Cathy Park Hong's Dance Dance Revolution (W. W. Norton, New York, 2007) imagines a heightened collision between the language of commercialism in a futuristic, globalized world. She read from the work on Thursday at the most recent BathHouse Reading Series event at Eastern Michigan University.
The poem sequence features a fictionalized dissident from South Korea -- turned tour guide -- who is leading a historian through an imagined futuristic city, called the Desert, which resembles in many ways the surreal commercialism of Las Vegas.
Her tour guide speaks in a pidgin assembled from English, Korean and other dialects that spit out cliches as if they were jingles written for the occasion, such as "unabashed Succotash" and "I get laid in me Escalade, then I drink Crystal before I take out my pistol."
The sequence of poems, which won the 2006 Barnard Women Poets Prize, bears a loose connection to Dante's Inferno, where Virgil guides the reader through the nine circles of Hell. This guide, instead, has on the surface sold her lyrical soul to commercialism as she touts in the language of commodities, musing on "Colgate white teeth" and her caveats for dating "even if them wining and dining me" as she leads her historian through a fictional hotels based on the cities of the world.
"Behold, the toilet!'
Hong reads without lights or special effects. Diminutive with a clear, melodious voice she riffs on commercials through the words of the guide who makes one nostalgic for the actual desert, a natural occurrence, in comparison to the commercial construction of the Desert in city.
The narrative of the historian (gender unspecified) is also interspersed throughout the collection, as he recollects his own experiences, including the Civil War in Sierra Leon, where it was safer to draw the city streets than to walk them. Though, he said, he was a poor illustrator. "Childish draftsmanship forced me to focus on smaller things," his says in a poetic primer than I put in my own pocket for later.
"les’ toast to bountiful gene pool, to intramarry couple breedim beige population!" a celebrant offers.
Hong also read from her forthcoming book that consists of a trilogy of poems -- from three imagined boom towns: an Old Western in the 19thy Century, Chengdu in president day China, and a cyberpunk city of the future.
From the first, she read three short sound poems, including two lipograms that relied on a single recurring vowel.
In the second, the narrator's boyfriend from Chengdu works in a Rembrandt replication factory, where he paints five fake Rembrandt's a day that are exported to a far off land called Florida.
The cyberpunk world is inhabited with "smart snow" which is nano-like computer dust that connects people without the need for computers. People can read others' thoughts and vacation by spelunking in another's mind.
Hong pulls from her own influences to sculpt her work in prose and verse. A former journalist, she tends to look to the world at large to inform her poetics. She spent a year in Korea interviewing defectors from North Korea in 2005. While there, she was amazed, she said, to find the Korean language so newly laden with English words, which was different from the Korean spoken by her own parents.
Still, in the bilingual household in California, she said, her family always spoke in broken sentences.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Reaching the Teenage Mind
Feb. 15, 3 hours 15 minutes spent at Roberto Clemente
I'm getting a better handle of what I'm meant to be doing at Roberto Clemente. My residency is organized by 826Michigan, a volunteer outfit publishing a book written by U.S. history students in two of Terry Carpenter's classes. The deadline is approaching, but much remains to be done. 826Michigan had success last year publishing a book by students at Ypsilanti High School called, How to Rise.
That book was the culmination of a year's worth of writing workshops in a pair of 12th grade English classes at Ypsilanti High School featuring memoirs, poems and fiction.
There is a wider disconnect with this group. They don't seem to grasp what they're involved in. I can't tell where the problem lies -- a lack of direction or student motivation? Roberto Clemente is an alternative school for students who are disqualified from their zoned high schools. They lack the grades or maturity, or have been removed for behavior problems.
Terry Carpenter has about 30 students in two U.S. history classes working on the project. Each student will ideally contribute at least one piece -- either poetry, personal narrative, rap or something else. Students have had several writing assignments over the last few months with the book in mind.
