Background
Jerome P. Seaton was born on March 23, 1941, in Lafayette, Indiana, United States to the family of a university professor Jerome P. and a nurse Rachel W. Seaton.
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Jerome P. Seaton studied at Indiana University at Bloomington where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in 1963 and 1968 respectively.
(An anthology of nearly 100 Chinese lyrics (san-ch'u) by 2...)
An anthology of nearly 100 Chinese lyrics (san-ch'u) by 23 poets, three of them anonymous, all from the Yuan period (1271-1368). Seaton's colloquial English renderings are a sheer pleasure to read, so much so that the reader is apt to forget he is enjoying translations.
https://www.amazon.com/Wine-Endless-Life-Drinking-Dynasty/dp/0934834598/?tag=2022091-20
1978
(Li Po and Tu Fu, who lived in the 8th century, are consid...)
Li Po and Tu Fu, who lived in the 8th century, are considered China's greatest poets. When their paths crossed, for less than two years in the 740's, a friendship was formed that has lasted, in the hearts of lovers of Chinese poetry, for over twelve hundred years. These poets, and the poems in this book, express two sides of humankind, two kinds of longing and two kinds of life. The real Li Po was more like Tu Fu than the legend, and the real Tu Fu was enough like Li Po to idolize and perhaps love him. They are presented here together, separate but side by side, because, as twelve centuries of Chinese readers and nearly a century of Western readers already know, they belong together; they show the qualities of humankind, expressed as purely as men of the greatest genius can express them. Each poem is presented with the original and the translation side by side - in the original Chinese with an appropriate style of calligraphy on the right side and its English translation on the left side of the page. Notes and suggestions for further reading appear at the end of the book.
https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Moon-Perching-Birds-Translation/dp/0819511447/?tag=2022091-20
1987
(Avoiding scholarly interpretations and esoteric Taoist in...)
Avoiding scholarly interpretations and esoteric Taoist insights, the author reveals, through her own commentary, notes, and text, the essence of the Tao Te Ching, its immediate relevance and power, and its depth and refreshing humor.
https://www.amazon.com/Lao-Tzu-Tao-Te-Ching/dp/1570623333/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(The Chuang Tzu has been translated into English numerous ...)
The Chuang Tzu has been translated into English numerous times, but never with the freshness, accessibility, and accuracy of this remarkable rendering. Here the immediacy of Chuang Tzu's language is restored in an idiom that is both completely fresh and true to the original text. This unique collaboration between one of America's premier poet-translators and a leading Chinese scholar presents the so-called "Inner Chapters" of the text, along with important selections from other chapters thought to have been written by Chuang Tzu's disciples.
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Chuang-Tzu-Sam-Hamill/dp/1570624577/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(This unique collection presents the verse, much of it tra...)
This unique collection presents the verse, much of it translated for the first time, of fourteen eminent Chinese Buddhist poet monks. Featuring the original Chinese as well as English translations and historical introductions by Burton Watson, J.P. Seaton, Paul Hansen, James Sanford, and the editors, this book provides an appreciation and understanding of this elegant and traditional expression of spirituality.
https://www.amazon.com/Clouds-Should-Know-Me-Now-ebook/dp/B003XF1LMU/?tag=2022091-20
2005
(In traditional Chinese culture, poetic artistry held a pl...)
In traditional Chinese culture, poetic artistry held a place that was unrivaled by any other single talent, and was a source of prestige and even of political power. In this rich collection, J. P. Seaton introduces the reader to the main styles of Chinese poetry and the major poets, from the classic Shih Ching to the twentieth century. Seaton has a poet's ear, and his translations here are fresh and vivid.
https://www.amazon.com/Shambhala-Anthology-Chinese-Poetry-ebook/dp/B00KRF12PU/?tag=2022091-20
2006
(A Zen poem is nothing other than an expression of the enl...)
A Zen poem is nothing other than an expression of the enlightened mind, a handful of simple words that disappear beneath the moment of insight to which it bears witness. Poetry has been an essential aid to Zen Buddhist practice from the dawn of Zen - and Zen has also had a profound influence on the secular poetry of the countries in which it has flourished. Here, two of America’s most renowned poets and translators provide an overview of Zen poetry from China and Japan in all its rich variety, from the earliest days to the twentieth century. Included are works by Lao Tzu, Han Shan, Li Po, Dogen Kigen, Saigyo, Basho, Chiao Jan, Yuan Mei, Ryokan, and many others. Hamill and Seaton provide illuminating introductions to the Chinese and Japanese sections that set the poets and their work in historical and philosophical context. Short biographies of the poets are also included.
https://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Zen-Sam-Hamill/dp/159030425X/?tag=2022091-20
2007
(The incomparable poetry of Han Shan (Cold Mountain) and h...)
