Podcasts about shin yu pai

Jack Straw artist Shin Yu Pai has launched the fourth season of her award-winning podcast Ten Thousand Things, produced in part through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program. This week we’re sharing an excerpt from the first episode, which you can hear in full on Apple Podcasts or any other podcast platform. When Yowei Shaw […] The post Shin Yu Pai – Ten Thousand Things appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

We all have that one item of clothing hanging in our closet, the one that we keep around for the moment when we've shed that extra 15 pounds. For Susan Lieu's mom, that garment was a traditional Vietnamese dress called an ao dai. And when it became too snug, she set out on a path that rewrote her family's story, all in search of the perfect body. Now, decades later, Susan takes host Shin Yu Pai along on her own journey of self-love, revenge, and reclamation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Yowei Shaw was laid off from her job, it felt less like a career shift and more like a breakup — one that unraveled her sense of identity and purpose. In this episode, Yowei and host Shin Yu Pai explore the emotional toll of job loss and the rituals we invent to heal – from fried chicken to gold trophies. Along the way, they chart a path through grief toward reinvention, while exploring the power of reclaiming your story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yesterday, Seattle-based author Tessa Hulls won a Pulitzer Prize for her graphic novel "Feeding Ghosts." Hulls' first published book starts with her Chinese grandmother, Sun Yi, a journalist and author who fled Shanghai after the Communist Revolution. Then, the narrative shifts -- to her mother Rose, the daughter of a Swiss diplomat, essentially raised in a Hong Kong boarding school after her mother was institutionalized. And finally to Hulls herself, who is trying to bring peace to her family ghosts. 10,000 Things host and author Shin Yu Pai sat down Hulls for Soundside last year. We're re-sharing our original interview to highlight Hulls' big achievement. Guest: Tessa Hulls, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Feeding Ghosts Related stories: In 'Feeding Ghosts,' author, illustrator Tessa Hull recounts a healing journey across generations - KUOW Seattle author Tessa Hulls wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize - Seattle Times Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An old faded rice cooker. A blue two piece suit. A vial of water from the Ganges River. For the past four years, Poet Shin Yu Pai’s podcast, Ten Thousand Things, has explored how objects – from the extraordinary to the mundane, the literal to the figurative – communicate stories of Asian American meaning, identity, and culture. As of last month, the stories in the series have broken out of podcast players and become a new exhibit in Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum. The exhibit includes objects that will be familiar to listeners of the series – as well as some new items that will be featured in upcoming episodes. Soundside’s Alec Cowan joined Shin Yu Pai at the Wing Luke Museum to talk about the exhibit. Guests: Shin Yu Pai, writer, curator, and host of Ten Thousand Things. Related Links: EXHIBIT: Ten Thousand Things — Wing Luke Museum KUOW - Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Palindrome, the President of the Literature Supporters Club, joins Jacke for a reading and discussion of "Mrs. Spring Fragrance" by Sui Sin Far. The story, which takes place against a backdrop of waves of immigration to America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (and the racist anti-Asian laws that followed), depicts an enterprising "Americanized" Chinese woman with a taste for matchmaking as she navigates the worlds of Seattle, San Francisco, and her own marriage. While acknowledging the achievement of the pioneering Sui Sin Far, Mike explores his personal reaction to the story, especially the highly patriarchal world of Asian immigrant communities. Additional listening: 667 Sui Sin Far (with Victoria Namkung) 529 Ten Thousand Things and the Asian American Experience (with Shin Yu Pai) 410 What Is American Literature? (with Ilan Stavans) The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Edith Maude Eaton (1865-1914) grew up in unusual circumstances: her father was an English merchant who traveled to China on business, and her mother was a formerly enslaved tightrope walker and human knife-throwing target who traveled all over the world with an acrobatic troupe. The eldest daughter among fourteen children, Eaton mostly grew up in Montreal, then relocated to America, where she became famous under the pen name Sui Sin Far. Today, her journalism and fiction, mostly chronicling the lives of Chinese men and women living in America, are impressive for their insight and humor. In this episode, Jacke talks to novelist and scholar Victoria Namkung about An Immortal Book: Selected Writings by Sui Sin Far, for which she wrote the forward. PLUS Samantha Rose Hill (Hannah Arendt: A Critical Life) discusses her choice for the last book she will ever read. Additional listening: 512 Hannah Arendt (with Samantha Rose Hill) 529 Ten Thousand Things and the Asian American Experience (with Shin Yu Pai) 66 A Conversation with Novelist Shawna Yang Ryan The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Straw artists Susie Kozawa and Brigid Kelly talk with Shin Yu Pai, Seattle’s Civic Poet and host of the podcast Ten Thousand Things, about their Jack Straw New Media Gallery installation Tokio Florist Project. Applications are open now for Jack Straw’s 2025 artist residency programs. Visit us on Submittable for more information: https://jackstraw.submittable.com/submit The post Tokio Florist Project New Media Gallery Podcast appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

Jack Straw artists Susie Kozawa and Brigid Kelly talk with Shin Yu Pai, Seattle’s Civic Poet and host of the podcast Ten Thousand Things, about their Jack Straw New Media Gallery installation Tokio Florist Project. Applications are open now for Jack Straw’s 2025 artist residency programs. Visit us on Submittable for more information: https://jackstraw.submittable.com/submit The post Tokio Florist Project New Media Gallery Podcast appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center.

This week, we bring you a special bonus episode from our friends at the podcast Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai.Janet Lee, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, was heading home for Christmas break when she was detained by the police for alleged drug smuggling. Janet wasn't carrying any drugs. But the treatment she received from the Philadelphia police department and from her own community would change her life forever. In this episode, Ten Thousand Things explores the pain of being accused of being someone you are not and fighting to reclaim the story that sets the record straight.Stay connected with us! Email us at inheriting@laiststudios.com to share your questions, feelings, and even your story.Inheriting is entirely funded by supporters like you. If you want to hear future seasons, go to LAist.com/Inheriting and click on the orange box to donate.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The E. Kong Yick building houses the only pan-Asian Pacific American community-based museum in the country, The Wing Luke Museum. And it's an anchor in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. The Wing began in an old mechanic's garage, exhibiting old folk art relics from Asia. This episode tells the story of how The Wing transformed from a traditional museum into a BIPOC-owned building, community, and movement … and how people responded when it was threatened.  *** This episode of 10,000 Things is about the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. It was recorded before 26 members of its 52-person staff walked out on May 22nd , in protest of a new exhibition entitled “Confronting Hate Together.” While leadership continues to work to resolve the dispute with those on strike, as I talk to you on June 18th, the museum remains closed. If you'd like to know more, we're providing links to KUOW's coverage in our episode notes.  As you're about to hear, The Wing is a beloved Seattle institution that has been no stranger to turmoil and disruption. Regardless, its strong relationship to the community has allowed it to grow and thrive. If you want to learn more: Wing Luke exhibit shows how Black, Asian, and Jewish Seattleites confront hate together  With 'heart, sensitivity, and delicacy,' Wing Luke Museum plans to re-open after staff walkout  Seattle's Wing Luke Museum closed after staff say exhibit 'frames Palestinian liberation' as antisemitism    Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Ben Noble, Christopher Wohrle, From Somewhere Quiet. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some trees are just special. One tree in Seattle's Chinatown-International District has reached legendary status. The loquat tree is an artifact of the Engs, a pioneer Chinese-American family who planted the fruit seed in their front yard. The tree has thrived for over 60 years, nourishing the family and the community. Now, it stands as a legacy tree in the C-ID, accessible to a new generation and the tree's arboreal descendants grow all over the city, forming their own non-human diaspora.   Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Ben Noble, Christopher Wohrle, From Somewhere Quiet. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff and Phil welcome back Shin Yu Pai, poet, museologist and host of Ten Thousand Things, an award-winning podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life. She is joined by Jenny Liou, poet, English scholar and former MMA cage fighter -- and one of the subjects of the latest season of Ten Thousand Things. They talk about Jenny's entry into the sport, the cage as a space of limitation and liberation, and the impossible and contradictory expectations of an Asian American female fighter. Also, stay tuned for "Cage," an extra episode of Ten Thousand Things featuring Shin Yu Pai and Jenny Liou. 

