Marijana Kotevska Georgieva’s book)
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