John Balaban, translator

Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong (Copper Canyon Press)

Ho Xuan Huong was an 18th century Vietnamese poet and concubine. Poet John Balaban served as a conscientious objector in Vietnam during the war. We explore the complex destinies that led him to learn Vietnamese and to translate Ho's complex, erotic poems.

Intellectual, accessible, and provocative literary conversations.