This is the sweet story of a viral and photogenic ube cheesecake. To many Filipino-Americans, ube is not a trend. It's a staple. Yet here in the United States, it was known for decades as an ethnic specialty ingredient. That is, until Chera Amlag got her hands on it and made it the star of her Hood Famous cheesecake. When Chera's homemade ube cheesecake became a culinary phenomenon, ube was transformed. Chera's cheesecake put Filipino culture and identity in the spotlight through her imaginative use of ube. And her collaborative approach has strengthened the Filipino-American community.      Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Young Collective, Olive James, Sonny Oh, N. Kerbin. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Tiffany Ran left for college, her mom gifted her a Tatung cooker. The Tatung is a unique kitchen appliance that would be familiar to anyone with ties to Taiwan. Everyone uses it slightly differently, as its versatility is passed down by word of mouth. Tiffany's Tatung has accompanied her throughout the chapters of her unfolding adulthood. It has offered nourishment and comfort to her through the years, from broths to rice to Eggo waffles (not recommended). And it is the foundation of her burgeoning culinary career.    Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Young Collective, Jonny Southard, N. Kerbin. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Janet Lee, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, was heading home for Christmas break when she was detained by the police for alleged drug smuggling. Janet wasn't carrying any drugs. But the treatment she received from the Philadelphia police department and from her own community would change her life forever. In this episode, we'll explore the pain of being accused of being someone you are not and fighting to reclaim the story that sets the record straight.   Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Abigail Osborn, PRAANA, Wild Pony, Brique a Braq, Jordan Critz. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jenny Liou is good at many things. She is a poet, an English professor, and former MMA Cage Fighter. It would be easy to see the cage as a place of limitation. But for Jenny, the cage was a place of freedom, where she could showcase her athletic skills. It was a place where her jiu-jitsu training allowed her to stay grounded and see her opponent's weaknesses. Jenny rose in the sport's ranks while teaching college English, a symbiotic balance of mental and physical strength. But the pressures of the sport ultimately confined her, until she gained the strength to give up the fight and step out of the cage.      Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Deraj, Wild Pony, WOLVES. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We might wear a mask to fit in, to fulfill someone else's expectations, or to navigate a white-centric world. For Shin Yu, the mask was real. It was a white plaster mold of her face that hung on her in-laws' wall, a reminder of all the “saving face” she has done trying to fit in. Last year, she decided to ask for the mask back. This is a personal interview with Shin Yu about learning how to let down the mask, while embracing vulnerability and our true selves.    Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Wild Pony. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leanna Keith knew the flute was her instrument. But she was discouraged from trying it in middle school by a white teacher who said her anatomy (a teardrop lip) would not allow her to master the instrument. Today, she is a professional musician, breaking the mold with her contemporary flute performances. This story looks at the uniqueness of our individual anatomies and what it's like to be made to feel imperfect.   Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Dexter Britain. Sunborn, Red licorice, Vanra, Ezzy, AND Leanna Keith. And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This season on Ten Thousand Things: We're back with season three! This season features the stories of trailblazing Asian American women and the resilience of Asian American communities, even in the face of endangerment. Three of this season's stories take place in Seattle's Chinatown-International District Neighborhood, with help from the Wing Luke Museum. Featured guests include poet and former MMA cage fighter Jenny Liou; Seattle chef Tiffany Ran; and flutist Leanna Keith; among others. New episodes drop on Tuesdays. Ten Thousand Things: In many Chinese sayings, “ten thousand” is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. For Shin Yu Pai – award-winning poet and museologist – the story of Asians in America is just that. Ten Thousand Things is a podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life and the stories they reveal, created and hosted by Shin Yu Pai and produced by KUOW (Seattle's NPR station). Ten Thousand Things is a vibrant, diverse, and bittersweet celebration of Asian America ... and a challenge for us all to reimagine stories of the past and future.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before we return for our THIRD season of Ten Thousand Things on April 30th, we wanted to share a special recording. In September of 2022, we celebrated the first season of our podcast with a live event at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Back then, our podcast was called The Blue Suit (as you'll hear). We evolved to become Ten Thousand Things. But we had the same goal of telling compelling stories behind modern-day artifacts of Asian American life. Our live show includes interviews with some of our previous guests on the podcast as well as some new stories. And musician Tomo Nakayama joins us to share a story about an object that is dear to his heart and to play a few songs.    We can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW. And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online. Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Jim Gates produced this episode with help from Hans Twite and Tom Stiles. Charlotte Duren produced the event. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Across the city of Seattle this month, poems from local writers are on display at storefronts, libraries, and in office buildings. They're part of "Poetry in Place," a project from Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, which runs throughout April. We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW:https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundside

It's a literary smorgasbord! First, Jacke dives into the recent news of the surprising connection between Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson. Next, he welcomes Mike Palindrome, President of the Literature Supporters Club, for a discussion of why Mike has been reading Flannery O'Connor for so many years. Then storytelling expert J. Edward Chamberlin stops by to discuss his new book, Storylines: How Words Shape Our Worlds, which explores the power of stories to transform despair and disillusionment into hope and possibility. And finally, poet and podcaster Shin Yu Pai (Ten Thousand Things) selects the last book she will ever read. Smaklig måltid! Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“That's the thing about fiction — you can hear the same story at different points in your life and you bring something different to it every time you hear the story.” Justin Rueff is an artist, designer, educator and creator. Justin paints murals and signs, he draws comics and illustrates books. Justin's the co-creator and artist for LESS DESOLATE, a new comics haiku project he brought to life with Seattle poet laureate Shin Yu Pai, a past FrieMMd of the Pod. Justin's created hundreds of hand-painted signs and murals for businesses across Oregon and California — on a variety of surfaces including glass, stone and vinyl. He's the author and illustrator of a few 'zines and comics including Brother Crow, A Guide to Understanding the Never-ending Story and Heroes & Lovers. Justin's thoughtful work mixes traditional Mexican Art, comics, and album covers - running from people nature to food - and LESS DESOLATE is a powerful work worthy of any bookshelf. You'll enjoy this candid conversation about collaboration, inspiration, comics and poetry LEARN ABOUT JUSTIN Justinrueff.com // instagram.com/justinrueff LESS DESOLATE - bluecactuspress.com/product/less-desolate/ WORK - youtube.com/watch?v=Ib989ZuUd1Q WORK: eastlacape.com/index.php/virtual-elacape-2020/justin-rueff/ MENTIONS ARTIST: Frida Kahlo - wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis - wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Michael_Bendis COMIC: Ultimate Spider Man - wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Spider-Man WRITER: Chris Claremont - wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Claremont COMICS: DC Vertigo - wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_Comics COMICS: Stray Bullets - wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_Bullets_(comics) PERSON: Arissa Cox wikipedia.org/wiki/Arisa_Cox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's modern world has disconnected us from our relationship with the natural cycles and seasons of life and our relationship with the earth. We have forgotten our rites of passage and our rituals for change. As a result, we experience some life changes with unnecessary pain. As a midlife woman, I find that rituals help to ground and contextualize the inevitable changes that happen with growth and evolution as well as aging. In this episode, I call for an acknowledgment of the mothers who experience grief during that time when their child's childhood officially ends (which often takes the form of the child leaving for college). What does a rite of passage look like for the mother who becomes a different kind of mother? The kind who is only in her child's life part of the time rather than daily? How can we include a space for grief at this time? Tune in for a consideration of a mother's inner journey as she launches her children's arrows into the world. Tarot card: Ten of Cups Poem: "Easter Sunday" by Shin Yu Pai

“There's no one right way to be Asian American you know? The diasporic experiences trying to grapple with culture, what to keep and carry, what to relate to - so very human and universal.”  Shin Yu is many things - poet and writer, but also podcast host and producer of Ten Thousand Things – a show for Seattle's NPR affiliate KUOW Public Radio. Shin Yu's also currently the Civic Poet of Seattle (2023-2024) and author of 11 books, including most recently Virga. She is the recipient of awards from the City of Seattle's Office of Arts & Culture, 4Culture, and The Awesome Foundation, as well as a 2022 Artist Trust Fellow and she was shortlisted in 2014 for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. Shin Yu served as Poet Laureate for The City of Redmond from 2015-2017. Shin Yu's work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the UK, and Canada - in publications like Atlas Obscura, Tricycle Magazine, YES! Magazine, NYTimes, Zocalo Public Square, Seattle Met, ParentMap, Seattle's Child, International Examiner, and South Seattle Emerald, and many more. Sharon and Shin Yu related to each other in a ranging conversation about Chinese childhood and raising bi-racial children - both of which have formed her ideas about art, literature and storytelling. You'll appreciate her deep passion for connecting communities, connecting cultures, and drawing out beauty in the most unique ways  LEARN ABOUT SHIN YU shinyupai.com instagram.com/shinyupai PODCAST: kuow.org/podcasts/bluesuit BOOKS: goodreads.com/author/show/308679.Shin_Yu_Pai WORDS: joysauce.com/contributor/shin-yu-pai/ SUPPORT UPCOMING WORKS: “No Neutral” (poetry collection) -spdbooks.org/Products/9798988370109/no-neutral.aspx “Less Desolate” (haiku comics collection) - kickstarter.com/projects/1701310602/less-desolate “Small Doses of Awareness” (Microdosing Guide) - amazon.com/-/he/Shin-Yu-Pai/dp/1797227823 MENTIONS BOOK: Letters to a Young Poet (Rainer Maria Rilke): goodreads.com/work/quotes/1208289-briefe-an-einen-jungen-dichter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Notes In this special episode, Disability After Dark has partnered with KUOW in Seattle to bring you an episode of one of the most notable podcasts of 2023, Ten Thousand Things, where host Shin Yu Pai -- the current reigning Civic Poet of Seattle! -- sits down with award-winning disability rights activist Alice Wong to discuss her long history of advocacy. From lobbying her university for disability-related curriculum to being appointed to the National Council on Disability, not to mention founding the Disability Visibility Project, Alice is an awesome human being who's disrupting the status quo. Needless to say, this is a “can't miss” conversation, and if you want to hear more like it, be sure to follow Ten Thousand Things on your favorite podcast app. (And tell them we sent you!) With that said, here is Ten Thousand Things. Enjoy! This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Check out this amazing episode of Ten Thousand Things from our friends at KUOW in Seattle, featuring a meditation on voice from disability justice activist, oracle, and cyborg, Alice Wong. Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai is an acclaimed podcast that amplifies heartfelt stories from Asian America. You should definitely check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you love to listen—and tell them we sent you! Transcript available here. To hear more from Alice Wong, check out Qudsiya's conversation with Alice in season 3, episode 1 of Down to the Struts. -- Loving Down to the Struts? Support the team behind the podcast with a donation. Leave a review on Apple podcasts. Subscribe to Qudsiya's newsletter, Getting Down To It.

Jacke talks to Shin Yu Pai, currently the Civic Poet of Seattle, about her career as an artist and her podcast Ten Thousand Things, which explores a collection of objects and artifacts that tell us something about Asian American life. PLUS Ross Benjamin (translator of The Diaries of Franz Kafka) selects the last book he will ever read. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The words of its writers are part of the texture of Dublin, an invisible counterpart to the bricks and pavement we see around us." Exploring this synergy - between a city and its chief cultural export - is the promise of a new book called Dublin: A Writer's City (part of the Imagining Cities series). In this episode, Jacke talks to author and series editor Christopher Morash about his step-by-step examination of the stomping grounds of Joyce, Yeats, Beckett, Heaney, and many others. AND THEN Jacke talks to author John Higgs (Love and Let Die: James Bond, The Beatles, and the British Psyche; William Blake vs. the World) about his choice for the last book he will ever read. PLUS Shin Yu Pai, the Civic Poet of Seattle and host of the podcast Ten Thousand Things, previews her appearance on the History of Literature Podcast with a reading of her poem "Virga." Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a story about the way we make a statement. Alice Wong, a Chinese-American disability activist, came into her own as a public personality through creating and hosting a podcast on disabled voices. Her status as a person with a disability in an ableist world gave her access to a world of perspectives and voices that we don't usually hear on public radio. And she prioritized putting disabled voices on the air. But losing her own voice and replacing it with an app forced her to reckon with a new relationship to voice. Related links:Disability Visibility ProjectDisability Visibility PodcastYear of the Tiger by Alice WongResistance and Hope: Crip Wisdom for the People, edited by Alice WongWe can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Jaylon Ashaun and Stan Forebee.Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

