Join us March 24 in DC for Split This Rock: Advancing Justice

Advancing Justice with the Poetry of Witness and Community Engagement: Kundiman’s Together We Are New York in Re-Envisioning 9/11

Featuring: April Naoko Heck, Eugenia Leigh, Zohra Saed, and Purvi Shah

Saturday, March 24

11:30 am - 1 pm

True Reformer, Board Room

1200 U Street NW, Washington, DC

publicwelfare.org

For communities facing the aftermath of 9/11, poetry of witness is vital. In this roundtable, Kundiman poets examine how poetry rooted in Asian American community oral history can further social justice as well as community healing and transformation. The poets will share their work interviewing community members and producing poetry as part of Kundiman’s innovative 9/11 public arts project,Together We Are New York. This roundtable not only provides voices from poets within marginalized communities–Asian American, South Asian, and Muslim–but also demonstrates how poetry can be relevant to community members who may not even read poetry. This session provides a valuable lens for making poetry relevant through investigating how writing can engage history, community needs, and social justice.

This is a Split This Rock Poetry Festival event. You must be registered to attend.

For more information, please check out the Split This Rock website here: http://www.splitthisrock.org/festival2012/festival2012.html

Join us March 24 in DC for Split This Rock: Intersecting Lineages

Intersecting Lineages: a Solidarity Showcase of African American and Asian American Poets
Featuring: Kazim Ali, Ching-In Chen, Rio Cortez, Rachelle Cruz, Monica A. Hand, Alan King, Natasha Marin, Soham Patel, Kevin Simmonds

Saturday, March 24th
9:30 - 11 am
True Reformer Building, Auditorium
1200 U Street NW, Washington, DC
publicwelfare.org

Inspired by the collaboration and mentorship between Cave Canem (an organization which promotes African American poetry) and Kundiman (an organization which promotes Asian American poetry), this reading features poets hailing from these communities which will showcase the history of solidarity amongst diverse communities. Kazim Ali, Ching-In Chen, Rio Cortez, Rachelle Cruz, Monica A. Hand, Alan King, Natasha Marin, Soham Patel, and Kevin Simmonds will begin by reading work by ancestor poets who are considered outside of their self-identified community/-ities. Following this, they will share their own work which highlights this kind of productive hybrid fertilization, including inspiration taken from various literary and other creative arts forms such as the zuihitsu, neo-benshi and the theatrical jazz aesthetic. This reading highlights the cultivation and growth which arises from the exchange between African American and Asian American poets.

This is a Split This Rock Poetry Festival event. You must be registered to attend.
For more information, please check out the Split This Rock website here: http://www.splitthisrock.org/festival2012/festival2012.html

March 13: Critical Consideration with TWANY Performance Excerpt!

Join Us and AALR to Respond to the Decade Since 9/11

Including Together We Are New York: A Polyphonic Performance of Poetry and Audio Clips

Featured poets: Marlon Esguerra, April Naoko Heck, Eugenia Leigh, Zohra Saed, and Purvi Shah

Tuesday, March 13, 6-8 p.m.

Roosevelt House

47-49 E. 65th St. (Between Park & Madison)

Manhattan, NY

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, BUT SEATING IS LIMITED

PLEASE RSVP TO 212.396.7946

For more details and program information, go to Kavad.

March 2: Kundiman at AWP, Experiments in Individual Solace and Collective Safety-- Five Days of Crafting Poetry

10:30 - 11: 45 am

Experiments in Individual Solace and Collective Safety: Five Days of Crafting Poetry at the Kundiman Writers’ Retreat
(Sarah Gambito, Cathy Linh Che, Myung Mi Kim, Patrick Rosal, Prageeta Sharma)
Lake Ontario, Hilton Chicago, 8th Floor
Kundiman fosters Asian American poets to find their voices by probing culture and aesthetics during its retreat. Kundiman faculty and fellows will discuss innovative pedagogical approaches in workshops, mentorship sessions, readings, and poetry clinics to enable poetic development and community-building. We will explore topics like: How should one teach to a cohort with different aesthetic interests and levels of workshop experience? What compact lessons work for poets just meeting each other?