His second period is demonstrably slower and less focused. But much time is wasted in both periods corralling students and getting them to settle down. Our presence on Tuesdays may contribute to that. We four volunteers are there to edit their work and offer some guidance on their writing. Each student has been assigned a folder to hold their writing drafts and is given a laptop. (more on that later.)
By March, student work should be in final editing with a project wrap in May. I set out yesterday with the focused intent to help them get at least one assignment completed and edited. Their past assignments include a letter home from the World War I trenches, something from the Civil War, a character monologue from the Harlem Renaissance, a letter from the year 2020, and two others I can't remember right now.
For each assignment, the students were supposed to start with a hand-written draft, then proceed to a typed copy uploaded to Google Docs. They were to have it peer edited, then edited by one of the volunteers, then 'shared' it on Google Docs with either Mr. Carpenter or Katie, the project coordinator.
Yesterday, Mr. Carpenter instructed them to finish at least one assignment and upload to Google Docs. He passed out a checklist for students to mark their progress.The checklist was an ambitious start. Peer editing was quickly discarded as a viable step.
In the first period, some students took the next step to type up a handwritten rough draft into Google Docs. I worked with one student in particular to get her report from the year 2020 typed, edited and uploaded to Google Docs for final consideration. Most of my attention focused on a single student to make this happen.
Other students cannot seem to grasp Google Docs or retrieve forgotten passwords. And the laptops they are provided are far too distracting. Many surf the web or listen to music sites instead of typing anything (particularly in the second period). Watching this process for the last four weeks has been frustrating.
In the second period, they were told to finish the Harlem monologues they've been working on the last three Tuesdays. Less than a third were working on assignments. Many were playing music or surfing the web on their MacBooks. When I circled the room asking if anyone needed help, I was shrugged off. One of the students told an 826Michigan volunteer to go stand over someone else's shoulder. It was clear, especially in the second period, that many students hadn't started on their monologues.
How do you instruct students who don't care whether their work is published in a book or whether they pass or fail?Some students sit idly, and you wonder how to reach them. Are they simply immature or is there some deeper pathology at work? Then, what is my role as a middle-class, white volunteer -- and what complications does my presence create?
Last week, I tried to encourage a student with her head on her desk to consider why Paul Robeson was important to the Harlem Renaissance. Not only was he stellar athlete, but he was a civil rights attorney, valedictorian of Tufts University and the first African American to argue before the Supreme Court. While I was talking to her, I noticed a tear stream down her cheek. Was I pushing too hard, was she mad at a boy, or is she just 15 years old and pissed?
Yesterday, I was sitting next to a student in the library who stared at her computer for about 10 minutes. She didn't know where her writing folder was, nor had she started on her assignment. After my second or third inquiry as to how she wanted to get started, she got up and left. I saw her later by herself writing in a notebook, which I guess is progress.
Many of the students disappeared periodically from the library. Some of them hadn't returned by the end of the hour, their computers still opened and I guess their work unsaved on their laptops. I'm not sure if they will not get credit or just another extension. Clearly, I'm not their teacher and don't have any long-term sense of who will respond to assignments, encouragement, grading penalties, etc. Some of these students probably want to get back on track and into their respective high schools. Yet that also raises the question of what about the rest. To that, I'm not sure if anyone has an answer.
I'm getting a better handle of what I'm meant to be doing at Roberto Clemente. My residency is organized by 826Michigan, a volunteer outfit publishing a book written by U.S. history students in two of Terry Carpenter's classes. The deadline is approaching, but much remains to be done. 826Michigan had success last year publishing a book by students at Ypsilanti High School called, How to Rise.
That book was the culmination of a year's worth of writing workshops in a pair of 12th grade English classes at Ypsilanti High School featuring memoirs, poems and fiction.
There is a wider disconnect with this group. They don't seem to grasp what they're involved in. I can't tell where the problem lies -- a lack of direction or student motivation? Roberto Clemente is an alternative school for students who are disqualified from their zoned high schools. They lack the grades or maturity, or have been removed for behavior problems.
