National Poetry Month 2021: 7 Asian Poets Whose Words Are an Act of Resistance
Despite anti-Asian violence and societal expectations, these artists dare to “take as much space as possible. Be big. Be loud. Speak up. All the time.”
Hannah Eko Apr 5, 2021 10:00AM ET
Twitter: Choi and Sok, YouTube: Ashgar
In the wake of rising anti-Asian violence across America, stereotypes, and other people’s expectations, these poets have decided to do something radical create. In celebration of National Poetry Month and in solidarity with artists of Asian descent, we salute these poets just seven of many for their creativity and their courage.
Jericho Brown and Danez Smith in Conversation with Tracy K. Smith
Join 22nd U.S. Poet Laureate, Tracy K. Smith, as she discusses poetry, survival and our pandemic reality with renowned poets Jericho Brown and Danez Smith.
This highlighted Wintersession event will feature poetry readings by Jericho Brown, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in poetry; and award-winning poet, performer, and current Princeton Arts Fellow Danez Smith. Professor Smith will moderate a conversation on art, America, and the feelings and determinations arising from this complicated moment. An interactive audience Q&A will conclude the evening.
Tracy K. Smith is Chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts, and the author of four award-winning poetry collections, including Life on Mars, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. She served two terms as U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.
The Beauty: Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015), which was longlisted for the National Book Award, and
Given Sugar, Given Salt (HarperCollins, 2001), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her ninth collection,
Ledger, is forthcoming from Knopf in March 2020. She has edited and cotranslated books with Mariko Aratani and Robert Bly. Hirshfield’s honors include the Poetry Center Book Award, the Donald Hall-Jane Kenyon Prize in American Literature, the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award, Columbia University’s Translation Center Award, and the Commonwealth Club of California Poetry Medal, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Her work has been selected for seven editions of