Australian Slam Poetry Champion Luka Lesson

While Beijing may well be the most international city in China, every spring reveals a particularly diverse side of the capital via the Bookworm International Literary Festival. This year, Australian poet Luka Lesson performed his volatile lyrics of race, politics, and personal catharsis at the Festival. As the reigning champion of the Australian Poetry Slam, a featured artist at literary events throughout Asia, and the co-founder of the Center for Poetics and Justice, Lesson brings the American-born genre of spoken word to an Asian Pacific audience. Lesson finds inspiration from another leader in socially conscious spoken word: USC’s own Javon Johnson, professor and Visions & Voices Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow.

Professor Johnson holds back-to-back titles in the U.S. National Poetry Slam, as well as a Ph.D. from Northwestern University with focuses in Gender Studies and African American Studies. His classic poem “Elementary” (featured on Def Poetry) has made it all the way to the classrooms where Luka Lesson teaches poetry in Melbourne. Bamboo Offshoot organized a two-way interview via email, allowing these poets to discuss their artistry from across the Pacific.

Click here to see Luka Lesson perform his poem \’A to Z\’, from his new album \’Please Resist Me.\’

Luka Lesson: Where do academic texts meet slam cultural subtexts?

Javon Johnson: All over the place honestly. Most spoken word/slam poets make most of their money at colleges and universities. In addition, there are a growing number of spoken word poets who are joining the ranks of academia via MFAs, MAs, MSWs, PhDs, EdDs, PsychDs, and other advanced degrees. On the other hand, we are seeing a growing number of academics who are getting involved with poetry slam and spoken word communities as possible sites of study, as participant poets, and audience members.

L: Have you ever felt not accepted in academic circles because you ‘do poetry’, or in poetry/hip-hop circles because are an academic? If so, why do you think this is?

J: No. I actually study slam and spoken word, so spoken word and slam are the very reason I am accepted (literally in the sense of the reason I got into my PhD program at Northwestern, the reason I got fellowships and jobs too). I am not an “academic poet” so I have never dealt with that world, if that’s what is being asked.

L: Is there one poem you have written that has helped you transform into a better/stronger/more aware human being? How?

J: I hope most of them, but certainly “You, Still, Father,” a poem I wrote about how I both love and hate my dad in the same breath. Not only did it allow me to better understand our relationship (or lack thereof), but it also allowed me to both see and accept the tougher contradictory parts of all human relationships. In addition, it allowed me to understand that in order for our (as well as others) relationship is to heal, not only must he apologize, but I also must allow him to (meaning healing and growing are mutual processes).

L: I have shown your video ‘Elementary’ to many of my poetry students back home… and they wanted to know, are you a ninja turtle yet? Or at least as powerful as one?

Click here to see a video of Professor Johnson performing\’ Elementary\’ on Def Poetry.

J: I literally just smiled while reading this question. I grinned from ear-to-ear. I am. Whenever I want to be. But more than anything I am a creative being that has the ability, even if on a small scale, to change the world in which I live/love.

Javon Johnson: Why are you an artist/poet/writer? Why not any other career?

Luka Lesson: I was an educator at a university for a while. But for me I realized that the information I was being paid to disseminate among those privileged enough to have access to University, was almost banned in the public discourse, especially surrounding issues of colonial history and Indigenous people’s rights. So I decided poetry would be a good way for me to access people from all backgrounds who deserve to have access to this information, no matter what their advantage or disadvantage. I believe in edu-tainment, as coined by KRS1 from his album of the same name. Educating through entertaining means.

J: In what ways is the poetry world different in Australia and the U.S.? What can we learn from one another?

L: In Australia the Slam poetry world isn’t huge, but it is growing extremely quickly. There are many people being inspired by local poets and growing as artists exponentially week by week. The Centre for Poetics and Justice is at the forefront of this movement in Melbourne especially; we just had our first East Coast tour and are regularly hosting international guests and workshops. So far the scene is full of honest, sincere, loving people who are working to build the scene with connection and respect. So far the swindlers and the somewhat rude businessmen and women I have met in the States haven’t raised their ugly heads so much. […]

I think the most important things that we can learn from each other however live in the poems we will be hearing across the oceans in the future. Too many times in the USA have I heard the old cliché jokes about Australia and Australians, and I realize that most North Americans have no idea about our history and the underground/political movements held back home. I hope all the learning we do through watching Def Jam or touring the States is slowly repaid by audiences learning about my experience as a Greek-Australian emcee/poet through my work.

Learn more about Luka Lesson and his new album, \’Please Resist Me\’, here.

J: What do you hope/think/want your poetry to do in the world?