Anti-Asian hate crimes spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic. And then the Atlanta spa shooting scarred a community already suffering.But Kae-Lin Wang turned the Atlanta shooting's aftermath into an opportunity for healing. And she used bikes to do it.Today, Ampersand Bikes Club is still going strong. It's co-organized and co-run by some of its 100+ community members.In this episode, we hear from Kae-Lin and Andrew Chin about how a bicycle might provide strength, joy, and a way to create a protected space. And how protecting that community space is not always easy.Related Links: Ride with Ampersand Bikes Club!Ampersand Bikes Club at Seattle Parks FoundationBike Works and Northstar Cycling and Peace Peloton Seattle area Bike mapWe can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Ross Christopher and 12 Palms. Special thanks to ABC, Shannon, Sammy Vo, Annie Sing and Alan Zhang for their contributions!Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

One of the cool parts of being in podcasting is taking part in a community of like-minded creators, this is especially true for those of us in the Asian American podcasting space. That's why we're always excited to find new shows that explore the Asian American experience through new and interesting lenses. Ten Thousand Things is a podcast from KUOW Seattle about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life, hosted by award-winning poet and museologist Shin Yu Pai. We're excited to share their episode "Book" with Chinese American author and scholar Shawn Wong.Listen to more episodes of Ten Thousand Things and follow the podcast!---Shawn Wong discovered the first Japanese American novel, No-No Boy, at a used bookstore for 50 cents, after being told by his English professors that Asian American literature didn't exist. He sought out the author, John Okada, and he fought to have the book republished and distributed far and wide, to unearth the legacy of Asian American writers. But all the mainstream publishers rejected it. So Shawn started to print, distribute, and sell the novel himself with friends,often from the trunk of his car. The Asian American community turned up, ordering books by mail, telling their friends, and sending checks with handwritten letters- a testament to a generation hungry for their own stories.Correction, 10:30 a.m., 6/6/2023: The audio version of this story misstates the name of the protagonist in No-No Boy. The character's name is Ichiro Yamada.Related Links: Shawn WongBook notes: A talk with UW English professor, author Shawn Wong about his UW Press book series for Asian American authorsRelated reading:Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers by Frank Chin, Jeffery Paul Chan, Lawson Fusao Inada, and Shawn WongToshio Mori's Yokohama California was Ahead of its Time via International ExaminerHisaye YamamotoWakako YamauchiNisei Daughter by Monica SoneEat a Bowl of Tea by Louis ChuJanice MirikitaniFrontiers of Love by Diana ChangAmerica is in the Heart by Carlos BulosanUncle Rico's Encore: Mostly True Stories of Filipino Seattle by Peter BachoDancer Dawkins and the California

Shawn Wong discovered the first Japanese American novel, No-No Boy, at a used bookstore for 50 cents, after being told by his English professors that Asian American literature didn't exist. He sought out the author, John Okada, and he fought to have the book republished and distributed far and wide, to unearth the legacy of Asian American writers. But all the mainstream publishers rejected it. So Shawn started to print, distribute, and sell the novel himself with friends,often from the trunk of his car. The Asian American community turned up, ordering books by mail, telling their friends, and sending checks with handwritten letters- a testament to a generation hungry for their own stories.Correction, 10:30 a.m., 6/6/2023: The audio version of this story misstates the name of the protagonist in No-No Boy. The character's name is Ichiro Yamada.Related Links: Shawn WongBook notes: A talk with UW English professor, author Shawn Wong about his UW Press book series for Asian American authorsRelated reading:Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers by Frank Chin, Jeffery Paul Chan, Lawson Fusao Inada, and Shawn WongToshio Mori's Yokohama California was Ahead of its Time via International ExaminerHisaye YamamotoWakako YamauchiNisei Daughter by Monica SoneEat a Bowl of Tea by Louis ChuJanice MirikitaniFrontiers of Love by Diana ChangAmerica is in the Heart by Carlos BulosanUncle Rico's Encore: Mostly True Stories of Filipino Seattle by Peter BachoDancer Dawkins and the California Kid by Willyce KimPremonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American Poetry edited by Walter LewPinoy Poetics: A Collection of Autobiographical and Critical Essays on Filipino and Filipino American Poetics edited by Nick CarboThe World I Leave You: Asian American Poets on Faith & Spirit edited by Leah Silvieus and Lee HerrickWe can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Taika. Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

[Episode is in English] I'm thrilled Leona (from TaiwaneseAmerian.org) connected me with Shin Yu Pai for this Community Interview Features. We discussed Shin Yu's work as an artist, writer, and podcast host. And as two podcasters, Shin Yu and I naturally gravitated to talking live after the initial Q&A, which spawned this soul-enriching conversation that folks who are consciously on a healing journey may appreciate! Check out her work and her podcast (links below). Enjoy this episode! Read our conversation at: https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2023/05/cynthia-lin-tw-diaspora-shin-yu-pai/ Shin Yu Pai (白 欣玉) is a Taiwanese American poet, essayist, editor, photographer, podcast host, and visual artist. She is currently Seattle's poet laureate (Civic Poet) and host of NPR/KUOW's “Ten Thousand Things: Artifacts of Asian American Life.” You can follow and support her work at https://shinyupai.com. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twdiaspora/support

During the mizu kuyo ritual for pregnancy loss, a small Jizo Bodhisattva statue enshrines ceremonial remains of a lost child.Following Shin Yu's miscarriage in 2012, she had a mizu kuyo ceremony to process her grief. Miscarriage is a socially taboo topic that many people have difficulty talking about. It's often laden with grief, shame, and self-blame and is a loss that has not been very normalized in public discourse. Through Shin Yu's personal story this episode shines a light on the silent subject of miscarriage and how the Jizo Bodhisattva can provide comfort to grieving parents.Related links:Adopting a Buddhist Ritual to Mourn Miscarraige, Abortion via NPRWater Returning to Water: A Buddhist Ritual Brings Release by Shin Yu Pai Splitting the Milk, a poem by Shin Yu PaiWe can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by inola and The Field Tapes. Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

Dylan Tomine has a passion for steelhead trout. Or an obsession. Or an addiction. His steelhead passion has brought him close to beautiful places, driven him far from stability, and lost him some loving relationships.This is a story about how an obsession can take priority over everything. How it might provide both purpose and isolation. And how it isn't guaranteed to last forever.Related LinksDylan TomineWild Fish ConservancyWild Steelhead CoalitionWe can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback here.Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Tim Halperin, 12 Palms, and cloudcrush.Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

The creator, writer, and host of the KUOW podcast Ten Thousand Things, Shin Yu Pai, talks about how the podcast explores the many ways Asian Americans connect with and honor their identity. Plus, we talk about two recent stories on the show about obsession and parenthood. We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW:https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundside

On the eve of selling her family's house, Donna Miscolta's daughter had a special request: Go to the stairwell and pull back the loose board on the bottom step. There, Donna found a box of treasures that 9-year-old Ana Miscolta Cameron had hidden for future children living in the house. Rediscovering this time capsule allowed Donna and Ana to revisit memories from the past, hopes for the future, and where mother and daughter diverge and meet in the middle. Related Links: Donna's Blog Post about the time capsuleTen Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by coldbrew, Jaylon Ashaun, and Gracie and Rachel.Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.

In episode 1478, Jack and Miles are joined by award-winning writer, photographer, poet, and host of Ten Thousand Things, Shin Yu Pai, to discuss… Harlan Crow Paid For Clarence Thomas' Kid's Tuition, Four Proud Boys Were Found Guilty Of Sedition, Who Is Greg Gutfeld--The Only Late Night Talk Show Host On The Air and more! Harlan Crow Paid For Clarence Thomas' Kid's Tuition Thomas' longtime friend acknowledges — but defends — Harlan Crow tuition payments Four Proud Boys Were Found Guilty Of Sedition Who Is Greg Gutfeld--The Only Late Night Talk Show Host On The Air With late-night talk shows suspended, political news takes a hit The late night rise of "Gutfeld!" is telling us something. It isn't funny, but that doesn't matter Is the right winning the comedy wars? ‘Gutfeld' Shows the Sickly State of Conservative Comedy A Publishing Pest Moves On Lads' mag editor Gutfeld leaves Maxim VISIT:  Less Desolate: A Haiku Comics Collection Kickstarter! LISTEN: Lunes 1 De Abril by The Holydrug CoupleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff and Phil welcome Shin Yu Pai, award-winning poet, museologist, and host of TEN THOUSAND THINGS, a podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life. They discuss the personal objects and collections that say who we are and where we've been, from Rep. Andy Kim's now-famous blue suit to our precious stuffed loved ones. They also play a special show-and-tell version of The Good, The Bad and The WTF featuring their own Asian American artifacts.

I'm particularly excited to have Shin Yu Pai with me today. I've been a fan of her poetry for a while now, and it's truly an honor to have her on the show. Shin Yu recently started producing and hosting her own podcast, and we chatted about how she got started and what inspired her to take on this new endeavor.  What I loved most about our conversation was getting to know the person behind the poetry. Shin Yu is not only an incredibly talented artist but also a warm and engaging individual. Her passion for creativity is infectious, and I came away from our conversation feeling inspired and energized. So, whether you're a poetry lover, a fan of nonfiction, or just interested in exploring new creative mediums, I recommend tuning in to this episode. Shin's insights and experiences are sure to leave you with a fresh perspective on the art of storytelling. Clips Used: 1. BBC News - "Alaska Willow Oil Project Passed by US President Joe Biden" 2. Associated Press - "The Biden Administration Approved Three Drilling Sites for the Willow Project." 3. National Park Diaries - "The Willow Project, Explained." Join the conversation: Instagram @immigrantlypod | Twitter @immigrantly_pod |  Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help more people find us!  Host & Executive Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Michaela Strauther & Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Haziq Ahmed Farid I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson 

I'm particularly excited to have Shin Yu Pai with me today. I've been a fan of her poetry for a while now, and it's truly an honor to have her on the show. Shin Yu recently started producing and hosting her own podcast, and we chatted about how she got started and what inspired her to take on this new endeavor.  What I loved most about our conversation was getting to know the person behind the poetry. Shin Yu is not only an incredibly talented artist but also a warm and engaging individual. Her passion for creativity is infectious, and I came away from our conversation feeling inspired and energized. So, whether you're a poetry lover, a fan of nonfiction, or just interested in exploring new creative mediums, I recommend tuning in to this episode. Shin's insights and experiences are sure to leave you with a fresh perspective on the art of storytelling. Clips Used: 1. BBC News - "Alaska Willow Oil Project Passed by US President Joe Biden" 2. Associated Press - "The Biden Administration Approved Three Drilling Sites for the Willow Project." 3. National Park Diaries - "The Willow Project, Explained." Join the conversation: Instagram @immigrantlypod | Twitter @immigrantly_pod |  Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts to help more people find us!  Host & Executive Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Michaela Strauther & Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Haziq Ahmed Farid I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson 

