Pop, poems and porn

The impact of recent reports about disturbing photos allegedly discovered in the 2003 raid on Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch on sales of a new bilingual book of prose in China remains to be seen. Mei Jia and Erik Nilsson report.

Abilingual book of Michael Jackson's poetry and essays has been published in China - days after new controversy has exploded surrounding reports of the star's disturbing pornography collection.

It's difficult to tell how sales will be affected by the new reports of documents that allegedly detail Jackson's stash of child porn and torture, and sexually explicit animal sacrifice seized by authorities during the 2003 raid on his Neverland Ranch.

His estate and many relatives deny the allegations.

The new controversy has so far been slow to make headlines in China.

Dancing the Dream: Poems and Reflections was released in the country on Saturday, the seventh anniversary of his death.

"The book will offer a window for people to view Jackson and eliminate misunderstandings," Shanghai Cai Qin Ren Culture's deputy editor-in-chief Huang Yan tells China Daily when asked about the new allegations.

Huang's company co-published Dancing the Dream with East China Normal University Press and Shanghai Qiyeshu Culture. It's authorized by the Michael Jackson Estate.

Jackson's Chinese fan club ran a series of stories on MJJCN.com and its WeChat account, calling on the country's media to not carry the "fabricated" news about the photos without verification.

One fan surnamed Yang says: "I'm shocked to see a great artist and philanthropist slandered seven years after his death."

Chinese fans quote Jackson as saying: "Lies run sprints, but truth runs marathons."

The icon has for years remained less controversial in China than in his homeland, where he became a divisive figure after he was charged and acquitted on seven counts of child molestation and two counts of providing an intoxicant to a minor under 14.

Former Santa Barbara senior assistant district attorney Ron Zonen told media he believes the images were used to "desensitize the children ... There's not much question in my mind that Michael was guilty of child molestation."

Chinese fans have commemorated the icon with flash mobs and candlelit vigils since his 2009 death. They rented time on Shanghai's biggest outdoor screen, the 140-meter-high, 43-meter-wide Citigroup Tower on the Bund last week.

"Michael Jackson has never performed on the mainland," says Xu Hao, who rented the screen with a friend.

"We tried to arrange for fans to dance with him."

Few people around the world aside from the superstar's superfans realize Jackson wasn't only the King of Pop but also a prince of poetry.

Chinese adorers hope the book can provide new insights into his soul.

One stanza of his poetry book in particular has captured the country's attention:

"It was only when I broke all ties

After the stillness of the shrieking cries

In the depths of those heaving sighs

The imagined sorrow of a thousand lies

I suddenly stared in your fiery eyes

All at once I found my goal

The elusive shadow was my soul."

"A poetry collection will reach a wider audience beyond his fans, enabling more people to appreciate Jackson's extraordinary talent and benevolent heart," Huang says.

The Chinese version is loyal to the original 1992 edition by Doubleday.

It's illustrated with some 100 photos and sketches from Jackson's personal collection.

"The 1992 edition is out of print," Huang says.

"We worked closely with the estate at every stage, including choosing font sizes. So it's really a genuine version," Huang says.

The book is one of the two Jackson authored. The other is Moonwalk.

According to MJJCN.com, Jackson's biggest online fan club in China, the star said in 1995 that the poetry collection is actually more autobiographic than Moonwalk and reveals his innermost feelings.

He wrote in the book: "People ask me how I make music. I tell them I just step into it. It's like stepping into a river and joining the flow. Every moment in the river has its song. So, I stay in the moment and listen."

And about his dance, he says: "This world we live in is the dance of the creator ... On many an occasion when I'm dancing, I've felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I've felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists."

Singer Beyonce says Jackson "has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music".

It's estimated he sold 1 billion records worldwide. He won 17 Grammy Awards and 26 American Music Awards.

"My colleagues say they've learned new things about the pop idol while working on the collection. The book offers a glimpse into Jackson's beautiful and pure mind," Huang says.

The poems reveal more about the "true" Jackson than his dances and songs, he says.

"His world is all about love, faith and curiosity."

The official bilingual book comes after an edition translated by a Taiwan-based lyricist that fans call "not quite professional". His fans, in turn, produced their own version, which was widely circulated online.

The new authorized edition brought on board Chen Dongbiao, an established translator who has published Chinese versions of works by such literary giants as Vladimir Nabokov, William Butler Yeats, Jorge Luis Borges and Ezra Pound since the 1990s.

Chen first saw video of Jackson's performance 30 years ago.

"I suggest readers pore over his book as if they'd never heard of him," Chen tells China Daily.

"You'll discover new dimensions of Jackson and see the world through his eyes."

Chen says Jackson's prose possesses the power of simplicity.

Although penned by a household name, it twinkles with a luster that makes it relatable.

"His poems are spontaneous and very easy to understand," Chen says.

"They don't have big words and unnecessary phrasing."

Chen says it will take time to tell if the poems are truly great.

It will also take time to see how - and if - new allegations about the superstar affect the book's sales.

Contact the writers through meijia@chinadaily.com.cn

A new book of Michael Jackson's poems and essays is set to provide new insights into the superstar's soul. Photos Provided To China Daily