Western audiences are generally unaware of contemporary developments in Chinese culture. Dr Katja Kolšek, a Slovenian sinologist and translator based in Beijing, where she works at the Slovenian Embassy, is helping to bring Chinese prose and poetry to Europe. She fosters poetic exchange with Slovenia by organising readings and translation workshops, including the bilingual collection Poetry Is the Salt of the World. Among her translations are poems by the Chinese poet Bei Dao, a collection of contemporary Chinese short prose, the classic Ming dynasty novel Jin Ping Mei, and other works of poetry and prose by contemporary Chinese writers such as Er Mao and Dai Weina. I spoke with her about Chinese poetry and its connection to modern Chinese culture, which today navigates a tension between traditional collectivism and Western individualism. How important is poetry to an average Chinese? How did Tomaž Šalamun influence Chinese poets? Dr Katja Kolšek is a Slovenian philosopher, sinologist and a translator working in Beijing. She translates works of contemporary and traditional Chinese literature.