Starting from poetry, his literary journey began with the Suomo River and he wrote the collection of Alai poems titled "Dust Settles"
Sichuan writer and winner of the Mao Dun Literature Award, Alai, was very busy at the Shanghai Book Fair. On August 20th, he walked into Xujiahui Academy with his latest novel "Searching for Shangri La". The day before, at the "Sinan Literature House", he shared with readers a poetry collection called "Starting from the Suomo River".
The book "Departing from the Suomo River" launched by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House includes poems with distinctive styles such as "Storm Goes Far Away", "At This Time is Night", "Mountains, or About Myself", "Dance of the Soul", etc. It is the largest collection of poems by Alai to date. The first volume includes Alai's first personal poetry collection "Suomo River" published by Sichuan Ethnic Publishing House in 1991, and the second and third volumes are selected from "Alai's Poetry" published by Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House in 2016. Based on this, the fourth volume adds works published by Alai in local magazines, ethnic poetry selections, and other reading materials in his early years. Alai expresses his reverence and love for the land and nature where his ancestors have lived for generations with simple and sincere brushstrokes.
Many readers are unaware that the path of literary creation for Alai, known for his work "Dust Settles," actually began with poetry. This may be one of the reasons why Alai's works have unique language and philosophical charm in contemporary literature. When it comes to the reasons for writing poetry, Alai said, "At that time, I had a group of young teachers with different professions around me who were all writing and often judging each other. I often read about Du Fu and Su Shi, so I spoke wildly and said, 'You don't write well,' but they were not convinced. I was young and competitive, so I made a bet with them to write two poems. They did write better than them, and they even helped me submit articles, which encouraged the vanity of young people."
The editor in chief of "Harvest", Cheng Yongxin, also recalled the poetic atmosphere of the 1980s: "That was an era of poetry prosperity, where almost everyone could recite hazy poems. Our school auditorium held poetry meetings every once in a while, and every time it was crowded. Some students wrote good poems, and the whole school would be a sensation. In that golden age of poetry, I also read many poems, always believing that poetry was the closest literary style to philosophy, expressing our attitude towards the world."
Commentator Huang Dehai said, "When I was in elementary and middle school, the heat of poetry was still lingering. In high school, I took a collection of Neruda's poems, memorized one every day, and learned to write poetry." Reading "Starting from the Suomo River" made him feel "a sudden return to the feeling of poetry fever at that time." Chinese poetry has a tradition of being recited, and the imagery in Alai poetry can resonate with us. "
At the age of 30, Alai's writing shifted from poetry to fiction, with his first novel being "Dust Settles". When I was writing poetry, it was actually a game that took me into a serious world, which was literature. When I was young, we were always exploring different directions and possibilities in life. When I was writing poetry, I was also writing short stories. In 1989, I published two books, one was the poetry collection "The Somo River". I grew up drinking the water of the Somo River, which was my starting point; and the other was my first novel collection "The Blood of the Old Year". However, at that time, I was greatly confused and doubted whether I was actually a writer. I believed that I had a mutual perception with this land and nature. The relationship decided to take literature seriously in my lifetime. So, for four years, I didn't write a word until 1994 when I started writing "Dust Settles"
"The language of Alai's novels is very beautiful, which has an inherent connection with his early poetry writing. In Cheng Yongxin's eyes, Alai is an all-around player who can handle any subject matter." Many writers who become famous are unwilling to mention their early works, but Alai is willing to tell readers about his origins, which is a manifestation of bravery and confidence. "
