Eight Days in Lhasa is a new China hand's pilgrimage into some of Buddhism's holiest places. The ambivalence begins in the Shangrila of legend, or at least the town in the Tibetan corner of Yunnan which has renamed itself Xiangalila in Chinese. The skyline in these poems is dominated by the rugged grey-green mountains of the high plateau, by prayer flags and red flags, smoke from offerings and the gorgeous temple-scapes from which these issue. Kelen's verse journey tracks key contradictions among the ideological meetings and misunderstandings which are Lhasa today. Visiting various monasteries around the capital, from every angle we see the Potala, empty seat of the Dalai Lamas and heart of Tibetan  awareness. Between these covers we're never far from the smell of the butter lamps or the rhythm of turning prayer wheels . Attention is always drawn to the breath at this altitude. Here's how the journey begins: in my ears / air so thin, so pure / this must be / the sound of less than nothing / lungs at rest lean uphill / mountains throw themselves around / sunshower from my hotel windows / dry height they have here leaves you hungry / they're building the old town right now.

Eight Days in Lhasa

Literature & Fiction

Kelen, Christopher

Poetry

Virtual Artists Collective

Xin Qiji (1140-1207) was a Song Dynasty poet who wrote in a range of genres and is famous for the more than six hundred ci poems he composed to one hundred and one different tunes. Kit (Christopher) Kelen and Agnes Vong have worked through around a quarter of Xin Qiji's surviving oeuvre in order to present the reader with this collection of translations, adaptations and responses to the work of the Song poet. Prepared at the University of Macau in South China, this book brings the classical Chinese poem face to face with the Kelen/Vong translations and Kelen's original poems 'in the manner of' Xin Qiji.

Spring Wind Brings the Fireworks

Xin, Qiji

<p>The poems in this book are not translations, rather they may be considered as variations on and responses to the poetry of Meng Jiao. Meng Jiao (751-814) was a poet of the late Tang. Unable to pass the examinations that would have given him a respectable official post, Meng lived a life of poverty, but managed to travel in Hubei, Hunan and Guangxi. More than five hundred of his poems survive and these cover a wide range of genres and themes, amongst which particularly feature devotional meditations, rustic and mountain landscapes and various kinds of lamentation. The poems in this book are written in response to translations of the extant oeuvre of Meng Jiao (made by the author with Amy Wong and Hilda Tam).</p>

After Meng Jiao: Responses to the Tang Poet

In Conversation with the River

Poetics and Ethics of Anthropomorphism (Children's Literature and Culture)

Chengcheng, Jo

Teen & Young Adult

Routledge

Anthem Quality: National Songs: A Theoretical Survey

Thought of most often in the context of the Olympics or other sporting events, national anthems are a significant way for a nation and its citizens to express their identity and unity. Despite their prevalence, anthems as an expression of national self-image and culture have rarely been examineduntil now. Anthem Quality analyzes the lyrics of many anthems in order to explore their historical and contemporary context. Christopher Kelen’s research reveals how many of the world’s most famous and best-known national anthems, including The Marseillaise,” The Star-Spangled Banner,” and God Save the Queen” deal with such topics as authority, religion, and political devotion.  

History & Criticism

Intellect Ltd

Anthems are symbolic means through which nations present themselves to the world. Accordingly, creating seven new nation states out of the bones of Yugoslavia required new anthems. Why did these new states opt for century-old national songs or, failing this, for the anthems without words? What are the images and symbols that each of these states chose as their ‘national signatures’ and how were these chosen? This book explores a variety of images of nationhood (or the absence of them) in the lyrics of the official anthems and of competing national songs and traces their historical trajectory from the time of their conception to their legal entrenchment. This is the first full-length study into the symbolic representations of nationhood in the recently created nation states of the Balkans.

Anthems and the Making of Nation States: Identity and Nationalism in the Balkans (International Library of Twentieth Century History)

History

Pavković, Aleksandar

Europe

I.B.Tauris

Thought of most often in the context of the Olympics or other sporting events, national anthems are a significant way for a nation and its citizens to express their identity and unity. Despite their prevalence, anthems as an expression of national self-image and culture have rarely been examined―until now. Anthem Quality analyzes the lyrics of many anthems in order to explore their historical and contemporary context. Christopher Kelen’s research reveals how many of the world’s most famous and best-known national anthems, including “The Marseillaise,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and “God Save the Queen” deal with such topics as authority, religion, and political devotion.  

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kelen, Christopher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kelen, Christopher

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kelen, Christopher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Eight Days in Lhasa

Spring Wind Brings the Fireworks

After Meng Jiao: Responses to the Tang Poet

In Conversation with the River

Poetics and Ethics of Anthropomorphism (Children's Literature and Culture)

Anthem Quality: National Songs: A Theoretical Survey

Anthems and the Making of Nation States: Identity and Nationalism in the Balkans (International Library of Twentieth Century History)

Anthem Quality: National Songs: A Theoretical Survey