Midnight's Gate：Essays

TwentyessaysaboutBeiDao'slifeinexilesinceTiananmenSquare."Knowledgeofdeathistheonlykeythatcanopenmidnight'sgate."—BeiDaoBeiDaohasgainedinternationalacclaimoverthelastdecadeforhishauntinginteriorpoeticlandscapes;hispoetryistranslatedandpublishedinsometwenty-fivelanguagesaroundtheworld.Now,inMidnight'sGate,BeiDaoredefinestheessayformwiththesameellipticalprecisionofhispoetry,butwithanopennessandhumorthatcomplementsthecomplexityofhispoems.ThetwentyessaysofMidnight'sGateformatravelogueofapoetwhohaslivedinsomesevencountriessincehisexilefromChinain1989.TheworkcarriesusfromPalestinetoSacramento.AtonepointweareledintoabasementinParisforaproductionofGorky'sLowerDepths,thenextmomentweareinthemountainsofChinawhereBeiDaoworkedforelevenyearsasaconcretemixerandironworker.Thesubjectiveexperiencedeepensandmultipliesintheseessays,filledwiththestoriesofordinaryChineseimmigrants,aswellasthoseofliterary,artistic,andpoliticalfigures.Anditallcohereswithapoet'sobservations,meditations,andmemories.