Excerpts from
C A R V E D _ W A T E R [out of print]
By Zhang Er 2003  $8
Design by Anne Sakutori

from "Big Character Poster"

Family planning, home economics, real estate, migration--
the fundamental facts of life are put on
a schedule, become public language
we cannot talk about. We think,
we do not dare to think.

Zhang Er, who was born in Beijing and moved to the USA in 1986, writes in Chinese, then translates her poems into English with various collaborators. "Carved Water" was accomplished with renowned slam poet, Bob Holman, combining her lyricism with his performative panache, the East River with the Yangtze.