初识南川，是在一个诗会。有备而来的他到朗诵时，却抛开了备好的诗稿。只见他带着奔放的热情，挥洒的手势，饱满的底气，即席吟咏了对艺术氛围和诗一样生活的赞美。他的发挥很挑气氛，把精彩纷呈的诗会带到了新的高潮。这就是诗人郑南川。诗人嘱我译诗，深感荣幸。及至翻译伊始，才有幸细读南川的诗作，顿觉耳目一新。南川的诗清新自然，不拘格律，一首诗就是一个童话(“一只鞋的偶然”)，一则寓言(“那年，有个女孩捡到了一首诗”)，一幅水彩 (“Maisonneuve 公园的记忆”)。诗中有的是对人生的品味(“寄走的人生”)，对心灵的拷问(“只是我选择的那个季节”)，对家乡的怀念(“曾经的记忆”)，对生活的享爱 (“五月，圣劳伦街的太阳”)，和与大自然的灵通(“掰开空气的心”)。其诗中有画，有情，有故事；这画、这情、这故事既透露出一颗童真的心，用诗人的话说，就是“像娃娃一样”，同时也充满了哲理，充满了对丰富曲折的人生的感受和领悟。南川的诗，并不仅仅是那即席的挥洒。读他的诗，让我对诗歌增加了一份热爱，也让我充满了译诗的情致。 如果说诗就是翻译中之所失，如果说所失又可力图复得，那么翻译南川先生的诗集真是如同寻复乐园一样，艰辛而快乐。挑战是巨大的，也是多层面的。正确地理解内涵，并忠实地再现之，且不说排除文化心理方面微妙之处的阻隔，历来是译品的标准；在诗的翻译上，就更为艰巨。所幸者，诗人是朋友，可以就近讨教，实感受益良多。再现中，我力求完全保留诗人的意象：意象是南川诗的灵魂，也可以说更是内容。诗之再现，又有形式的要求，就是行文的风格。既要保持作者文风，又要使英文译作有说得过去的诗感，这真是一件令人谦卑的事。我只敢希望做到了一部分；所丢失而未能复得的，其责任就是我自己的了。译诗之如此，诗人又委以如此信任，我借此深表感谢。 我还想感谢家妻对翻译工作的支持，并感谢所有的读者。

I met the poet, quite fittingly, at a poetry gathering. While prepared,he just let go of his poems as he went to the “podium.” Instead, heimprovised an enthusiastic ode to the poetic ambience and the artisticvenue, as well as to the enjoyment of life. That he did withgenuine passion, broad gestures and an infectious voice, such that itinstantly brought the party to a new climax. Such is Zheng Nanchuan,the poet.It was not untill I started to translate this collection, at the request of the poet – my honour indeed, that I actually had thechance to read his poems. What arefreshing experience!Nanchuan’s poems flow naturally, free from schematic formalities.Each poem offers a fairy tale (as in “The Fortuities of a Shoe”), a fable (such as “Years Ago, a Girl Found Poem”), or awatercolour (e.g. “Memories from Maisonneuve Park”). They arerich and varied in content, be it a taste of life (“A Life Mailed Out”),a rumination on the soul (“It’s Just the Season I Chose”), a reminiscenceof home (“Memories from Yesteryear”), an enjoyment of life (“May, the Sun on Boulevard Saint-Laurent”), or a communionwith nature (“Opening Up Air’s Heart”). The pictures, emotionsand stories embedded in these poems on the one hand speak of the poet’s childlike innocence, and on the other, brim with wits andreflections on the twists and turns of a life that spans eras and continents.Nanchuan’s poems are by no means just the improvisationsI witnessed.His poems enriched my love of poetry, and inspired me in their translation.If poetry is what gets lost in translation and if what is lost can be regained, then the process of translating The Fortuities of a Shoehas surely been a labour of love, and a very rewarding one at that.For poetry is paradise.The challenge, of course, is enormous and manifold. Amongthem, correct understanding and faithful representation, not to mention cultural-psychological subtleties, are all the more dauntingin the case of poetry. Luckily, Nanchuan is a friend and is close athand for consultation. This proves very beneficial. For representation,I made it a rule to keep all the original imagery, which is the soul to Nanchuan’s work, more content than form. This becomes,actually, a convenience to me. Now what is left is recomposing thepoetry, the style dimension. I am honestly humbled in trying to do this, i.e., to keep the poet’s style and to make the English renditionsomewhat recognizable as poetry.Poetry translation being such, I truly appreciate the poet’s trust,and can only hope to have done some justice to this paradise he hascreated. For whatever is indeed lost, and not regained, I am solelyresponsible.I want to also thank my wife, Fan Xiujie, for her support in the translation, and to thank all my readers.