In contemporary China, prison poetry as a literary genre started in June 1989… largely ignored by researchers.
China loves Marina Tsvetaeva but ignores the aesthetic merit in Liu Xia’s work. China loves Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky, but undermines the artistic power of Liu Xiaobo and Liao Yiwu. The ironic thing: the ancient poets in exile are being praised highly—Qu Yuan, Li Bai (Li Po), and Wang Wei.

Read the full essay here: http://www.tupeloquarterly.com/i-will-embrace-you-with-my-ashes-poems-from-prison-by-ming-di/