When we come into this world we are given a name. It is etched in ink on our birth certificate, pasted onto our cubbies in pre-school and signed onto paper to acknowledge our union with a beloved. A name has power. A name is an object that defines who we are. But what if our name is wrong? Poet, educator, and cultural worker Ebo Barton tells us a story about the power of names and their journey to change their name and reclaim their true identity.Related Links: Ebo BartonEbo Barton performs Freedom, Cut Me Loose Are you looking for another podcast that explores deeply personal and totally factual conversations about race, identity, and culture? Then check out Dear White Women. Its mission is to help more white women use their privilege to uproot systemic racism.We can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by coldbrew, Jaylon Ashaun, and Gracie and Rachel.Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!Partial funding of The Blue Suit was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

In many Chinese sayings, “ten thousand” is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. For Shin Yu Pai – award-winning poet and museologist – the story of Asians in America is just that. Introducing Ten Thousand Things, a special series about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life, created and hosted by Shin Yu Pai and produced by KUOW.The initial name of the series, The Blue Suit, drew inspiration from the suit worn by congressman Andy Kim on January 6 as he was photographed collecting trash following the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Today, the garment lives in the Smithsonian's collection – and within the fabric of Asian America.In the podcast series' newest season, host Shin Yu builds on her focus of commonplace objects that tell the complex story of Asians in America with an expanded name and collection of objects. Ten Thousand Things is a vibrant, diverse, and bittersweet celebration of Asian America ... and a challenge for us all to reimagine stories of the past and future. Featured guests this season include Disability Visibility Project podcast host Alice Wong; transgender and non-binary, poet and educator Ebo Barton; and NED founder Eason Yang; among others.The new season of Ten Thousand Things debuts on May 1, 2023, and new episodes release weekly on Mondays on KUOW.org, Apple Podcasts, NPR One, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Seattle has a new Civic Poet. Since 2015, the position has helped foster a relationship between the city and its creatives and help bring poetry to the people.We'll hear from Shin Yu Pai, Seattle's new Civic Poet and host of KUOW's The Blue Suit, about her new role.We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenowAnd we want to hear from you! Follow us on Instagram at SeattleNowPod, or leave us feedback online: https://www.kuow.org/feedback

As we do each week, we're getting picks for arts & culture events to check out in the Puget Sound region. KUOW's Kim Malcolm got these recommendations from writer Shin Yu Pai, who just this week was named Seattle's Civic Poet. She also hosts the KUOW podcast "The Blue Suit."

Shin Yu Pai is a poet and the host of the KUOW podcast The Blue Suit.

Shin Yu Pai is a poet, essayist, and visual artist. She is the author of several books of poetry, including VIRGA (Empty Bowl, 2021), and served as the fourth poet laureate of the city of Redmond. In 2014, Shin Yu was nominated for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. She is the creator and host of The Blue Suit, a podcast on Asian American stories, for KUOW, Seattle's NPR affiliate. She lives with her husband and 9-year-old son in the Pacific Northwest and describes writer-motherhood in three words as interrelated, elusive, empowering.Writer Mother Monster is a conversation series devoted to dismantling the myth of having it all and offering writer-moms solidarity, support, and advice as we make space for creative endeavors. Each episode is streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, then released as an audio podcast.Support the show

Congressman Andy Kim was photographed on Jan. 6 2021 picking up trash in the Capitol rotunda, in the aftermath of that day's chaos. The indelible image of a congressperson in a blue suit, kneeling on the ground and tidying the detritus of an insurrection went viral.The blue suit was donated to the Smithsonian, forever a physical marker of the values and actions on display that day. It also inspired Shin Yu Pai to make this podcast.Join us for our free live event for The Blue Suit on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 at McCaw Hall's Nesholm Family Lecture Hall. You can find more information at kuow.org/events.Related LinksCongressman Andy Kim's twitter thread about the blue suitCongressman Andy Kim's twitter thread about a national AAPI museumAP article from Jan. 7, 2021: ‘What else could I do?' NJ Rep. Kim helps clean up Capitol NPR: A Blue Suit, Dusted By Insurrection, Goes To The SmithsonianWashington Post: Andy Kim and the politics of ‘humility' in the midst of anti-Asian hate We want to hear from you!We're wrapping up our first season of The Blue Suit and we'd like to hear your thoughts about the show. If you have a few minutes please consider answering our brief survey here. Your feedback will really help us as we plan for future episodes. Thanks for taking the time to fill it out.

Shin Yu Pai is a Seattle-based writer and author of 11 books of poetry, an interdisciplinary artist spanning across visual work, photography, music, performance art, and most recently, podcasting, and others. In this episode, we talk about Shin Yu's approach to poetry and interdisciplinary art, the difficulties of being an Asian women in the industry, and most recently, her experiences with podcasting. Connect with Shin Yu: shinyupai.com The Blue Suit podcast https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/bluesuit Connect with us: @mxasianamerican mxasianamerican@gmail.com

For those of us coming from families with deep dysfunction and/or trauma, we often choose different ways of coping - achievement, power, money, control, even addiction. Anything but despair right? For poet, writer and artist Shin Yu Pai, she chose the path of self-expression through language as a way of making sense of her past, present and future. Her experience of growing up in 1980s Riverside, California as the child of Taiwanese immigrants has profoundly shaped her projects, as well as her relationship to her son. We got to know her as the creator of The Blue Suit, a limited-series podcast from Seattle's NPR station KUOW that features the stories of Asian Americans through the lens of every day items. Join us for this thoughtful conversation about her choice to choose the creative professional path, how her life experiences have shaped her work, and what makes her choose the work she does every day. For more on The Blue Suit podcast and Shin Yu Pai, check out these links: Her upcoming book Less Desolate A live conversation about The Blue Suit Podcast hosted at McCaw Hall's Nesholm Family Lecture Hall in Seattle: RSVP here

In this episode, our host, Shin Yu Pai, revisits an object from her own life. Shin Yu gave her toddler son a stuffed toy from her own childhood. He played too roughly with Poo-Poo, and Shin Yu had to take the toy away to be repaired and rescued. It sent Shin Yu down a rabbit hole that took her into the world of online Ebay and Etsy vintage toy vendors and a Facebook group for reuniting people with lost stuffed animals. Related Links:Plush Memories Lost Toy Search ServiceDo you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback 

Objects can sometimes tell complicated stories. An old collection of papers might be destined for the recycling, or it might tell us how someone lived and what they loved most. Plant clippings might be a hobby, or they might show a connection to home, the life of a transplant.

In a world full of stuff, what is worth keeping? What do we treasure? Explore modern-day heirlooms with The Blue Suit, a new KUOW podcast hosted and created by PNW poet Shin Yu Pai.

As Curator-in-Residence for Town Hall, Linda Lee has been working with Town Hall Seattle since October 2021 to better interpret and display our permanent art collections, as well as develop a longer-term exhibition plan including artwork from the community. In the 133rd episode of Town Hall's In the Moment podcast, Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Lee about her work as Curator-in-Residence, her collaboration with Urban Artworks to put art on our walls, and exciting opportunities for the public to get hands-on and make murals with us this June. Linda Lee is a Museology graduate student at the University of Washington and aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Paleobiology after graduation in 2022. Her fields of interest are in Curatorial and Collections Management, with a particular proclivity towards Natural History, Heritage and History museums. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She hosts the Lyric World podcast for In The Moment and is developing a podcast with KUOW Public Radio that will launch in June 2022. She's the author of 11 books and a 2022 Artist Trust Fellow. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

