Exile Poetry
Exile Poetry articles and guides
Exile Poetry: When Banishment Produced China's Greatest Literature
Chinese emperors had a habit of banishing their best poets to remote provinces. The poets had a habit of writing masterpieces about the experience. Exile was terrible for the poets and wonderful for literature.
Political Poetry: When Poets Challenged Emperors
The dangerous tradition of using poetry to criticize power — and the poets who paid with their freedom or their lives.
Qu Yuan: The First Named Poet in Chinese History
The patriotic minister who drowned himself rather than watch his country fall — and launched a literary tradition and a festival.
Su Shi in Exile: How Banishment Produced China's Greatest Prose
Sent to the edge of the empire, Su Shi wrote his finest work — the paradox of creative genius flourishing in adversity.
Su Shi in Exile: Making the Best of Banishment
Su Shi was exiled three times, each posting more remote than the last. He responded by inventing a pork dish, writing immortal poetry, and refusing to be miserable.