Mirage: The Labyrinth of Poetry and Desire

Author: Stephen Owen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: "The Labyrinth" originally referred to a palace built by Emperor Yang of Sui in the early 7th century for his unrestrained pleasure. Its literal meaning is "a palace that makes one lose one's way," and whoever enters it would become lost and forget to return. In this work, Stephen Owen imitates the structure of the Labyrinth, delving deeply into poems from various cultures and historical periods, thereby discussing the theme of love and desire in East and West poetry. These poems originally had no reason to be grouped together, yet when combined, they seem even more vibrant. As a comparative poetics, this book is not limited to the well-known works in the European tradition but breaks the mold by blending the living with the familiar, the ancient with the modern—otherwise, works that do not fit traditional categories would either be forcibly placed into categories they do not belong to or dismissed as outliers. The success of this book lies not in its conceptual framework but in the pleasure these poems bring us, as well as the joy we feel when we slow down to contemplate them.