What do you feel about contemporary Chinese poetry, compared with Russian poetry and with ancient Chinese poetry?
We enjoyed the quality and the depth of the poems we read and listened to. Some of the poems had been translated earlier and some were in the process of being translated. What we consider a major success is that we paired two poets, Russian and Chinese, with each other who were translating in a process called poet-to-poet translation, and we feel that the quality of the individuals who took part in was comparable. Modern Russian and modern Chinese poetry has a lot more in common than we had thought. I think that despite language differences, modern Russian and Chinese poetry have more in common with one another than do modern Chinese and classical Chinese poetry with one another. Comparing Chinese classical poetry to modern Chinese poetry is like comparing a golden horse carriage with a Mercedes. No matter how beautiful the carriage might be, you'll always opt to hop into the car.
Are there fewer female poets in Russia and in the world? Do you think there should be more female poets?
Yes, there are indeed more male poets than female in the world, and that holds true in Russia. However, in Russia that proportion is more balanced, particularly in the younger generation. The situation is slowly changing, but I don't think we should force this process; it should come naturally. Otherwise you would have these unnatural situations where you would have a mandatory sex quota for a poetic award, as occurs in some European countries. I would be offended if I gained an advantage based on being a woman.
