Cathay

Synopsis

Cathay is a collection of poems written by the American poet Ezra Pound and published in 1915. The book is a translation of Chinese poetry, specifically the works of Li Po, Tu Fu, and other poets from the Tang Dynasty. Pound's translations were among the first to introduce Chinese poetry to the Western world, and his work has since been recognized as a major influence on modernist poetry. The poems in Cathay are characterized by their spare, imagistic language and their focus on nature, love, and the transience of life.