“The Map”

A single poem broadside
by Chun Yu
Titling calligraphy by Aiqin Zhou
Letterpress printed in English and also in Chinese
Designed and produced in 2021 by The Arion Press

English pdf | Chinese pdf

(San Francisco – May 11, 2021) Arion Press dedicates its spring broadside, the publication of Chun Yu’s “The Map”《地圖》, to the Graduating Class of 2021, their families, and their teachers. “Attention must be paid” has taken on a new meaning for the 21st century.

Arion Press, the San Francisco-based fine printing press, has collaborated with San Francisco poet, Chun Yu, to issue the second work in its Broadside Series. “The Map” will be published bilingually, in both English and Chinese, a first for the legendary letterpress and foundry. 

The San Francisco Public Library published “The Map” for their Poem-of-the-Day series in 2020, attracting new admirers and adding to the poem’s internationally acclaimed reputation. The verse rings especially true in the ears of students, parents and teachers who have persevered through an unprecedented year—the greatest global pandemic in 100 years.

When Yu was visiting her parents in China, in early 2020, she had no idea it would be the last time she would see them for over a year. During lockdown in San Francisco, “The Map” took on yet another layer of meaning—“I felt that in a vast world of uncertainty, it was 'The Map’ of love which guided and led us to each other.”

250 copies of “The Map” have been printed by letterpress on vintage handmade paper from metal types cast on-site for the project. Titling calligraphy was contributed by Aiqin Zhou, an internationally renowned artist and calligrapher. The calligraphy and traditional Chinese Kaiti characters were printed by polymer plate. The broadsides are wrapped in a tri-fold folder imprinted with Arion’s dedication and Yu’s introduction.

Pre-orders will begin shipping on May 24, 2021.

Take 3 minutes to hear Chun Yu read her poem in English or Mandarin.

Free to download. Run time: 03:02. File size: 5.2MB. File type: m4a

Hear fans from around the globe #ReadingTheMap.

Photos

Click to enlarge any image. 2000px x 1429px. Please tag @arionpress when used in social media. Download zip file of all photos.

Praise for Chun Yu

Chun Yu’s poetry creates sense and order that readers young and old, eastern and western, will appreciate.
Maxine Hong Kingston

“The Map’”conveys a profound understanding of the vital bond between parent and child as it is imprinted into both paper and the consciousness of all who read the poem. May the map of love offer the English and Chinese speaking worlds an important opportunity to connect and appreciate each others’ common humanity.
Baird Brightman, PhD

Amazing, Chun Yu. Such powerful words with inspirational imagery and foundation. You send us all back home only to those places that love us and cultivate us.
Melissa, poetry reading attendee

Thank you, Chun Yu, for your powerful, clear words... I'm amazed by anyone who can write poetry in another language, especially ones so unrelated as Chinese and English. You are so eloquent in English. I am in awe!
Eliza, poetry reading attendee

ABOUT CHUN YU 俞淳 : Yu was born and raised in China and now lives in San Francisco. She is an award-winning bilingual poet, graphic novelist, scientist and translator. After graduating from Peking University 北京大學 with a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry, she received her Ph.D. in biomaterials from Rutgers University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard-MIT. She is the author of Little Green: Growing up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

ABOUT THE ARION PRESS : Described as an “irreplaceable cultural treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Arion Press is a complete, fully-integrated hot type foundry, letterpress workshop and book bindery in the United States and one of very few such facilities in the world.