The incomparable poetry of Han Shan (Cold Mountain) and his sidekick Shih Te, the rebel poets who became icons of Chinese poetry and Zen, has long captured the imagination of poetry lovers and Zen aficionados. Popularized in the West by Beat Generation writers Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, these legendary T’ang era (618–907) figures are portrayed as the laughing, ragged pair who left their poetry on stones, trees, farmhouses, and the walls of the monasteries they visited. Their poetry expressed in the simplest verse but in a completely new tone, the voice of ordinary people. Here premier translator J. P. Seaton takes a fresh look at these captivating poets, along with Wang Fan-chih, another "outsider" poet who lived a couple centuries later and who captured the poverty and gritty day-to-day reality of the common people of his time. Seaton’s comprehensive introduction and notes throughout give a fascinating context to this vibrant collection.
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Mountain-Poems-Fan-chih-Shambhala-ebook/dp/B004YF1THA/?tag=2022091-20
2009
(The road to Shu is hard, but harder still is to convey th...)
The road to Shu is hard, but harder still is to convey the spirit with which these poems were first written over a thousand years ago. And yet the translators have given us translations that feel alive, as if they were more like a dance between poet and translator, both of whom live on through the beauty of these poems. The night is young, and this book is full of music." Red Pine Three Hundred Tang Poems includes great names like Li Bai, Du Fu, and Wang Wei, as well as a splendid sampling of the rest of poets who helped to make the Tang the golden age of Chinese poetry.
https://www.amazon.com/300-Tang-Poems-Geoffrey-Waters/dp/1935210262/?tag=2022091-20
2011
(This is a smart, funny graphic novel exploring the life, ...)
This is a smart, funny graphic novel exploring the life, legend, and lore of two of the greatest poets in Chinese history - Han Shan (known as "Cold Mountain") and Shih Te - who reportedly lived during the Tang dynasty (618-906 CE). They were critics of authority (both secular and religious) and champions of social justice who left their poetry on tree trunks and rocks. They were also reportedly monastics, drunks, cave dwellers, immortals, and many other wild and wondrous things. There is much delightful uncertainty about this "Laughing Pair" - including whether or not they actually existed. What is known is that the poetry attributed to them was greatly influential in both China and Japan, and to the Beat writers in the United States during the 1950s and '60s.
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Mountain-Graphic-Novel-Original/dp/1611801796/?tag=2022091-20
2015
Jerome P. Seaton was born on March 23, 1941, in Lafayette, Indiana, United States to the family of a university professor Jerome P. and a nurse Rachel W. Seaton.
Jerome P. Seaton studied at Indiana University at Bloomington where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in 1963 and 1968 respectively.
Jerome P. Seaton is Professor Emeritus of Chinese and Asian studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He started his teaching career there in 1968 after completing his doctorate. He is the translator of numerous books, including The Poetry of Zen and The Shambhala Anthology of Chinese Poetry, and his poetry translations have been widely anthologized in such books as The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry, The Norton Anthology of World Poetry, and The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry.
Jerome P. Seaton is a member of the editorial board of translation series at Indiana University Press. His work represented in anthologies, including World Poetry; A Book of Luminous Things, edited by Czeslaw Milosz; and The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry, edited by J. D. McCarthy. He is a contributor of nearly three hundred poems to literary magazines. He was an advisory editor at Literary Review.
Jerome P. Seaton retired from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003 and lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
(Avoiding scholarly interpretations and esoteric Taoist in...)
1997(This is a smart, funny graphic novel exploring the life, ...)
2015(The incomparable poetry of Han Shan (Cold Mountain) and h...)
2009(A Zen poem is nothing other than an expression of the enl...)
2007(In traditional Chinese culture, poetic artistry held a pl...)
2006(The Chuang Tzu has been translated into English numerous ...)
1999(Offers a selection of poems by the eleventh-century Chine...)
1989(The road to Shu is hard, but harder still is to convey th...)
2011(This unique collection presents the verse, much of it tra...)
2005(An anthology of nearly 100 Chinese lyrics (san-ch'u) by 2...)
1978(Li Po and Tu Fu, who lived in the 8th century, are consid...)
1987(China's most popular classical poet.)
1996(Fall River Song by Li Po translated by J. P. Seaton.)
2011Quotes from others about the person
"Sandy Seaton started the Asian language program at Carolina in 1968 by teaching Chinese and, in fact, for fifteen years he was the Chinese language program." - W. Miles Fletcher, Chair at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jerome P. Seaton married Katherine Paradiso on June 3, 1961. They have three children: Jerome P. III, Charles, and Tamara.