Terry Carpenter has about 30 students in two U.S. history classes working on the project. Each student will ideally contribute at least one piece -- either poetry, personal narrative, rap or something else. Students have had several writing assignments over the last few months with the book in mind.
His second period is demonstrably slower and less focused. But much time is wasted in both periods corralling students and getting them to settle down. Our presence on Tuesdays may contribute to that. We four volunteers are there to edit their work and offer some guidance on their writing. Each student has been assigned a folder to hold their writing drafts and is given a laptop. (more on that later.)
By March, student work should be in final editing with a project wrap in May. I set out yesterday with the focused intent to help them get at least one assignment completed and edited. Their past assignments include a letter home from the World War I trenches, something from the Civil War, a character monologue from the Harlem Renaissance, a letter from the year 2020, and two others I can't remember right now.
For each assignment, the students were supposed to start with a hand-written draft, then proceed to a typed copy uploaded to Google Docs. They were to have it peer edited, then edited by one of the volunteers, then 'shared' it on Google Docs with either Mr. Carpenter or Katie, the project coordinator.
Yesterday, Mr. Carpenter instructed them to finish at least one assignment and upload to Google Docs. He passed out a checklist for students to mark their progress.The checklist was an ambitious start. Peer editing was quickly discarded as a viable step.
In the first period, some students took the next step to type up a handwritten rough draft into Google Docs. I worked with one student in particular to get her report from the year 2020 typed, edited and uploaded to Google Docs for final consideration. Most of my attention focused on a single student to make this happen.
Other students cannot seem to grasp Google Docs or retrieve forgotten passwords. And the laptops they are provided are far too distracting. Many surf the web or listen to music sites instead of typing anything (particularly in the second period). Watching this process for the last four weeks has been frustrating.
In the second period, they were told to finish the Harlem monologues they've been working on the last three Tuesdays. Less than a third were working on assignments. Many were playing music or surfing the web on their MacBooks. When I circled the room asking if anyone needed help, I was shrugged off. One of the students told an 826Michigan volunteer to go stand over someone else's shoulder. It was clear, especially in the second period, that many students hadn't started on their monologues.
How do you instruct students who don't care whether their work is published in a book or whether they pass or fail?Some students sit idly, and you wonder how to reach them. Are they simply immature or is there some deeper pathology at work? Then, what is my role as a middle-class, white volunteer -- and what complications does my presence create?
Last week, I tried to encourage a student with her head on her desk to consider why Paul Robeson was important to the Harlem Renaissance. Not only was he stellar athlete, but he was a civil rights attorney, valedictorian of Tufts University and the first African American to argue before the Supreme Court. While I was talking to her, I noticed a tear stream down her cheek. Was I pushing too hard, was she mad at a boy, or is she just 15 years old and pissed?
Yesterday, I was sitting next to a student in the library who stared at her computer for about 10 minutes. She didn't know where her writing folder was, nor had she started on her assignment. After my second or third inquiry as to how she wanted to get started, she got up and left. I saw her later by herself writing in a notebook, which I guess is progress.
Many of the students disappeared periodically from the library. Some of them hadn't returned by the end of the hour, their computers still opened and I guess their work unsaved on their laptops. I'm not sure if they will not get credit or just another extension. Clearly, I'm not their teacher and don't have any long-term sense of who will respond to assignments, encouragement, grading penalties, etc. Some of these students probably want to get back on track and into their respective high schools. Yet that also raises the question of what about the rest. To that, I'm not sure if anyone has an answer.
Monday, February 14, 2011
What Kind of Public Art Would You Make?
February 8, 3 hours 15 minutes spent at Roberto Clemente
I’m still working on a project idea with a simple thesis: If you had all the resources available to you, what kind of public art project would you construct?
I think one must consider first how art projects typically function in urban areas and how we might choose to improve upon or speak to this tradition. Should the project be planned or provide open parameters for spontaneous engagement? Is it a single piece or a guerrilla project that operates as a critique -- for example putting bubble thoughts over characters in commercial billboards.
