A young Chinese poet has published her first book of poetry in English. My Tenantless Body, by Sichuanese poet Yu Yoyo, conveys the distinct and often disturbing aspects of female experience in contemporary Sichuan, with English translations by UK poet AK Blakemore and translator Dave Haysom.

Poet Rebecca Tamás says in her afterword that Yu’s work is inspired by the speed of social media communication, merging “past, present and future into the eternal now of the web”. Yoyo’s book is part of the new pocket-sized World Poet Series from the Poetry Translation Centre, with published and forthcoming titles in 2019 including works by Brazilian poet Adelaide Ivánova, Somali legend Gaarriye, and Kurdish-Turkish poet Bejan Matur. My Tenantless Body can be ordered here

Yu Yoyo was born in Sichuan in 1990, and started publishing poetry at the age of 14. Her poems have been translated into several languages, including English, Korean, Russian, French, Japanese, and Swedish, and she has received numerous Chinese literary prizes

She will be reading tonight, Thursday 4 July, at the Centre for New and International Writing, University of Liverpool’s School of the Arts, at 5pm. The event is free. On Sunday 7 July she will be reading with AK Blakemore at Ledbury poetry festival, in Burgage Hall at 1pm. Tickets £9.50.