International PEN Poem Relay

This is the official website of the International PEN China Campaign Poem Relay

Celebrating Linguistic Diversity and Carrying the Torch for Freedom of Expression in China

The poem 'June' by imprisoned Chinese poet and journalist Shi Tao is relaying around the world, country to country, language to language, until it reaches Beijing for the Olympics in August.

PEN Centres around the world have translated 'June' to over 90 (and still counting) of the world's languages.

When the poem arrives at a new location, you can read and hear a new translation.

On April 23, while the Olympic torch gets ready for its relay run through Canberra, Australia, the poem goes to the Philippines, where it is translated to nine local languages!

Click on a location on the map to see when the poem is due.

Yellow pins mark the current location of the poem
Red pins mark previous poem locations
Blue pins mark upcoming poem locations


There may be more than one translation into your language. Type in a language in the search window to locate the translations you want to read and hear.

June

by Shi Tao

My whole life

Will never get past “June”
June, when my heart died
When my poetry died
When my lover
Died in romance’s pool of blood

June, the scorching sun burns open my skin
Revealing the true nature of my wound
June, the fish swims out of the blood-red sea
Toward another place to hibernate
June, the earth shifts, the rivers fall silent
Piled up letters unable to be delivered to the dead

Translated to English from Chinese by Chip Rolley.

  Flash required to play this audio Listen to the poem in English


  Flash required to play this audio Listen to the poem in Mandarin
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Copyright 2008, International PEN Centre Sydney Inc.. Cite/attribute Resource. admin. (2008, April 23). International PEN Poem Relay. Retrieved March 12, 2010, from PEN Poem Relay Web site: http://www.penpoemrelay.org/googlemap. All Rights Reserved.