L: I do what I do to help people. I believe poetry is transformative, both for the individuals who write and perform their work, and for those who experience it as audience members. I have seen poems quoted in Parliament, had people open up to me and tell me things they have never spoken even to themselves. I have had people in my workshops grow and change within a day or two into better, stronger, and more powerful people by meeting their demons on the page and facing them with courage. I hope to continue to help people… Getting a name for myself and being able to support myself from my art is only a means to an end. I only do the business side of things in order to reach more people, and influence positive change in their lives and therefore in the world as a whole.

J: What are the roles of an artist in world we live in today?

L: I believe that there isn’t one role of an artist. I think that would be a little too restrictive. Some artists put all of their energy into making change and protesting/lobbying their governments and others paint portraits with their own shit… who am I to say what every artists role is? And on top of this I don’t think every artist pushes the boundaries, nor that pushing boundaries is always a good thing. I think so much boundary pushing has been done in the past that less will become more, and simple beautiful work will gain more momentum for it’s realness than the work that is always out to shock.

To answer the question in terms of where I think art is going and what function it will serve in this context and into the future… Art’s role is to complicate and provide nuance in a world where words like ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘Australian’, ‘racist’, ‘Muslim’, ‘poor’ and more seem to find a way to ‘explain’ the unexplainable. The media sells us each other’s identities in blocks of millions of us at a time… art will bring it back to individual, and help us to truly hold diversity and understand there is no blanket rule for any of us. Social media will help this along if we use it right. And maybe we’ll begin to call each other by our first names more and more not by our race, political allegiances or sexuality.

J: Blue or red?
L: RED

J: Hot or cold?
L: HOT

J: Records or iPod?
L: RECORDS

J: Morning or night?
L: MORNING

J: Serious or silly?
L: Silly as fuck.

J: Rich or poor?
L: Poor.

J: First love or last love?
L: Last love.

J: Music or poetry?
L: Music.

J: Write any sentence that comes to mind after answering these absurdly random questions.

L: Fuck a definition, words are boxes we use to unlock our being boxed in. What a conundrum. Thanks God, for your contradiction. Somewhere between them all is the truth. Silent as it always is.

David Lau is the former Art Editor, illustrator, and writer for Bamboo Offshoot. He is currently studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing, before beginning medical school at USC Keck School of Medicine.

A Bully Free Zone sign at a school in Berea, Ohio. (Photo: Eddie S.)

A national dialogue on school bullying has been reignited with the recently release documentary “Bully,” Lee Hirsch’s moving and troubling film about the misery some children inflict upon others.

Sure, the Weinstein Company film doesn’t say anything that hasn’t been talked about before and there is a debate on whether it’s an award-winning documentary or an extended public-service announcement.

Despite personal feelings about the documentary, the national issue seems to persist and remedial action doesn’t seem to be working.

The $1.1 million documentary is pertinent to everyone, especially to the Asian-American community because studies have shown they are some of the most bullied in U.S. schools.

According to a 2007 CNN article by Elizabeth Cohen, Asian-American women have the highest suicidal rates for females aged 15-24.

Below are several factors that Cohen discusses. I added my own commentary when relevant.

1) Asian immigrant parents set high academic and career expectations for their children + the “model minority” myth.

When I was little, my grandma and dad would often remind me how hard they worked so that my sisters and I could have an education and well-paying job. One time I came home with a 99 percent score on a test. Instead of saying “good job,” my dad asked, “What happened to the other 1 percent?” My classmates also subscribed to the model minority myth, poking fun at me whenever I got less than a perfect score. As a result, I always felt like I needed to succeed to make my parents happy and to avoid teasing at school.

2) Asian-American parents are stricter with daughters than sons.

Growing up, sometimes I felt my parents were being overprotective. I know it was because they cared about me, but I often suspect that they would have been more lenient if I were a boy.

3) In Asian cultures, one generally does not question one’s parents. According to Cohen, this feeling of helplessness turns into depression for girls and rebellious behavior for boys.

When I was little, I assumed that whatever my parents said was to be obeyed. I usually didn’t talk back, partially because I feared additional lecturing or punishment, and partially because I felt guilty after hearing about how comfortable my life was compared to previous generations.

4) Asian Americans are a visible minority and may be dissatisfied with their physical appearance.

Growing up, I was one of the only Asian faces in my classes. I hated looking different and used to be insecure about my height and eyes and hair color.

5) Young Asian-American women may inherit or mimic suicidal behavior from parents, especially their mothers.

I would like to add another factor:

6) Many Asian Americans face pressure to maintain family honor and status. This could explain why we may be reluctant to seek counseling or confide with friends about personal issues. We may fear that others will find out about our dysfunctional families or shameful problems and we will lose credibility and respect in our communities’ eyes for not being “normal.”

Do you agree or disagree with Cohen’s analysis? What other factors do you think contribute to depression and suicide in young Asian-American women?

Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

This article was originally posted by UCLA’s Pacific Ties.

Related Stories —

NPR: Asian-American Women More Likely To Attempt Suicide

hardboiled: Young Asian American Women: Under Double Pressure

MAASU: Suicide Rates of APIA Students – Unheard Death of Ka Vang

By Jeffrey Ledesma

President Barack Obama nominated Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim on Friday, March 23, to succeed Robert Zoellick as he next president of the World Bank.

Although Kim, 52, is highly regarded for his leadership on global health issues, he is relatively an unknown in political or financial circles. President Obama was under great pressure to select Zoellick’s replacement, the executive who is scheduled to retire in June.

According to The Washington Post, the president needed to find a nominee known not so much for political connections in Washington as for a demonstrated ability to carry on the bank’s mission of fostering development, especially in the poorest countries.

President Obama found that nominee in Kim who was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States at the age of 5.

“We believe Mr. Obama has done just that in choosing… Kim, a physician who has dedicated most of his career to delivering health care to destitute people worldwide,” the editorial board wrote.

Many people agree. The state news agency Xinhua, according to the UK Telegraph, said the choice to make the a public health expert born in Seoul and raised in the U.S., is “encouraging”.

Related Articles —

Huffington Post: Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Nominee, Raps At Dartmouth

UK Telegraph: Chinese Say Jim Yong Kim’s World Bank Nomination is ‘Encouraging’

Reuters: U.S. Steps Up its Push to Keep Top World Bank Role

By Benjamin Liu

This has been a tumultuous month for Jeremy Lin, the first American-born Chinese (or American-born Taiwanese) NBA player.

After starting for the first time in February, he was able to lead the New York Knicks to seven straight victories virtually without All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

It was expected that when the two returned, the Knicks would only have more firepower, but the ball club instead found itself struggling.

Lin and Stoudemire have worked well with each other in the pick-and-roll because Stoudemire thrived under a similar offensive scheme in Phoenix. Lin and Anthony, on the other hand, have yet to find the same balance because Anthony demands the ball for isolation plays, a style of play that doesn’t depend on Lin’s presence on the floor.

Protesters at the Million Hoodies Union Square in New York demand justice in response to the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. (Photo by David Shankbone)

Many opponents of hate crime legislation argue that hate crimes are no more harmful than ordinary crimes. I beg to differ. Hate crimes are a constant reminder that prejudice is not only alive and well but also thriving in American society.

As dozens of residents take to the Los Angeles streets today in tribute to Trayvon Martin, the black 17-year-old fatally shot by a neighborhood watchman in Florida, it’s hard not to realize that a post-racialized American is far from our reality.

Martin serves as a current reminder that we live in a racialized world. For the Asian-American community, there was a reminder in the Vincent Chin case.

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the murder of the 27-year-old Chinese American beaten to death in June 1982 by two white autoworkers who went virtually unpunished for the crime.

Students at the University of Southern California are asked about Vincent Chin in connection a documentary on Chin presented by the Asian Pacific Americans for Progress in association with Tony Lam Films.  (Courtesy of Vincent Chin Film)

“The decision was made to go public because we felt we had to fight and let everyone know the anger and sense of injustice that we had suffered,” explained Jim Shimoura, a civil rights attorney on the Chin case.

The killing of Chin and Martin sparked and continues to ignite a public outpour of support and outrage that hauntingly mirrors one another.

In response to the courts slap-on-the-wrist punishments for Chin’s murderers, diverse groups of people flooded the streets holding up signs that demanded justice. Signs that read “Chin Up for Justice,” “A Job is a License to Kill,” and “$3000 for a Human Life?”

On Monday, in the City of Angeles, one march for the slain teenager was dubbed the “1 Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin,” to highlight the ridiculous notion that wearing a hooded sweatshirt, which Martin was at the time of the murder, can evoke justifiable suspicion. Click to watch video footage of the march.

“I’ll bet you money, if he didn’t have that hoodie on, that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn’t have responded in that violent and aggressive way,” Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said Friday. Click to watch full video clip.

People were livid by the insinuation that Martin was partly to blame because of what he was wearing. Rivera later tweeted that “critics of my hoodie comments think they’re mad at me but they’re really mad at the undeniably unfair reality of young male black/brown life.”

I agree that it is this undeniable reality of young men of color that needs to be addressed. However, you shouldn’t be justified in killing someone because of what they are wearing any more than you should be justified in killing someone because of the color of their skin. These two prejudging justifications are one in the same – both beyond the spectrum of reasonable human dignity. Playing off of the protest signs in the Chin case, a hooded sweatshirt shouldn’t give someone else a license to kill.

George Zimmerman, 28, called the police about following a person acting suspiciously in his gated community. Zimmerman was told to stop pursuing Martin, but he did not.

