2008 Woodie Awards
Spoken word poet adds emotion to justice week
Ali Tweten
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Intermission
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Lee started his spoken word performance in a rush of "emotionally autobiographical" poetry with words depicting scenarios from his childhood and experiences being a Korean American.
"With poetry and social justice, you're striving for something that you can never reach, but that doesn't mean you don't try," Lee said. "It's not about achieving the ideal world. It's about getting closer, and you can get closer to it. Much of the enjoyment is in the journey."
Asian Students in Action (A.S.I.A.) sponsored Lee as part of their annual Social Justice Week with the theme of "Empowerment of Asian Americans through words/arts/media."
Lee said he has been involved in social justice in the past and he compared it to his poetry.
"With poetry, you are obsessed with the truth, but it's often the truth of your own memory and you have to have a very objective, critical eye because what we remember one day, 20 years later, it's going to be different," Lee said. "As a poet, I'm obsessed with documenting and preserving those memories, but I know you can never be 100 percent accurate with memory. But I know I can get close to it."
Author of the award-winning book "Real Karaoke People," Lee performs poems in his spoken word performance across the United States, Europe and Asia.
He has spoken at hundreds of venues including schools, prisons, reservations, shelters and clubs since 1993.
Growing up in South Korea, North Dakota and Minnesota, Lee's poetry references the Twin Cities and the Midwest frequently, as well as the hardships Asian people face in America.
In his piece "Frozen," he mentions a homeless man from the Vietnam War standing on Franklin Avenue, which he explores in the social context of American culture.
"A lot of times people think that because Asian Americans are the 'model minority,' we don't face any racism in this society, and because of this stereotype that Asian Americans are quiet and passive, they don't realize that there has been a lot of activism by Asian Americans," said Kyoko Kishimoto, the faculty advisor for A.S.I.A. "One of the goals of Social Justice Week is to point out the racism that Asian Americans still face, but also talk about the activism and the various forms of involvement that Asian Americans are involved in."
The week includes the documentary "Fierce Sisters Celebrating 10 years of our movement," about the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum on Tuesday, poet and author May Lee Yang on Wednesday and student presentations touching on empowerment through music, media, spoken word and art today.
"Our goal is to increase the knowledge from Asian Americans through their activities as well as create a positive environment for students on campus and be active in social justice issues," said A.S.I.A. president and third-year SCSU student Ka Vang.
Created in 2001, A.S.I.A. puts on a social empowerment week each year. The first was Crime Awareness Week, which looked at hate crimes associated with Asian Americans.