Should the art involve its audience such as those projects described in Claire Bishop's essay on "relational aesthetics" in which participants give the installation meaning? In class we viewed some examples of relational aesthetics - for instance a piece that featured a two-part installation. In one room, phone booths allowed anyone to make a free call. In the other room, listening devices allowed people to eavesdrop on those calls.
Art such as flash mobs mentioned last week require not only people to view the 'mobs,' but have the added advantage of going viral on YouTube to allow a third layer of participation. What tools should be engaged? YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, blogs – art that speaks to these tools and actually requires going viral in order to be “activated."
So the terms I think to consider are: how many people are involved, is the art a performance or a social experience that brings people together physically or through social media, is the participant a primary or secondary feature of the work, and in what kind of environment should the work operate.
I penciled some general principles last night. They may be too lofty and paradoxical to be practical, but here they are:
--The project would engage participants in the process of the art’s construction and give them a direct connection to it.
--It would take place in an urban landscape – to soften the landscape or make it more livable, inspirational or human.
--Engaging in children is always nice, but I think it also needs to reach adults, to re-activate inner joy. What is the joy? Not happiness, but energy of being alive in the moment; as a disruption from their projected schedules, to take them out of their minds and engage them in the moment. That is why it would need to be in a heavily trafficked area. I don’t know that it needs to be pretty, but it needs to be human. I watched Man on Wire recently, and the power of the tight-roper scaling across the World Trade Center was in that he reduced the grossly impossible down to human dimensions.
--It could be a performance piece, such as David Antin's skypoems, a beautification project or audible experience, such as carillon bells – like a button that plays bells high in a tower. I would want it to be secular in nature, but open to mystification and spirituality in that hope and transformation can be mystical or spiritual.
--It would have to be something that no one would do for profit, yet something that exhibits the intangible value of art that cannot be quantified through monetary exchange.
--It could be something that connects us to our ancient past, yet also instructs in the value of the present and future. Something that instills both nobility as well as lightness; that nobility is in living, that the time is now, and that we are at the same time part of an inheritance -- an unbroken line that we make of it what we can before gradually passing it on. Something that reminds us that we are so much more and less of what we think of ourselves, that we are connected to others in nearby towns and distant nations, and that we must earn greatness. That we are not entitled to anything.
It’s a paradoxical question of honoring our legacy and asserting ourselves.
I’m still working on a project idea with a simple thesis: If you had all the resources available to you, what kind of public art project would you construct?
I think one must consider first how art projects typically function in urban areas and how we might choose to improve upon or speak to this tradition. Should the project be planned or provide open parameters for spontaneous engagement? Is it a single piece or a guerrilla project that operates as a critique -- for example putting bubble thoughts over characters in commercial billboards.
Should the art involve its audience such as those projects described in Claire Bishop's essay on "relational aesthetics" in which participants give the installation meaning? In class we viewed some examples of relational aesthetics - for instance a piece that featured a two-part installation. In one room, phone booths allowed anyone to make a free call. In the other room, listening devices allowed people to eavesdrop on those calls.
Art such as flash mobs mentioned last week require not only people to view the 'mobs,' but have the added advantage of going viral on YouTube to allow a third layer of participation. What tools should be engaged? YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, blogs – art that speaks to these tools and actually requires going viral in order to be “activated."
So the terms I think to consider are: how many people are involved, is the art a performance or a social experience that brings people together physically or through social media, is the participant a primary or secondary feature of the work, and in what kind of environment should the work operate.
I penciled some general principles last night. They may be too lofty and paradoxical to be practical, but here they are:
--The project would engage participants in the process of the art’s construction and give them a direct connection to it.
--It would take place in an urban landscape – to soften the landscape or make it more livable, inspirational or human.
--Engaging in children is always nice, but I think it also needs to reach adults, to re-activate inner joy. What is the joy? Not happiness, but energy of being alive in the moment; as a disruption from their projected schedules, to take them out of their minds and engage them in the moment. That is why it would need to be in a heavily trafficked area. I don’t know that it needs to be pretty, but it needs to be human. I watched Man on Wire recently, and the power of the tight-roper scaling across the World Trade Center was in that he reduced the grossly impossible down to human dimensions.