As Curator-in-Residence for Town Hall, Linda Lee has been working with Town Hall Seattle since October 2021 to better interpret and display our permanent art collections, as well as develop a longer-term exhibition plan including artwork from the community. In the 133rd episode of Town Hall's In the Moment podcast, Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Lee about her work as Curator-in-Residence, her collaboration with Urban Artworks to put art on our walls, and exciting opportunities for the public to get hands-on and make murals with us this June. Linda Lee is a Museology graduate student at the University of Washington and aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Paleobiology after graduation in 2022. Her fields of interest are in Curatorial and Collections Management, with a particular proclivity towards Natural History, Heritage and History museums. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She hosts the Lyric World podcast for In The Moment and is developing a podcast with KUOW Public Radio that will launch in June 2022. She's the author of 11 books and a 2022 Artist Trust Fellow. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Poet Lorna Dee Cervantes is considered one of the major voices in contemporary Chicana literature. Growing up, she was encouraged to only speak English in order to avoid racism in her California community. As a writer, her experiences as a woman of Mexican and Indigenous American descent fuel her work, which often explores loss of language, questions of identity, and dichotomies of acceptance and resistance. In this installment of Lyric World for Town Hall's In the Moment podcast, Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Cervantes about her newest collection of poetry, April on Olympia. Lorna Dee Cervantes is a XicanIndx (Chumash/Purepacha) author of five award-winning books of poetry: Emplumada (Pitt Poetry Series 1981); From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger (Arte Publico Press 1991); Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems (Wings Press 2011); Drive: The First Quartet (Wings Press 2005); and Sueño (Wings Press 2013). The founder of MANGO Publications (first to publish Sandra Cisneros), Cervantes is also the recipient of two NEA grants, two Pushcart Prizes, a Lila Wallace Readers Digest grant, and three state arts poetry fellowships. She presented twice at the Library of Congress as well as hundreds of universities, colleges, and other venues. The former Director of Creative Writing at CU Boulder, where she was a professor for 20 years, she moved to Olympia, WA in 2014 and now lives and writes in Seattle. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. From 2015 to 2017, she served as the fourth poet laureate of the City of Redmond. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Poet Lorna Dee Cervantes is considered one of the major voices in contemporary Chicana literature. Growing up, she was encouraged to only speak English in order to avoid racism in her California community. As a writer, her experiences as a woman of Mexican and Indigenous American descent fuel her work, which often explores loss of language, questions of identity, and dichotomies of acceptance and resistance. In this installment of Lyric World for Town Hall's In the Moment podcast, Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Cervantes about her newest collection of poetry, April on Olympia. Lorna Dee Cervantes is a XicanIndx (Chumash/Purepacha) author of five award-winning books of poetry: Emplumada (Pitt Poetry Series 1981); From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger (Arte Publico Press 1991); Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems (Wings Press 2011); Drive: The First Quartet (Wings Press 2005); and Sueño (Wings Press 2013). The founder of MANGO Publications (first to publish Sandra Cisneros), Cervantes is also the recipient of two NEA grants, two Pushcart Prizes, a Lila Wallace Readers Digest grant, and three state arts poetry fellowships. She presented twice at the Library of Congress as well as hundreds of universities, colleges, and other venues. The former Director of Creative Writing at CU Boulder, where she was a professor for 20 years, she moved to Olympia, WA in 2014 and now lives and writes in Seattle. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. From 2015 to 2017, she served as the fourth poet laureate of the City of Redmond. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Tacoma local Robert Lashley is known for crafting poems that build a vivid sense of place, rooted in deep, beautiful, yet often haunting memories. In his recently published third collection of poetry, Green River Valley, Lashley shares an unapologetic and harrowing look at gentrification, racism, and personal and collective loss in his hometown. With each poem, Lashley asks readers to bear witness to his lived experiences in Tacoma and to honor the people, places, and memories that shaped him — and the city we know today. Green River Valley showcases his signature rhythmic eloquence and acuity, building narrative threads that expose hidden intimacies amid trauma and ambivalence in the face of institutionalized racism. Abby E. Murray, Tacoma Poet Laureate (2019-2021) and author of Hail and Farewell, describes Lashley's work, “A nation, a myth, a beat, and a revolution walk into a bar. What happens next is extraordinary. Seriously, Green River Valley is a confrontation of powers and the result is a poet on real terms with what it means to love in times of violence and loss, what it means to write in times of silence. These poems aren't read so much as thumped into the chest, and its truths are unhidden, unmasked. When Lashley writes, ‘To see is too much. / To not see is much more' I feel like the past and future of any city, but especially Tacoma, make sense.” In this installment of Lyric World for Town Hall's In the Moment podcast, Town Hall Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Robert Lashley about his newest collection of poetry and the legacy of his city. Robert Lashley is a writer and activist. He was a 2016 Jack Straw Fellow, Artist Trust Fellow, and a nominee for a Stranger Genius Award. He has had work published in The Seattle Review of Books, NAILED, Poetry Northwest, McSweeney's, and The Cascadia Review. His poetry was also featured in such anthologies as Many Trails to the Summit, Foot Bridge Above the Falls, Get Lit, Make It True, and It Was Written. His previous books include The Homeboy Songs (Small Doggies Press, 2014), and Up South (Small Doggies Press, 2017). In 2019, Entropy magazine named The Homeboy Songs one of the 25 most essential books to come out of the Seattle area. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. From 2015 to 2017, she served as the fourth poet laureate of the City of Redmond. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Buy the Book: Green River Valley, Poems by Robert Lashley Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Tacoma local Robert Lashley is known for crafting poems that build a vivid sense of place, rooted in deep, beautiful, yet often haunting memories. In his recently published third collection of poetry, Green River Valley, Lashley shares an unapologetic and harrowing look at gentrification, racism, and personal and collective loss in his hometown. With each poem, Lashley asks readers to bear witness to his lived experiences in Tacoma and to honor the people, places, and memories that shaped him — and the city we know today. Green River Valley showcases his signature rhythmic eloquence and acuity, building narrative threads that expose hidden intimacies amid trauma and ambivalence in the face of institutionalized racism. Abby E. Murray, Tacoma Poet Laureate (2019-2021) and author of Hail and Farewell, describes Lashley's work, “A nation, a myth, a beat, and a revolution walk into a bar. What happens next is extraordinary. Seriously, Green River Valley is a confrontation of powers and the result is a poet on real terms with what it means to love in times of violence and loss, what it means to write in times of silence. These poems aren't read so much as thumped into the chest, and its truths are unhidden, unmasked. When Lashley writes, ‘To see is too much. / To not see is much more' I feel like the past and future of any city, but especially Tacoma, make sense.” In this installment of Lyric World for Town Hall's In the Moment podcast, Town Hall Program Director Shin Yu Pai interviews Robert Lashley about his newest collection of poetry and the legacy of his city. Robert Lashley is a writer and activist. He was a 2016 Jack Straw Fellow, Artist Trust Fellow, and a nominee for a Stranger Genius Award. He has had work published in The Seattle Review of Books, NAILED, Poetry Northwest, McSweeney's, and The Cascadia Review. His poetry was also featured in such anthologies as Many Trails to the Summit, Foot Bridge Above the Falls, Get Lit, Make It True, and It Was Written. His previous books include The Homeboy Songs (Small Doggies Press, 2014), and Up South (Small Doggies Press, 2017). In 2019, Entropy magazine named The Homeboy Songs one of the 25 most essential books to come out of the Seattle area. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. From 2015 to 2017, she served as the fourth poet laureate of the City of Redmond. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Buy the Book: Green River Valley, Poems by Robert Lashley Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

In May of 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, China in the middle of the afternoon. Entire towns were destroyed, schools collapsed, and over 80,000 people died — many of them schoolchildren. When grief-stricken families were denied information about exactly who and how many children died, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei initiated a critical and controversial response by compiling their names and expressing a region's collective grief through art. Enter Ian Boyden, who first encountered the thousands of names while curating Ai's 2016 exhibition, Ai Weiwei: Fault Line, at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art. Over the course of a year, Boyden read and translated the poetic essence of the children's names and composed heartbreaking, elegiac verses in response. The resulting work, A Forest of Names, meditates on humanity, memory, and language. In our 109th episode of In the Moment, Shin Yu Pai and Boyden explore his haunting and healing tribute of the thousands of lives lost. Ian Boyden is a visual artist, translator, writer, and curator whose work holds a deep awareness of East Asian aesthetics. He studied for several years in China and Japan and holds degrees in Art History from Wesleyan University and Yale University. His art and published work are found in many public collections including Reed College, Stanford University, the Portland Art Museum, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. His work is interdisciplinary, and past collaborations have involved scientists, poets, composers, and visual artists. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Buy the Book: A Forest of Names: 108 Meditations  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

In May of 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, China in the middle of the afternoon. Entire towns were destroyed, schools collapsed, and over 80,000 people died — many of them schoolchildren. When grief-stricken families were denied information about exactly who and how many children died, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei initiated a critical and controversial response by compiling their names and expressing a region's collective grief through art. Enter Ian Boyden, who first encountered the thousands of names while curating Ai's 2016 exhibition, Ai Weiwei: Fault Line, at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art. Over the course of a year, Boyden read and translated the poetic essence of the children's names and composed heartbreaking, elegiac verses in response. The resulting work, A Forest of Names, meditates on humanity, memory, and language. In our 109th episode of In the Moment, Shin Yu Pai and Boyden explore his haunting and healing tribute of the thousands of lives lost. Ian Boyden is a visual artist, translator, writer, and curator whose work holds a deep awareness of East Asian aesthetics. He studied for several years in China and Japan and holds degrees in Art History from Wesleyan University and Yale University. His art and published work are found in many public collections including Reed College, Stanford University, the Portland Art Museum, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. His work is interdisciplinary, and past collaborations have involved scientists, poets, composers, and visual artists. Shin Yu Pai is Program Director for Town Hall. She is the author of eleven books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Buy the Book: A Forest of Names: 108 Meditations  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

In what ways can words reach across time and distance, to speak with the dead, the unborn, past selves, and future possibilities? How do poets engage in conversations that can animate and embody what is not yet or no longer here? In this episode, correspondent and Lyric World host Shin Yu Pai talks to poet Meredith Clark about her lyric book-length exploration of miscarriage, memory, and continuity. Meredith Clark is a poet and writer whose work has received Black Warrior Review's nonfiction prize and the Sonora Review nonfiction prize. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Phoebe, Gigantic Sequins, Denver Quarterly, Berkeley Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a B.A. in creative writing from Oberlin College, and is the recipient of grants and residencies from Artist Trust, Art Farm Nebraska, Jack Straw, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her book, Lyrebird, is out now with Platypus Press. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by a grant from the Windrose Fund. Music was created by David Ian Bickley in collaboration with musician Enrico Cogniglio. Buy the Book: https://platypuspress.co.uk/lyrebird  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

In what ways can words reach across time and distance, to speak with the dead, the unborn, past selves, and future possibilities? How do poets engage in conversations that can animate and embody what is not yet or no longer here? In this episode, correspondent and Lyric World host Shin Yu Pai talks to poet Meredith Clark about her lyric book-length exploration of miscarriage, memory, and continuity. Meredith Clark is a poet and writer whose work has received Black Warrior Review's nonfiction prize and the Sonora Review nonfiction prize. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Phoebe, Gigantic Sequins, Denver Quarterly, Berkeley Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a B.A. in creative writing from Oberlin College, and is the recipient of grants and residencies from Artist Trust, Art Farm Nebraska, Jack Straw, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her book, Lyrebird, is out now with Platypus Press. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by a grant from the Windrose Fund. Music was created by David Ian Bickley in collaboration with musician Enrico Cogniglio. Buy the Book: https://platypuspress.co.uk/lyrebird  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

How does being othered in America impact our awareness of difference, and how does that lens affect our lived experience? In this episode of Lyric World, host Shin Yu Pai talks with poet Brian Komei Dempster, whose work explores this othered space both through a national and personal history of anti-Asian bigotry, and his own experiences as a parent of a disabled child. They reflect on Dempster’s work exploring histories of Japanese internment and the lasting legacy on subsequent generations, a topic that is close to him as his maternal grandfather, a Buddhist priest, was held in various internment camps while the rest of the family was imprisoned in the concentration camp Topaz. While also considering his parenting experiences, they discuss what it means to engage with the trauma of public history, and to turn towards that grief and suffering as a commitment to reality, and the times within which we live. Tune in for this vital and deeply personal conversation. Brian Komei Dempster’s debut book of poems, Topaz, received the 15 Bytes 2014 Book Award in Poetry. His second poetry collection, Seize was published in 2020. Dempster is editor of From Our Side of the Fence: Growing Up in America’s Concentration Camps and Making Home from War: Stories of Japanese American Exile and Resettlement. He is a professor of rhetoric and language at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as Director of Administration for the Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies program. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, and The Satterberg Foundation. Music for this episode is provided by Loren Kiyoshi Dempster. Brian Komei Dempster's poetry collections: https://briankomeidempster.com/  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

