The Creative Mornings folx in Seattle invited me to give their monthly talk in February. I spoke on the theme of layers – i.e. layers of identity, layers of practice, and layers of time.
I’m teaching at Write Doe Bay in a few weeks. Tickets can be purchased here.
[photo credit: Chase Anderson]
I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle to curate and produce an exhibition on my podcast Ten Thousand Things. It brings together objects and stories from the first three seasons of the show, plus artifacts and stories from the local community. The exhibition opens on March 7 and will be on display through early 2027. Thanks to the staff of The Wing, my Community Advisory Committee, and all who have been involved in this project that is so close to my heart.
I’m very proud to share that Yale University’s Beinecke Library is now home of the Shin Yu Pai Papers and my literary and creative archives, which will join the collections of Arthur Sze, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Eileen Myles, and other literary luminaries. The collections are currently being processed and won’t be available to researchers for another 9 months to 2 years.
Tomo Nakayama shared an incredible song at the Ink Aloud showcase called “Mantra.” His song explores the strength, compassion, and openheartedness it takes to keep practicing and turning towards the world, even when confronted with horror and difficult beauty. He brings in the sacred chant from the Lotus Sutra into this amazing song that reminded me that even 14 years ago, I was turning towards writing as a way to process trauma, violence, loss and grief and to try to better love the world.
My dear friend Gary Mula who built and ran The Dutchman Studios wrote a song inspired by my poem “Altar” – a poem on sacred space that lives both within and outside of ourselves. Gary approached my poem with a care and fidelity towards my words and built his song around my language using melody and rhythms that speak in his own beautiful and direct language of music. I hear a little bit of Radiohead and some Jeff Buckley.
I’ve had a chance to get to know Drea Marilyn’s work now over a few years – from her punk rock songs written for guitar (she wrote an amazing song in response to Sasha La Pointe’s memoir!) to her piano compositions that are often jazz inspired, like what she wrote in response to Adamantine. I was very touched that Drea dedicated her performance to In Soo Chun, a Korean immigrant that I wrote about in my poem “Recquiescat. Drea went to school at the University of California of Riverside, which is in the very town where I grew up. Knowing that she’d experienced that strange and empty cultural landscape firsthand that was so devoid of Asian Americans when I was growing up, I more deeply felt the resonance of her words and song.