This week on Sinica, I'm in Beijing, where I spoke with my dear friend Anthony Tao, an English-language poet and a builder of community in the city where I lived for over 20 years. Anthony recently published a volume of his poetry called We Met in Beijing, and it captures the relationship that so many have with the city wherever they might come from. The episode features readings of some of his — and my — favorite poems.

3:28 Why Anthony chose poetry as a medium, and the poetry he has read [appreciated?]

9:13 A discussion of Anthony’s poem, “I Landed in Beijing,” and the feelings Beijing inspires

19:56 Anthony’s poem, “Self-censorship”

27:08 Anthony’s journalism in poetic form and processing the trauma of COVID 

31:38 Living as an “expat” and writing from an expat’s perspective: Anthony’s poem “Dancing like a Laowai 

40:46 Anthony’s bar — The Golden Weasel — and meeting interesting people in Beijing 

44:49 The themes of place and nostalgia, Anthony’s poem, “Postcard,” and the last stanza of his title poem, “We Met in Beijing”

Recommendations:

Anthony: The poetry of Stephen Dunn; the TV series Lucky Hank (2023) based on Straight Man by Richard Russo; Spittoon, an English-language literary collective in China; and his band, Poetry x Music 

Kaiser: The many international restaurants of Xiaoyun Lu in Beijing 

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