--It could be a performance piece, such as David Antin's skypoems, a beautification project or audible experience, such as carillon bells – like a button that plays bells high in a tower. I would want it to be secular in nature, but open to mystification and spirituality in that hope and transformation can be mystical or spiritual.
--It would have to be something that no one would do for profit, yet something that exhibits the intangible value of art that cannot be quantified through monetary exchange.
--It could be something that connects us to our ancient past, yet also instructs in the value of the present and future. Something that instills both nobility as well as lightness; that nobility is in living, that the time is now, and that we are at the same time part of an inheritance -- an unbroken line that we make of it what we can before gradually passing it on. Something that reminds us that we are so much more and less of what we think of ourselves, that we are connected to others in nearby towns and distant nations, and that we must earn greatness. That we are not entitled to anything.
It’s a paradoxical question of honoring our legacy and asserting ourselves.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Flash Mobs as a Function of Public Art
March 8, 3 hours 15 minutes spent at Roberto Clemente
In consideration of the function of public art, here's a quick look at performance art in the form of Flash Mobs, which are groups of people who gather in a usually predetermined location, perform some brief action, and then quickly disperse.
Flash Mobs would be an example of "relational aesthetics" that envelopes the viewer as part of the installation either in opposition or some other invitation for engagement explored in Claire Bishop's essay: "Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics."
They often include singers who step out from the crowd to join a chorus
This event at the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia was featured in the New York Times recently. It was sponsored by the Knight Foundation arts initiative.
A reporter for the newspaper was ready for the organized performance and watched the gradual effect of the flash mob on the oblivious crowd. No one at the emporium seemed to pay much mind when the sound of recorded music floated through the air. This man standing in line at a cheese steak stand raised his arm and turned to the crowd and sang “votre toast, je peux vous le rendre” in baritone. Another man leaped onto a table across the court and took up the second verse. He was joined by a third man, who had seemingly wandered in from the crowd.
And soon more than 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia chorus were singing, dancing and toasting one another with coffee and soda cups.
Social media has greatly aided the organization of such events, such as Flashmob Detroit! on Facebook. Organizers will record the events and post the videos on YouTube, which sends them viral. However, once grassroots, Flash Mobs have been quickly appropriated by commercial interests and are now disseminated as viral marketing campaigns.
The Philadelphia Opera Company organized this Flash Mob at Macy's which was organized by the Knight Arts Program, begun last March by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
In consideration of the function of public art, here's a quick look at performance art in the form of Flash Mobs, which are groups of people who gather in a usually predetermined location, perform some brief action, and then quickly disperse.
Flash Mobs would be an example of "relational aesthetics" that envelopes the viewer as part of the installation either in opposition or some other invitation for engagement explored in Claire Bishop's essay: "Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics."
They often include singers who step out from the crowd to join a chorus
This event at the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia was featured in the New York Times recently. It was sponsored by the Knight Foundation arts initiative.
A reporter for the newspaper was ready for the organized performance and watched the gradual effect of the flash mob on the oblivious crowd. No one at the emporium seemed to pay much mind when the sound of recorded music floated through the air. This man standing in line at a cheese steak stand raised his arm and turned to the crowd and sang “votre toast, je peux vous le rendre” in baritone. Another man leaped onto a table across the court and took up the second verse. He was joined by a third man, who had seemingly wandered in from the crowd.
And soon more than 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia chorus were singing, dancing and toasting one another with coffee and soda cups.
Social media has greatly aided the organization of such events, such as Flashmob Detroit! on Facebook. Organizers will record the events and post the videos on YouTube, which sends them viral. However, once grassroots, Flash Mobs have been quickly appropriated by commercial interests and are now disseminated as viral marketing campaigns.