How does being othered in America impact our awareness of difference, and how does that lens affect our lived experience? In this episode of Lyric World, host Shin Yu Pai talks with poet Brian Komei Dempster, whose work explores this othered space both through a national and personal history of anti-Asian bigotry, and his own experiences as a parent of a disabled child. They reflect on Dempster’s work exploring histories of Japanese internment and the lasting legacy on subsequent generations, a topic that is close to him as his maternal grandfather, a Buddhist priest, was held in various internment camps while the rest of the family was imprisoned in the concentration camp Topaz. While also considering his parenting experiences, they discuss what it means to engage with the trauma of public history, and to turn towards that grief and suffering as a commitment to reality, and the times within which we live. Tune in for this vital and deeply personal conversation. Brian Komei Dempster’s debut book of poems, Topaz, received the 15 Bytes 2014 Book Award in Poetry. His second poetry collection, Seize was published in 2020. Dempster is editor of From Our Side of the Fence: Growing Up in America’s Concentration Camps and Making Home from War: Stories of Japanese American Exile and Resettlement. He is a professor of rhetoric and language at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as Director of Administration for the Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies program. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, and The Satterberg Foundation. Music for this episode is provided by Loren Kiyoshi Dempster. Brian Komei Dempster's poetry collections: https://briankomeidempster.com/  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares another installment of Lyric World, now in its second year of programming. Lyric World engages poets in conversations about the concerns and themes that preoccupy their work. As part of Black History Month, Pai hosts poet and musician Gary Copeland Lilley in a dialogue about the creative and intellectual influences that have shaped his work. Gary Copeland Lilley is the author of eight books of poetry, the most recent being The Bushman’s Medicine Show, from Lost Horse Press (2017), and a chapbook, The Hog Killing, from Blue Horse Press (2018). He is originally from North Carolina and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. He has received the Washington DC Commission on the Arts Fellowship for Poetry. He is published in numerous anthologies and journals. Lilley is a Cave Canem Fellow. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, and The Satterberg Foundation. Buy the Book: http://www.losthorsepress.org/catalog/the-bushmans-medicine-show/  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation online click here. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares another installment of Lyric World, now in its second year of programming. Lyric World engages poets in conversations about the concerns and themes that preoccupy their work. As part of Black History Month, Pai hosts poet and musician Gary Copeland Lilley in a dialogue about the creative and intellectual influences that have shaped his work. Gary Copeland Lilley is the author of eight books of poetry, the most recent being The Bushman’s Medicine Show, from Lost Horse Press (2017), and a chapbook, The Hog Killing, from Blue Horse Press (2018). He is originally from North Carolina and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. He has received the Washington DC Commission on the Arts Fellowship for Poetry. He is published in numerous anthologies and journals. Lilley is a Cave Canem Fellow. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, and The Satterberg Foundation. Buy the Book: http://www.losthorsepress.org/catalog/the-bushmans-medicine-show/  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation online click here. 

Fujitaro Kubota, whose unique gardens transformed Seattle’s landscape in the 20th century, immigrated to the US in the early 20th century, worked as a nurseryman, and eventually bought 20 acres of clear-cut forest in southern Seattle that he shaped into a beautiful and enduring Japanese garden. He also created a memorable garden in the Minidoka prison camp while he was incarcerated there during World War II; upon his return to Seattle, he focused on Kubota Garden, which had fallen into disrepair. Today, Kubota Garden serves one of Washington’s most diverse zip codes. Now, novelists, poets, artists, and community members examine Kubota’s legacy in Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota’s Garden. In this panel discussion moderated by poet Shin Yu Pai, contributors to Spirited Stone Dr. Charles Johnson, Nathan Wirth, and Marcus Harrison Green talked about their connections to Kubota Garden and how it has inspired them. Dr. Charles Johnson is professor emeritus at the University of Washington. He is the author of 25 books, a novelist, philosopher, essayist, literary scholar, short-story writer, cartoonist, illustrator, and a screen-and-teleplay writer. Dr. Johnson’s most recent publications are The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling, his fourth short story collection, Night Hawks, and GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life. Nathan Wirth is a self-learned photographer who seeks to express his unending wonder for the fundamental fact of existence. In his work, he attempts to focus on the silence that we can sometimes perceive in between the incessant waves of sound that often dominate our perceptions of the world. Wirth currently makes his living teaching English Composition at City College of San Francisco. Marcus Harrison Green is the founder and publisher of the South Seattle Emerald, a columnist for The Seattle Times, a former Reporting Fellow with YES! Magazine. After an unfulfilling stint working for a Los Angeles based hedge-fund in his twenties, Marcus returned to his community determined to tell its true story, which led him to start the South Seattle Emerald, and eventually move on to cover the area as a reporter for the Seattle Times. Shin Yu Pai is a podcast correspondent and produces Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets for Town Hall. She is a former Town Hall Inside / Out artist-in-residence and served as the fourth Poet Laureate of the City of Redmond from 2015 to 2017. She is the author of ten books of poetry, including most recently Ensō. Buy the Book: https://store.chinmusicpress.com/product/spirited-stone-lessons-from-kubota-s-garden  Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Kubota Garden Foundation. Become a Town Hall Seattle member or make a donation here. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares the fifth installment of Lyric World, featuring poet Arthur Sze in a conversation about Sze’s forthcoming new and collected poems volume, The Glass Constellation. Fusing elements of Chinese, Japanese, Native American, and various Western experimental traditions, Sze explores experience in all its multiplicities. The Glass Constellation is an invitation to immerse in a visionary body of work, mapping the evolution of one of our finest American poets. Arthur Sze has published ten books of poetry, including Sight Lines, which won the National Book Award. His new and collected poems, The Glass Constellation, will be published by Copper Canyon Press in April 2021. He has also published one book of Chinese poetry translations, The Silk Dragon. He is the recipient of many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and was the first poet laureate of Santa Fe, New Mexico Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Music for today’s program was provided by Gao Ping. As a leading member of the “sixth generation” of Chinese composers, Gao Ping’s compositions, which fuse Western and Eastern idioms, have won wide acclaim throughout the world. His albums are available through the Naxos label. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, and The Satterberg Foundation. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To make a donation or become a member click here. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares the fifth installment of Lyric World, featuring poet Arthur Sze in a conversation about Sze’s forthcoming new and collected poems volume, The Glass Constellation. Fusing elements of Chinese, Japanese, Native American, and various Western experimental traditions, Sze explores experience in all its multiplicities. The Glass Constellation is an invitation to immerse in a visionary body of work, mapping the evolution of one of our finest American poets. Arthur Sze has published ten books of poetry, including Sight Lines, which won the National Book Award. His new and collected poems, The Glass Constellation, will be published by Copper Canyon Press in April 2021. He has also published one book of Chinese poetry translations, The Silk Dragon. He is the recipient of many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and was the first poet laureate of Santa Fe, New Mexico Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Music for today’s program was provided by Gao Ping. As a leading member of the “sixth generation” of Chinese composers, Gao Ping’s compositions, which fuse Western and Eastern idioms, have won wide acclaim throughout the world. His albums are available through the Naxos label. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, and The Satterberg Foundation. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To make a donation or become a member click here. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares the fourth installment of Lyric World, featuring poet Yona Harvey in a conversation about Harvey’s newest book, You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love. Grounded deeply in the resistance of Black women, Harvey writes of ancestry, inheritance, and loss. Of Yona’s work, poet Afaa M. Weaver says, “Her voice is essential to making a cultural wholeness that would otherwise be impossible. This lyric, this unique, multimedia gift is evidence of an awakening only a few poets ever approach.” Yona Harvey is an American poet, professor, and Marvel Comics writer. Her first poetry collection, Hemming the Water, garnered Harvey the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Her work has been published and anthologized in numerous places, including Letters to the Future: Black WOMEN / Radical WRITING. She contributed to Marvel’s World of Wakanda with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, Poets & Writers, and The Satterberg Foundation. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares the fourth installment of Lyric World, featuring poet Yona Harvey in a conversation about Harvey’s newest book, You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love. Grounded deeply in the resistance of Black women, Harvey writes of ancestry, inheritance, and loss. Of Yona’s work, poet Afaa M. Weaver says, “Her voice is essential to making a cultural wholeness that would otherwise be impossible. This lyric, this unique, multimedia gift is evidence of an awakening only a few poets ever approach.” Yona Harvey is an American poet, professor, and Marvel Comics writer. Her first poetry collection, Hemming the Water, garnered Harvey the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Her work has been published and anthologized in numerous places, including Letters to the Future: Black WOMEN / Radical WRITING. She contributed to Marvel’s World of Wakanda with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, Poets & Writers, and The Satterberg Foundation. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321. 

In this week’s episode, Senior Correspondent Steve Scher talks with poet and fellow correspondent Shin Yu Pai about her new book of poetry, ENSŌ. In this tenth collection, Pai presents a hybrid book and digital experience with insights on cultural hybridity, exchange, and appropriation; motherhood; and personal reflections on how systemic racism and misogyny have shaped her practice. Take a look inside the creative process of “one of the most thoughtful poets in the Northwest”—and stay in the know about what’s going on in this moment at Town Hall Seattle. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In 2014, she was shortlisted for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. She served as the fourth Poet Laureate of The City of Redmond from 2015 to 2017. She curates the Lyric World series for Town Hall. Steve Scher is a podcaster, broadcaster, writer, interviewer, and teacher. He is the former host of KUOW-FM’s Weekday and has taught interviewing at the University of Washington since 2009. Scher is also the host of the podcast series At Length with Steve Scher. Buy the Book: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9780997395792/ens.aspxhttp://entreriosbooks.com/product/enso/ Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To make a donation online click here, or text TOWN HALL to 44321. 

In this week’s episode, Senior Correspondent Steve Scher talks with poet and fellow correspondent Shin Yu Pai about her new book of poetry, ENSŌ. In this tenth collection, Pai presents a hybrid book and digital experience with insights on cultural hybridity, exchange, and appropriation; motherhood; and personal reflections on how systemic racism and misogyny have shaped her practice. Take a look inside the creative process of “one of the most thoughtful poets in the Northwest”—and stay in the know about what’s going on in this moment at Town Hall Seattle. Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In 2014, she was shortlisted for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. She served as the fourth Poet Laureate of The City of Redmond from 2015 to 2017. She curates the Lyric World series for Town Hall. Steve Scher is a podcaster, broadcaster, writer, interviewer, and teacher. He is the former host of KUOW-FM’s Weekday and has taught interviewing at the University of Washington since 2009. Scher is also the host of the podcast series At Length with Steve Scher. Buy the Book: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9780997395792/ens.aspxhttp://entreriosbooks.com/product/enso/ Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To make a donation online click here, or text TOWN HALL to 44321. 

