Fuchun River sparks impromptu poetry on shared human emotions

For centuries, Chinese poets have captured the stunning beauty of the Fuchun River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in simple yet poetic words. This July, poets from the BRICS countries stepped into the same river, drifting along the same route, and engaged in an impromptu poetry session inspired by the Fuchun River.

The poems, they created on the river during their six-day trip to China, and on a series of cultural activities they took part in have been recorded in the book Messengers from the Vernal Wood, which was released on Oct 18 at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany.

The book compiled by the Poetry Periodical also features poems written by 72 poets who took part in the First International Youth Poetry Festival: Special Session for BRICS Countries in July. It includes works from 49 poets from nine countries — Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia, with each poem featured in both the poet's native language and Chinese. It also includes poems from 23 Chinese poets, with each poem in Chinese and its English translation.