The Philadelphia Opera Company organized this Flash Mob at Macy's which was organized by the Knight Arts Program, begun last March by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
BathHouse Reading Series, Feb. 17 -- Cathy Park Hong
Please join for the next BathHouse Reading at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 17, at the EMU Student Center Auditorium
Cathy Park Hong is the author of Translating Mo'um (Hanging Press, 2002) and Dance Dance Revolution (WW Norton, 2007), which was chosen for the Barnard Women Poets Prize. Hong is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and a Village Voice Fellowship for Minority Reporters. Her poems have been published in A Public Space, Poetry, Paris Review, Conjunctions, McSweeney's, Harvard Review, Boston Review, The Nation, andAmerican Letters & Commentary, among other journals. She has reported for the Village Voice, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, and Salon. She serves as a poetry editor for jubilatmagazine and is an Assistant Professor at Sarah Lawrence College.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Improvising at Clemente
February 1, 3 hours 15 minutes spent at Roberto Clemente
The writing classes yesterday were shortened to make time for a documentary on racism to commemorate the first day of Black History Month. We didn’t get much accomplished on the writing project with so little time. The students were either continuing their letters from the World War I trenches, or they started researching a figure of the Harlem Renaissance for a one minute presentation at some future point in front of the student body.
The students were working in a very small computer lab because the library was unavailable for some reason.
At the end of the period, I walked with the instructor back to his normal classroom. He asked me if I wanted to hang around and give his World History students a brief presentation on the events happening in Egypt while he retrieved something left behind in the computer room. I’ll tell them you’re a news specialist, he said.
He introduced me as the guest speaker. I greeted the students, took my jacket off, and led a 10-minute talk about the protests in Egypt. They knew the location of the country on the map as well as the historic importance of the Egyptian civilization. We talked about Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, as well as the tension between Israel and the rest of the countries in the Middle East. We also talked about the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian president who signed the Camp David Peace Accord with Israel, and the ascension of Mubarak 30 years ago. You can understand why the people would want a new president after 30 years, I explained, as well as nervousness of some world leaders about whether a new regime would recognize Egypt’s peace treaties. The U.S. promotes democracies in theory, but sometimes as in the case of Egypt, the U.S. prefers regional stability. (Something to that effect.) Now, when you go home today and hear about the protests on the news, you’ll have an idea of what it’s about, I said.
It was definitely improvisational and kind of fun. I thanked them for letting me talk to them, and stayed for the World History Lesson on the Mongolian invasion of Kiev-Russia.
The writing classes yesterday were shortened to make time for a documentary on racism to commemorate the first day of Black History Month. We didn’t get much accomplished on the writing project with so little time. The students were either continuing their letters from the World War I trenches, or they started researching a figure of the Harlem Renaissance for a one minute presentation at some future point in front of the student body.
The students were working in a very small computer lab because the library was unavailable for some reason.
At the end of the period, I walked with the instructor back to his normal classroom. He asked me if I wanted to hang around and give his World History students a brief presentation on the events happening in Egypt while he retrieved something left behind in the computer room. I’ll tell them you’re a news specialist, he said.
He introduced me as the guest speaker. I greeted the students, took my jacket off, and led a 10-minute talk about the protests in Egypt. They knew the location of the country on the map as well as the historic importance of the Egyptian civilization. We talked about Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, as well as the tension between Israel and the rest of the countries in the Middle East. We also talked about the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian president who signed the Camp David Peace Accord with Israel, and the ascension of Mubarak 30 years ago. You can understand why the people would want a new president after 30 years, I explained, as well as nervousness of some world leaders about whether a new regime would recognize Egypt’s peace treaties. The U.S. promotes democracies in theory, but sometimes as in the case of Egypt, the U.S. prefers regional stability. (Something to that effect.) Now, when you go home today and hear about the protests on the news, you’ll have an idea of what it’s about, I said.
It was definitely improvisational and kind of fun. I thanked them for letting me talk to them, and stayed for the World History Lesson on the Mongolian invasion of Kiev-Russia.
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