“To Claim What Has Tried to Claim Me”: A Roundtable on Asian-American Poetics
May 5, 2021
auto_awesome
Kimiko Hahn, Monica Youn, Paul Tran, and Megan Fernandes discuss Asian-American poetics in a special podcast episode. They explore themes of tradition, identity, nature, stereotypes, resilience, doubt, faith, embodiment, and intimacy in poetry. The conversation touches on personal reflections, poetic evolution, and the future of poetry amidst cultural challenges.
Poetry serves as a tool for self-exploration, challenging preconceptions and expanding perceptions.
Varied identities intersect in poetry, reflecting diverse experiences and perspectives.
Poetry acts as a platform to challenge stereotypes, confront prejudices, and redefine representation.
Deep dives
The Complexity of Poetry and Self-Discovery
Poetry serves as a tool for self-exploration and examination of one's interiority. The significance lies in the capacity of poetry to help individuals investigate their inner selves, challenging preconceptions and expanding perceptions. Authors delve into their personal experiences, dilemmas, and transformative journeys through the lyrical form, offering readers deep insights and emotions woven into their work.
Navigating Identities Through Poetry
Varied identities intersect in poetry, reflecting diverse experiences and perspectives. The discussion highlights the intricate relationship between race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and identity within poetic expression. The poets delve into their multifaceted heritage, addressing themes of diaspora, belonging, and resistance. Poetry emerges as a powerful medium to explore the complexities of identity and navigate societal constructs.
Challenging Stereotypes and Representation in Poetry
Poetry acts as a platform to challenge stereotypes, confront prejudices, and redefine representation. The poets confront racial stereotypes, biases, and cultural appropriations, reclaiming their narratives and voicing individual and collective experiences. Through evocative imagery and language, they dismantle assumptions and reveal the layered nature of identity, inviting readers to reassess their perceptions and engage in critical reflections.
The Power of Vulnerability and Resilience in Poetry
Vulnerability and resilience intersect in poetry, amplifying narratives of survival and self-discovery. The poets express their journeys of overcoming adversity, trauma, and marginalization through poetic expression. By embracing vulnerability and sharing personal struggles, they invite readers to witness the strength and courage within human experiences. Poetry becomes a realm of empowerment, offering solace, healing, and a space for collective resilience.
Future Directions for Poetry and Community Engagement
As poetry evolves, there is a growing emphasis on community engagement, inclusivity, and social impact. Poets aspire to cultivate spaces of belonging, agency, and transformation through their words. The vision for the future of poetry encompasses diverse voices, accessible platforms, and social awareness. By intertwining art with activism and advocacy, poetry emerges as a catalyst for dialogue, empathy, and change within communities.
In a special episode of the Poetry Podcast, Kimiko Hahn, Monica Youn, Paul Tran, and Megan Fernandes joinKevin Youngto read their work, and to discuss Asian-American poetics and the role of poetry in our tumultuous times.
Kimiko Hahn, a distinguished professor at Queens College, City University of New York, has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. She has published ten books of poems, including, most recently, “Foreign Bodies.”
Monica Youn, a former lawyer and a member of the Racial Imaginary Institute, teaches at Princeton. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, she will publish a new book of poems, “From From,” in 2023.
Paul Tran, a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, has received a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, and a 92Y Discovery/Boston ReviewPoetry Prize. Their debut poetry collection, “All the Flowers Kneeling,” will be published in 2022.
Megan Fernandesis an assistant professor of English and writer-in-residence at Lafayette College. A finalist for the Kundiman Book Prize and the Saturnalia Book Prize, her most recent poetry collection is “Good Boys.”
