Poetry, pavilions and perfection

• Source: Global Times
• [09:47 August 13 2010]
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By Nick Muzyczka

One of the highlights of this year's Shanghai Book Fair was a lecture by architect Haim Dotan (pictured right), the designer of the Israel Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

A visiting professor at the East China Normal University, Dotan delivered a talk reflecting on some of the issues at the heart of his latest publication, an interesting two-book release that delves into topics such as art, people, nature, architecture and socially responsible design.

The first of his books, After the Rain; Lake Poetry, is a collection of poems inspired by the lakes of upstate New York, where Dotan spends time canoeing around the pristine waters. The poetry is written in short, three-line haiku format and is simple but refined, without wasted words.

"The haiku form captures the essence of beauty, captures whatever it is in your heart at that moment," Dotan told the Global Times.

The books, which cost 72 yuan ($10.63) for the pair, are the first to be published in China in English, Chinese and Hebrew. They are beautifully presented in a specially designed box that itself opens like a book. Each page has the same text written in the three languages, with a great deal of care taken over the layout.

"My rescue in life is poetry. Sometimes the poems come to me one after the other, perhaps one on the lake, then next, the next minute in the forest," related Dotan.