2011
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Angry Asian Man, Animated shorts, Antonio Rosario, Ash Hsie, Asian American artists, Asian American Literary Review, Asian American Spoken Word, video, Vietnamese American spoken word
Hello friends, Ash Hsie did an incredible animated short to go with audio of one of my new poems for the newest AALR. Angry Asian Man also posted it today. Check it.
Also, big ups to Antonio Rosario for the audio recording.
2011
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If you see Bao Phi coming, you better do a gut check, and set your motherboard to receive. Anyone who has been lucky enough to experience his work knows he means to re-adjust our minds, unseat our comfortable assumptions, and teach our hearts to weep and sing. He is our grief-stricken brother howling, moaning, and wailing in remembrance of those who suffer because of inadequate representation. He is our ecstatic shaman, manifesting through his work the oldest sources of passion, imagination, and cosmic joy. Sông I Sing is a gift. Thank you, Bao Phi.
- Li-Young Lee
Saturday, September 24, 2011
8:00pm – 10:00pm
Minneapolis Central Library
300 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN
Free and open to the public.
Seating is first come, first served.
Doors open at 45 minutes in advance of program with a book sale and wine reception. Book signing and desserts follows program.
Celebrate the launch of new poetry collections by Ed Bok Lee and Bao Phi, two of the Twin Cities’ most dynamic poets on the national Asian American literary and spoken word scene. In “Whorled,” Ed Bok Lee looks toward a global future, one where the dividing lines between state, religion, race, history, and culture have been blurred to the extent that the very idea of difference requires a new understanding. In Bao Phi’s “Sông I Sing,” the Twin Cities provides the backdrop to a rhythmic exploration of the contradictions of race and class in America. Emceed by multidisciplinary artist and spoken word performer Shá Cage, the program will feature a performance and conversation by the poets and music by DJ Nak.
Co-sponsored by Coffee House Press, Graywolf Press, Milkweed Editions, and Magers and Quinn Booksellers.
Local presses and the public library have always had a shared mission to inform and inspire people to read. As collaborative crusaders in nurturing and celebrating the written word, it seemed only logical that we join together to promote the literary arts.
Sep 2011
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2011
finally.
have a look around and let me know what you think!
2011
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[ full text available at Coffee House Press]
Jane Kim and Bao Phi
JANE KIM: First of all, congratulations on your first book! Your first book and your first daughter came around the same time.
BAO PHI: Thank you! Yeah, two major changes at once. Trying to raise my daughter has made the book, in some ways, easier. I have an easier time letting go of ideas than before. I don’t feel like I have to cram every poem I’ve written in this one book, you know?
Q: Most people know you as a spoken word artist and a slam poet champion. However, you have also done theater and work in arts administration as an organizer and curator. Of those, what have you enjoyed the most and why?
A: I love my job as curator and organizer of Equilibrium at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. I created the series 8 years ago, and it’s my dream job: I curate and organize shows featuring spoken word artists of color, and connect them to local communities of color. The Loft, and artists and communities of color nationally and locally, have been really supportive and carried us through 8 years of stellar programming. That’s no small thing. We were one of the few arts organizations that has ever won the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ Anti-Racism Initiative Award.
Q: Part of why I love your work is that you have heart in everything you write and perform. You also seem to be on a mission through your poetry. You seem inspired to write beyond words. Can you talk about that?
2011
Cover art by Binh Danh
→ Designed, published and available for purchase via Coffee House Press.
A rhapsodic exploration of immigration, race, and class by Vietnamese American phenom and National Poetry Slam star Bao Phi.
Dynamic and eye-opening, this debut by a National Poetry Slam finalist critiques an America sleepwalking through its days and explores the contradictions of race and class in America.
When it feels like no one
lets you live
at your own volume
You sing.
Sep 2011
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Aug 2011
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2011
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2011 APIA Spoken Word Poetry Summit group shot
2011
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Jin, Magnetic North, StarTribune, Taiyo Na, video, Yuri Kochiyama
I was going to write something for Asian Heritage month, then I got this link to the new video from the dynamic team up of Magnetic North, Taiyo Na, and Jin – and all I have to do is post this.
Derek aka Direct from Magnetic North worked on this for 2 and 1/2 years, a labor of love low on budget but big on community and love. Pretty amazing. It’s like an Asian American family reunion of artists, activists, writers, bloggers, dancers, martial artsts, cooks, comedians, ice cream makers, designers… I aim to watch this once and a while, and every time I watch it, I’ll make it Asian Heritage month whether it’s May or not.
There are so many inspiring (and fun) people in here that it’d be a disservice to try and name them all. But I have to give a special nudge to Yuri Kochiyama, who has worked for so long for social justice and inspired so many of us.
Thank you Direct, T-Vu, Taiyo and Jin.