Upcoming Kundiman Events:
the love poem as
political poem
with chen chen
Sunday, september 26th
3:00 PM–6:00 PM ET
“The hope is that these poems create a space, however small and fragile, for the vital practice of recognizing marginalized people’s exhaustion. I’m tired. Those I love and those who love me are tired. Maybe these poems can offer some rest and some fuel.”
–– Chen Chen, Lantern Review: “Poetry for an Exhausted World: A Conversation with Chen Chen”
What role(s) does the love poem play in contemporary life and literature? In what ways can contemporary poets innovate one of the main poetic traditions with its long, long history? Do we agree with this bold claim by Jericho Brown: “Every poem is a love poem. Every poem is a political poem”? And if we do agree, how can we put this notion into practice? In this generative session, we’ll discuss our responses to these big questions and also write our way into further inquiry. We’ll consider love as a radical action alongside the questioning of power and the seeking of justice. Work by Solmaz Sharif, Aracelis Girmay, Jean Valentine, Ross Gay, Patrick Rosal, Sarah Gambito, and others will be our guides.
This class will be recorded and sent out to all registered participants the following week.
eligibility:
This craft class is open to all writers of color. The non-refundable tuition fee is $50. This class will be held over Zoom. There are scholarship spots available, and applications are open through Tuesday, September 7th.
Registration for this class is now closed.
FACULTY:
Chen Chen’s second book of poetry, Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency, is forthcoming from BOA Editions in September 2022. His first book, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (BOA Editions, 2017), was long-listed for the National Book Award and won the Thom Gunn Award, among other honors. He has also written four chapbooks and an essay collection, In Cahoots with the Rabbit God, is forthcoming from Noemi Press in late 2023. His work appears in many publications, including Poetry and three editions of The Best American Poetry. He teaches at Brandeis University as the Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence and also serves on the poetry faculty for the low residency MFA programs at New England College and Stonecoast.