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares the third installment of Lyric World, featuring poet Koon Woon. Koon explores the topic of displacement and the role that poetry can have in creating a sense of belonging and home. He reads from his book Water Chasing Water and speaks on his family’s history of immigration to the United States, as well as those who had to be left behind. He reflects on cultural identity and how he and family members adjusted to life in another country. Koon also talks about his experiences of living for decades in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Born in a village near Canton, China, Koon Woon immigrated to Washington State in 1960. He earned a BA from Antioch University Seattle and studied at Fort Hays State University. He is the author of The Truth in Rented Rooms, winner of a Josephine Miles Award from PEN Oakland, and Water Chasing Water, winner of the 2014 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. His poetry appears in Premonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American Poetry, among others. Woon is the publisher of Goldfish Press and the literary magazine Chrysanthemum. Shin Yu Pai is the author of nine books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, Poets & Writers, and The Satterberg Foundation. Lyric World is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. Music for this episode is provided by composer Paul Kikuchi. Additional music credits: Paul Kikuchi (compositions, field recordings, percussion); Rob Millis (electronics); Tari Nelson-Zagar (violin); Eyvind Kang (viola); Maria Scherer Wilson (cello). Presented by Town Hall Seattle.

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai shares the third installment of Lyric World, featuring poet Koon Woon. Koon explores the topic of displacement and the role that poetry can have in creating a sense of belonging and home. He reads from his book Water Chasing Water and speaks on his family’s history of immigration to the United States, as well as those who had to be left behind. He reflects on cultural identity and how he and family members adjusted to life in another country. Koon also talks about his experiences of living for decades in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Born in a village near Canton, China, Koon Woon immigrated to Washington State in 1960. He earned a BA from Antioch University Seattle and studied at Fort Hays State University. He is the author of The Truth in Rented Rooms, winner of a Josephine Miles Award from PEN Oakland, and Water Chasing Water, winner of the 2014 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. His poetry appears in Premonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American Poetry, among others. Woon is the publisher of Goldfish Press and the literary magazine Chrysanthemum. Shin Yu Pai is the author of nine books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, Poets & Writers, and The Satterberg Foundation. Lyric World is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. Music for this episode is provided by composer Paul Kikuchi. Additional music credits: Paul Kikuchi (compositions, field recordings, percussion); Rob Millis (electronics); Tari Nelson-Zagar (violin); Eyvind Kang (viola); Maria Scherer Wilson (cello). Presented by Town Hall Seattle.

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai introduces a second installment of Lyric World, featuring fellow poets Prageeta Sharma and afrose fatima ahmed. By sharing her own work on grief and grieving, Sharma explores the idea of imagined futures cut short and how a particular loss can awaken memories of previous grief. Sharma delves deeper in conversation with ahmed and Pai about the role of poetry in articulating and transcending complex grief. As our world cries out in grief, begin to process it with Pai, Sharma, and ahmed—and get an insider’s look and stay in the know about what’s going on in this moment at Town Hall Seattle. Prageeta Sharma is the author of the poetry collections Grief Sequence, Undergloom, Infamous Landscapes, The Opening Question, and Bliss to Fill. She is the founder of the conference Thinking Its Presence: Race, Creative Writing, Literary Studies and Art. A recipient of the 2010 Howard Foundation Award, she has taught at the University of Montana and now teaches at Pomona College. afrose fatima ahmed is a hybrid Texan-Washingtonian raised in the Tri-Cities who provides poetic soul guidance with her oracle deck “blood gold and honey.” She was a 2017 Jack Straw Writer and a 2018 GAP award recipient from Artist Trust. afrose comes to poetry as just one avenue for creating experiences of beauty and communion for herself and other people. Visit her website at  www.afrosefatimaahmed.com. Shin Yu Pai is the author of eight books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, Poets & Writers, and The Satterberg Foundation. Presented by Town Hall Seattle.

In this week’s episode, correspondent and poet Shin Yu Pai introduces a second installment of Lyric World, featuring fellow poets Prageeta Sharma and afrose fatima ahmed. By sharing her own work on grief and grieving, Sharma explores the idea of imagined futures cut short and how a particular loss can awaken memories of previous grief. Sharma delves deeper in conversation with ahmed and Pai about the role of poetry in articulating and transcending complex grief. As our world cries out in grief, begin to process it with Pai, Sharma, and ahmed—and get an insider’s look and stay in the know about what’s going on in this moment at Town Hall Seattle. Prageeta Sharma is the author of the poetry collections Grief Sequence, Undergloom, Infamous Landscapes, The Opening Question, and Bliss to Fill. She is the founder of the conference Thinking Its Presence: Race, Creative Writing, Literary Studies and Art. A recipient of the 2010 Howard Foundation Award, she has taught at the University of Montana and now teaches at Pomona College. afrose fatima ahmed is a hybrid Texan-Washingtonian raised in the Tri-Cities who provides poetic soul guidance with her oracle deck “blood gold and honey.” She was a 2017 Jack Straw Writer and a 2018 GAP award recipient from Artist Trust. afrose comes to poetry as just one avenue for creating experiences of beauty and communion for herself and other people. Visit her website at  www.afrosefatimaahmed.com. Shin Yu Pai is the author of eight books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Lyric World: Conversations with Contemporary Poets is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. The series is supported by grants from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture, Windrose Fund, Poets & Writers, and The Satterberg Foundation. Presented by Town Hall Seattle.

In this week’s interview, correspondent Shin Yu Pai talks with Arabic language and literature scholar Michael Cooperson about his translation of Iraqi author al-Harīrī’s collection of fifty tales—an essential work of Arabic literature and a masterpiece of wit and wordplay. Often declared to be “untranslatable,” the eleventh-century text follows the roguish wordsmith Abū Zayd al-Sarūjī in his adventures around the medieval Middle East. Cooperson shares deft translations of astoundingly complex expressions of the Arabic language using fifty different registers of English—from the distinctive literary styles of Geoffrey Chaucer, Mark Twain, and Virginia Woolf, to global varieties of English including Cockney rhyming slang, Nigerian English, and Singaporean English. Get an insider’s look and stay in the know about what’s going on in this moment at Town Hall Seattle. Michael Cooperson is Professor of Arabic in the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures at UCLA. His translations include The Life of Ibn Ḥanbal by Ibn al-Jawzī for the Library of Arabic Literature, and The Author and His Doubles by the eminent Moroccan literary critic Abdelfattah Kilito. Shin Yu Pai is the author of eight books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781479800841  Your support helps Town Hall create more digital events like this one! Please consider making a donation here.

In this week’s interview, correspondent Shin Yu Pai talks with Arabic language and literature scholar Michael Cooperson about his translation of Iraqi author al-Harīrī’s collection of fifty tales—an essential work of Arabic literature and a masterpiece of wit and wordplay. Often declared to be “untranslatable,” the eleventh-century text follows the roguish wordsmith Abū Zayd al-Sarūjī in his adventures around the medieval Middle East. Cooperson shares deft translations of astoundingly complex expressions of the Arabic language using fifty different registers of English—from the distinctive literary styles of Geoffrey Chaucer, Mark Twain, and Virginia Woolf, to global varieties of English including Cockney rhyming slang, Nigerian English, and Singaporean English. Get an insider’s look and stay in the know about what’s going on in this moment at Town Hall Seattle. Michael Cooperson is Professor of Arabic in the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures at UCLA. His translations include The Life of Ibn Ḥanbal by Ibn al-Jawzī for the Library of Arabic Literature, and The Author and His Doubles by the eminent Moroccan literary critic Abdelfattah Kilito. Shin Yu Pai is the author of eight books of poetry. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Canada. Her essays and nonfiction writing have appeared in Tricycle, YES! Magazine, The Rumpus, City Arts, The Stranger, Medium, and others. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781479800841  Your support helps Town Hall create more digital events like this one! Please consider making a donation here.

Today on The B.I.Stander Podcast we welcome: Shin Yu Pai invites us to the first of her Lyric World discussions, exploring the role of poetry as it stokes our curiosity and gives voice and attention to the human experience.                              (Buy Shin Yu Pai's soon to be released book ENSO here) ALSO Joining the Discussion: Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma , Ibrahim Arsalan Melanie Noel SPONSORED BY: Town Hall Seattle and was record Jan 30th, 2020 in The Forum  & MANSCAPED Save 20% & get free shipping with the code TINY The B.I.STANDER Podcast is a conversational podcast unique to Bainbridge Island and Seattle that covers culture, current events, humor, music, sports, technology, politics, island activities, environment, quality of life issues, wellness and just about everything else. The intent is to introduce interesting people, ideas, and conversations. We are not perfect and that's OK! Thank you for your understanding.  Our Podcast is brought to you by: Town Hall Seattle Eagle Harbor Insurance Blue Canary Great Northern Electric B.I.Hoops & More Sound Repographics Follow us on Facebook & Instagram  Listen on Spotify, PlayerFM, I-Heart Radio  Apple Podcasts, TuneIN, Castbox, Deezer, and more! Music performed by Band of Steves of The Island Music Guild. Music performed by Ralph Reign 206-780-6911 lessons@islandmusic.org  *additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com Listen on Spotify, PlayerFM, I-Heart Radio  Apple Podcasts, TuneIN, Castbox, Deezer, and more! Buy Shin Yu Pai's soon to be released book ENSO here Buy Melanie Noels Monarchs book here  

When we edit audio these days, we have the option of marking voice or sound clips in various colors. I did that for this episode. The effect is quite beautiful.In this case, the colors represent a seemingly simple tableau: a variety of poetry, music and conversation. The event was the first in a new series, Lyric World, curated by the poet Shin Yu Pai:“…a series that could focus on the social role of poetry, how poetry can be relevant to our everyday lives and its power to provoke deeper conversations on matters of being human together.”In this first iteration, you’ll hear from and about the poetry, music and magic of Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma. His most recent collection of poems is The Safety of Edges.“Pruiksma touches upon the similarities between poetry, magic, and music to explore the boundaries and edges of what’s visible and to gaze more deeply into the nature of wonder.”You’ll also hear pieces by the kora player and griot-trained jeli Ibrahim Arsalan. “In West African society, the jeli preserved ancient stories and traditions through song, throughout the generations. They are believed to have deep connections to spiritual, social, and political powers.”Then Seattle-based poet Melanie Noel joins Pruiksma in conversation about his work. We can’t provide you with scenes of the visual magic that took place at this event, but here’s hoping you’ll feel it.Shin Yu Pai is the author of ten books of poetry. Her next collection, Ensō, comes out in April. This first Lyric World event took place at Town Hall Seattle on January 30. The next event in the series is coming up on March 19. It will feature the work of poet Koon Woon.

