Literary event writes new story

As the world's second-largest book fair (according to the organizers), the BIBF is a place where writers meet readers, publishers, translators and each other.

As another highlight of this year's BIBF, the debut "Author Focus" series turned the spotlight onto writers themselves.

At its launch ceremony, the bilingual poetry-art collection Dance of Ice & Fire — Bilingual Poetry and Painting Collection of China and Iceland, co-created by Chinese poet Zhao Lihong, Icelandic Sinologist Ragnar Baldursson and Icelandic artist Eird-ís Ragnarsdótti, impressed attendees.

Published by Fujian Education Press, the book is presented in a Chinese-Icelandic bilingual parallel-text format, containing 20 poems by Zhao and Baldursson each. The latter is also the translator of the Chinese poems. As a poetry-painting collection, it also features original manuscripts and handdrawn illustrations by Zhao, alongside 17 avant-garde paintings by Icelandic artist Eirdis Ragnarsdottir (daughter of Ragnar Baldursson).

Huang Weizhou, president of The Straits Publishing and Distributing Group, to which FEP belongs, said that the book has explored an innovative pathway for multilingual literary publishing.

By leveraging the medium of "poetry-painting fusion," it holds significant potential to deepen people-to-people exchanges and cultural interactions between China and Iceland, fostering empathy and mutual appreciation across civilizations, he adds.