Born in Switzerland in 1955, Yang Lian was brought up in Beijing. He now resides in Berlin.
According to the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation, he is one of the foremost representatives of the so-called Misty Poets, “authors, who, writing in the modernist poetic style since the 1970s, managed to inculcate their work with what was officially banned in the aftermath of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.”
The foundation added: “Lian’s poetry is close to Herbert’s understanding of art, through creative references to tradition and an unceasing dialogue with poetry from the past.
"Brought up in Beijing, he understood the power of oppression of the totalitarian system at an early age, when as a young man he was forced to interrupt his education to undergo ‘re-education through labour’ in the provinces."
"He decided to emigrate, following the bloody suppression of the 1989 Tian’anmen Square protest. He nonetheless remains a staunchly Chinese language poet, as well as a critic of oppressive governments."
Yang Lian’s poetry has not yet been published in book form in a Polish translation. For now, only a small number of his poems are available online to the Polish reader, in a translation by Joanna Krenz and Grzegorz Murzewicz.
This year's Herbert Award winner was chosen by a jury of poets, essayists, translators and publishers: Krystyna Dąbrowska and Mikołaj Nowak-Rogoziński of Poland, Edward Hirsch of the United States, Michael Krüger of Germany, Mercedes Monmany of Spain, and Aleš Šteger of Slovenia.
The award presentation ceremony will be held in Warsaw on May 23.
Conferred since 2013, the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award recognizes outstanding artistic and intellectual achievements inspired by the values and ideals which were championed by Herbert.
Past recipients of the award include W.S. Merwin, Charles Simic, Ryszard Krynicki, Lars Gustafsson, Breyten Breytenbach, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Agi Miszol, Durs Grünbein, Yusef Komunyakaa, Marianna Kijanowska and Tomas Venclova.
Meanwhile, the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation has unveiled a programme of events to mark the centenary of Herbert’s birth, which falls on October 29, 2024.
Held under the auspices of UNESCO, the commemorations will comprise a wide range of literary, social and educational undertakings, including new publications of Herbert’s poetry, dramas and essays in the United States, Britain and Slovenia.
Herbert was among the most influential Polish poets, essayists and moralists.
His most popular works include Struna światła (The Chord of Light), Hermes, pies i gwiazda (Hermes, Dog and Star), Barbarzyńca w ogrodzie (The Barbarian in the Garden) and Pan Cogito (Mr. Cogito).
An anti-communist, Herbert gave his wholehearted support to the Solidarity movement. After the imposition of martial law in Poland in December 1981, his poems were recited at clandestine Solidarity meetings.
His works have been translated into 40 languages. He died in 1998.