Nellie Wong and Genny Lim: August 31, 2017

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The Poetry Center presents Nellie Wong and Genny Lim reading and in conversation. Wong reads works from Breakfast Lunch Dinner (Meridian Press Works, 2012), The Death of Long Steam Lady (West End Press, 1986), Stolen Moments (Chicory Blue Press, 1997), and Speaking for Myself (Chicory Blue Press, 2014). Lim reads new work along with poems from Kra! (Omerta Publications, 2016) and Paper Gods and Rebels (Ishmael Reed Publishing Co., 2013). The readings are followed by an extensive conversation in response to questions from the audience.

Originally Recorded By
DocFilm Institute
Location
The Poetry Center, SFSU
Date
08/31/2017
Total Run Time
02:19:39
Contributor
Steve Dickison, May-lee Chai, Sandra MacKay
Rights
©© American Poetry Archives. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. For all other uses please email poetry@sfsu.edu
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5225
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310

Nellie Wong (00:41:12)

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Steve Dickison introduces Nellie Wong. Wong discusses her experience as a student activist at San Francisco State University before reading: "When I am breathing...," "Consumed," and "Flying." From Breakfast Lunch Dinner, she reads "Ironing, Ironing," dedicated to Tillie Olsen, "Sounds in the Night," "A Bad Week for Women in Japan," "My Eyes Follow Them," and "Instrumental Rhythm."

Genny Lim (00:31:26)

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Steve Dickison introduces Genny Lim. Lim discusses her background in activism and politics before thanking the students for continuing to fight for social change. Lim reads "It was the milk of sorrow," which includes verses from "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," by Marvin Gaye. She then reads "Forgetfulness," "I am cutting my mileage plus card...," "Don't apologize for what you've done...," "Confession," "A Century of Rage," "This is My Country," "Ghost Dance," "Pikadon," "A Song for Milarepa," and "Gaza." She ends by singing from "Life," by Sly and the Family Stone.

Conversation (00:59:59)

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Genny Lim and Nellie Wong take questions from the audience. Lim and Wong discuss more in depth their history of activism. They answer questions about the role of arts in social resistance. Wong talks about her desire for activism coming from being a student at SFSU while working various jobs and experiencing sexism and racism through the workplace. Lim talks about facing these barriers while working in theater arts and broadcast journalism. They also discuss the recent Berkeley protests against white supremacy and biased journalism. Wong talks about the importance of standing up to political bullies, while Lim encourages students to stay informed. They are asked about their first writings, with both saying that all art is political, emphasizing the importance of personal perspective in their writing. Both then discuss their writing style and process, with Lim saying she enjoys using song and aspects of music in her poetry. Wong expresses her love of experimenting with different forms and the music within language.

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