After a championship-level rant about the Showbox and related housing issues, Ian sits with poet, photographer, and public artist Shin Yu Pai, a 2014 Stranger Genius Award nominee whose work has appeared throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Canada. The pair discuss "when you know" about a career in writing and what makes "good" versus merely honest writing; Shin Yu shares her thoughts on form, and then the conversation turns to what it means to be a public artist in a time of great civic change.

Photographic walking tours to writing workshops, “disruptive” art to small groups talking through modern masculinity—our 2018 Inside/Out Neighborhood Residents created some of the most interactive programs in Town Hall’s history. Now, Town Hall invites you to take part in their capstone evening as they reflect on their experiences during this experimental year. Join this season’s Residents—Jordan Alam, Peter DiCampo, Erik Molano, and Shin Yu Pai—as they share a behind-the-scenes look at the triumphs and challenges of their Residencies. Each of our Residents offered us a presentation on the season’s surprising and inspiring moments: Peter DiCampo presents a visual exploration of his photography-centered events, with a focus on the power of representing everyday truths through a visual medium. Shin Yu Pai brings author Donna Miscolta back to the stage for a conversation reflecting on their 4/13 event, History is An Act of the Imagination. Erik Molano presents a recollection of his events elevating the stories and futures of Capitol Hill and the Central District, along with community conversations on the nature of masculinity. Jordan Alam has left Seattle to attend grad school (and we wish her the best of luck!). She will not be present for a stage appearance, but instead she offers us a video reflection of her time programming for our season accompanied by a live presentation from her collaborator, Nic Masangkay. Jordan Alam is Town Hall Seattle’s 2018 Inside/Out Resident representing Hillman City and Columbia City. She is a writer, editor, doula, and social change educator who grew up at an intersection of Bangladeshi American, Muslim, queer, and femme identities. Her work focuses on social forces such as poverty, racism, and trauma, and finding ways to articulate how those experiences live in our bodies and shape the course of our lives. Jordan urges us to engage with subtle moments of transition and transformation in our own lives and the lives of others. Peter DiCampo is Town Hall Seattle’s 2018 Inside/Out Resident representing the University District and Ravenna neighborhoods. Peter is a documentary photographer whose goal is to contribute his work to a dialogue on international development and perceptions of Africa. He began his career as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a traditional photojournalist—now, his work seeks to deconstruct that experience. He is a co-founder of Everyday Africa and he is a regular speaker in classrooms and workshops on media stereotypes and the promotion of localized storytelling. Erik Molano is Town Hall’s 2018 Inside/Out Neighborhood Resident representing the Capitol Hill and the Central District neighborhoods. Erik is a graphic designer, prolific event organizer, and co-founder of Photon Factory (a hybrid organization that is half design studio and half community space). He lends his design background to connect Seattle’s creative professionals with social justice organizations. His current focus is on building authentic human connection while understanding and transforming toxic masculinity. Shin Yu Pai is Town Hall Seattle’s 2018 Inside/Out Resident representing the Phinney Greenwood neighborhoods. Shin Yu is a poet, cross-media artist, and curator for the collaborative global exploration project Atlas Obscura. Her poetic origins inform an artistic style that has grown beyond the written word—manifesting in photography, installation and public art, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and sound. She encourages us to reflect upon the essential questions of our own lives, and to explore how we see that interrogation expressed or mirrored around us. Nic Masangkay, who has just released an EP “A Hundred Setting Suns,” creates  music and performance poetry that explores the challenging relationship to their own body as a queer Filipinx femme. Donna Miscolta is an author currently based in Seattle whose writing has been featured in over a dozen journals, including Seattle Magazine, America’s Review, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, and others. She is the author of the story collection Hola and Goodbye and the novel When the de la Cruz Family Danced. Recorded live at The Summit by Town Hall Seattle on Thursday, June 7, 2018. 

Estimates have placed the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in Seattle at well over 8,000, with nearly half of those people living unsheltered in streets or parks. The city of Seattle spent roughly $50 million on emergency shelters, food and hygiene services, eviction prevention measures, and other similar relief programs—yet the problem only seems to be growing. To reframe our conception of this issue we welcome Kaia Sand, Susan Robb, and Rex Hohlbein, whose diverse artistic backgrounds have led them to create their own distinctive forms of community-building activism projects centered on the homelessness crisis. They met onstage to reflect upon the ways in which the arts can disrupt and animate our approach to conversations about inequality and homelessness. Together they explored creative practices that not only include but critically engage with socio-political issues as a component of the work itself. These artists shared their projects and perspectives with Shin Yu Pai, Town Hall’s Inside/Out Artist in Residence representing Phinney/Greenwood—and the curator of this event. Join Sand, Robb, and Hohlbein along with Shin Yu as they looked at examples of art as social practice in their work and explored how art can reimagine new solutions and futures. Kaia Sand is a documentary poet and activist artist who began her career as a staff reporter 20 years ago with the Burnside Cadillac, the precursor of Street Roots. With Street Roots, Kaia works to create economic opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media that are catalysts for individual and social change. She is also the author of four books, including A Tale of Magicians Who Puffed Up Money that Lost its Puff and Interval, named Small Press Traffic Book of the Year. Susan Robb’s work is an ongoing exploration of our emotional connection to place. In 2013, Robb received a Creative Capital grant to produce Wild Times, a work that combined 3D printing and a 2,680-mile hike Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. Robb has received the Americans for the Arts/Public Art Network Award, two Artist Trust Fellowships, a Pollack Krasner Fellowship, a CityArtist Project Grant, a Stranger Genius Award, and support from the Joan Mitchell Foundation. She recently completed writing the Center City Public Art Master Plan for the City of Seattle and currently serves as the first Artist-in-Residence for the City of Tacoma where her work focuses on creative site reclamation around homelessness issues. From 2005 to 2007, Robb was a teaching artist at Gage Academy of Art working with LGBTQ and homeless youth. Seven years ago, after befriending several men experiencing homelessness along the Fremont canal, Rex Hohlbein started a Facebook page to raise awareness for those living unsheltered through the sharing of photos and personal stories. Today, that Facebook page has over 48,000 followers, becoming a thriving and inspirational non-profit, Facing Homelessness. This year begins a new chapter, as Rex combines both architecture and community outreach in starting a social justice architecture firm, BLOCK Architects, with his daughter Jenn LaFreniere. Shin Yu Pai is Town Hall Seattle’s 2018 Inside/Out Resident representing the Phinney Greenwood neighborhoods. Shin Yu is a poet, cross-media artist, and curator for the collaborative global exploration project Atlas Obscura. Her poetic origins inform an artistic style that has grown beyond the written word—manifesting in photography, installation and public art, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and sound. She encourages us to reflect upon the essential questions of our own lives, and to explore how we see that interrogation expressed or mirrored around us. Recorded live at Phinney Neighborhood Center by Town Hall Seattle on Tuesday, May 29, 2018.

Known for the warmth, humor, clarity, and depth of his teachings, Zen teacher Peter Levitt is also the author of fourteen books of poetry and prose. Legendary poet Robert Creeley wrote that Peter Levitt’s poetry “sounds the honor of our common dance.” Town Hall is thrilled to welcome Peter to the stage for an evening sharing his recent works of poetry that explores our connection to the natural world and sing the sacred in the everyday. After the readings, he was joined in conversation with poet Shin Yu Pai, Town Hall’s Inside/Out Neighborhood Resident representing Phinney/Greenwood. Sit in with Peter and Shin Yu for an intimate discussion of the complexities of human relationships and the notion of coming home to ourselves—to who and what we naturally and truly are. Peter Levitt began his Zen practice in the late sixties in San Francisco, and he received lay entrustment from Zoketsu Norman Fischer, which authorized him to teach in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi. He is the founder and guiding teacher of the Salt Spring Zen Circle on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Peter edited Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic, The Heart of Understanding, and he served as Associate and Translation Editor of Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi. His ten poetry books include Within Within, One Hundred Butterflies, and Bright Root, Dark Root. In addition, he published Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom. His publishing career includes fiction, journalism and literary translations from Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. In 1989, Peter received the prestigious Lannan Foundation Award in Poetry. Shin Yu Pai is Town Hall Seattle’s 2018 Inside/Out Resident representing the Phinney Greenwood neighborhoods. Shin Yu is a poet, cross-media artist, and curator for the collaborative global exploration project Atlas Obscura. Her poetic origins inform an artistic style that has grown beyond the written word—manifesting in photography, installation and public art, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and sound. She encourages us to reflect upon the essential questions of our own lives, and to explore how we see that interrogation expressed or mirrored around us. Recorded live at Phinney Center by Town Hall Seattle on Thursday, March 22, 2018. 

2015 Jack Straw Artist Support Program artist Shin Yu Pai produced this recording as part of her project HEIRLOOM, a site-specific public art project that involves printing language on antique apples in Piper’s Orchard in Carkeek Park, Seattle. Using vinyl stencils and the light of the sun, words are burned into the peels of ripening […]

In this week's episode, I talk to the journalist David Z. Morris, plus Shin Yu Pai writes about how Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake changed her life. Photo by Kelly O. BOOKS DISCUSSED NOTES Rest in Peace, E.L. Doctorow. Check out David Z. Morris's site, here. Check out his Art Basel essay here. Check out his Iowa City music essay, "Only What is Dead Can Live Forever," here. Check out Shin Yu Pai's poetry and other work here. On Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 P.M. at The Gallery at Avalon Island, Jared Silvia, Stephanie Rizzo, Teege Braune, Genevieve Anna Tyrell, and I will read original fan fiction for that month's installment of J. Bradley's prose reading series, There Will be Words.

Daniel and guest co-host Nancy Lechuga talk with poet Shin Yu Pai, author of the collection "Aux Arcs." She talks about why she chose to pronounce the title of her collection "Ozarks." Shin Yu is also a visual artist, and she talks about how her photographs complement or contrast the poems in her book. For this week's Poem of the Week, Shin Yu Pai reads "Inner Space" from her collection "Aux Arcs." Daniel Chacon contributes this week's Poetic License with a remembrance from his high school days. It's entitled "Two Stupid Boys."