Yang Lian

Yang Lian is a Swiss-Chinese poet born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1955, who grew up in Beijing and became a leading figure of the Misty Poets movement that reacted against the Cultural Revolution's strictures[1][3]. His work was banned in China in 1989 after he organized Tiananmen memorial services in New Zealand, leading to his exile until he settled in London in 1997[1][3]. He has published over 15 volumes of poetry translated into more than 25 languages and has received major awards including the International Nonino Prize (2012) and the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award (2024)[1][3].