Time Shadows 2011: Chinese, American and German Poetry Collaboration

Three cultures - Chinese, American and German - were highlighted in this annual celebration of poetry and voice, which took place in the Meese conference room on April 7, 2011.

The twelve poems for this year’s project focused on the theme "Food," with four poems from each culture. Each poem was read in the three featured languages by local poets Christina Daub and Nan Fry, and professors and instructors from Mason and other nearby schools. Dr. Karl Zhang (Associate Professor of Chinese and Head of the Chinese Program in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, and Co-director of the Confucius Institute at Mason) opened the event by introducing Dr. Joy Hughes (Vice President, Information Technology Unit & Chief Information Officer at Mason) and Ulrich Braess (Director of the Goethe Institute, Washington DC). Local poet and translator Lane Jennings moderated the poetry readings. The event was followed by a reception at the Mason Inn.

The Time Shadows Poetry Reading was also held at the Goethe Institute in Washington DC on 11 February and will be repeated at the University of Maryland on May 4th.

The project is organized by the Goethe Institute, the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, in partnership with the Confucius Institute at George Mason University.