The self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman claimed he shot Martin in self-defense.  But why would any person feel threatened by a young man whose arsenal consists of a bag of Skittles and some ice tea?

With that said, a hate crime is undoubtedly tough to prove, which leaves me fearful that at the end of this tunnel Martin and his family will not find justice.

In the call to police, Zimmerman didn’t immediately described Martin as suspicious black man. Martin was simply a person acting suspiciously who, after being asked by police, happened to be black. Was that characterization brought on by the fact that he was a young black male wearing a hooded sweatshirt in a predominately white neighborhood? We will never truly know. Listen to 911 call.

The heart of the problem lies in the fact that our socially constructed racialization of different minority groups is invisibly subconscious and deeply engrained in our society. Although it allows us to live blissfully in blindness, our rose-colored submission to the myth of a post-racialized America doesn’t allow us as a society to deal with our internalized racism.

As Americans, we need to realize that racial hierarchies and stereotypes still prosper. We are all part of an audience constantly being fed a social narrative that tells us what we should think and about whom we should think it.

Nonetheless, we are not totally powerless. It is our responsibility to realize that this narrative exists and figure out how to counter that narrative in our everyday lives.

We shouldn’t assume that people with tattoos are gangbangers. We shouldn’t assume that people speaking Spanish aren’t Americans. We shouldn’t assume that black teenagers wearing hooded sweatshirts are dangerous.

As a society we have built tall walls with bricks of racial biases and it’s imperative that we acknowledge and understand these walls in order to tear them down.

Related stories —

Huffington Post: Trayvon Martin March in Los Angeles Brings Hundreds of People Downtown

Los Angeles Times: Geraldo Rivera Sort of Apologizes for Hoodie Remarks

Rafu Shimpo: From Vincent Chin to Trayvon Martin

Also, if you want to contribute please let us know at bamboo@usc.edu.

How many big-name Asian Pacific American (APA) athletes can you name?

Tiger Woods, champion golfer, drives the ball down range during the inaugural Earl Woods Memorial Pro-Am Tournament, part of the AT&T National PGA Tour event, July 4, 2007, at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Woods donated 30,000 tournament tickets to military personnel to attend the event honoring soldiers and military families. (U.S. Navy photo)

Tiger Woods, Michelle Kwan and Michael Chang are some of the names that come to mind. Considering these athletes’ sporting events (golf, figure skating and tennis, respectively), it is no surprise that most APA athletes have careers in sports outside of what Americans consider the holy trinity: football, baseball and basketball.

To the casual sports observer, it’s rare to ever spot an APA logging game time in these three all-American athletic events. For decades, Americans considered the “Asian” physique far too diminutive and feeble to match the likes of Caucasian and African American counterparts on the field or on the court. However, the corporate attitude has moderately improved in recent years as more APA athletes are being drafted to the professional leagues: National Football League, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association

According to the 2010 Racial and Gender Report Card, the NFL boasted 39 APA players, making up two percent of the league. MLB followed close behind with 23 APA players—1.2 percent of the league—while the NBA came in with just three players, totaling one percent. In the 2011 RGRC, MLB surpassed the NFL with 2.1 percent of its baseball players citing APA heritage.

While these statistics are encouraging, they are still low compared to those of other racial groups.

“There is promise, but not yet prominence, for people of Asian descent in American sport,” said Richard Lapchick, chairman of the DeVos Sports Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida.

According to the 2011 RGRC, Caucasians have dominated MLB and African Americans have overwhelmingly monopolized the NFL and NBA since 1990.

So what are aspiring APA athletes to do when the racial standards of these all-American sports seem stacked against their favor? How can APAs hope to attain the glory and recognition the American dream has come to associate with making it big in the NFL, NBA and MLB?

For many APA athletes, the answer lies in redefining and expanding what people consider an all-American sport.

Essentially American sports, like football, tend to pit one athlete against another in a battle of brute force. In these sporting events, physical strength and stature translate into success more readily than would cerebral qualities like mental focus and finesse. APA athletes, however, strike a fine balance between the two as they excel in more individualized sports like golf, figure skating and tennis.

Tiger Woods, of Thai heritage, could not have made it to the top of the golfing arena had he not capitalized on the value of his intense mental strength and focus.

“His [Woods’s] mental game is every bit as good as his physical game. If he’s seven shots out, he still thinks he can win,” said professional golfer Bob May.

At the 1998 national championships, Chinese American Michelle Kwan stepped onto the rink in spite of a foot injury that could have derailed her whirlwind figure skating career.

“She [Kwan] just went out there with such determination and focus that nothing phased her,” professional figure skater Peggy Fleming recalls, “and she went out and skated a brilliant performance.”

Many of Kwan’s fans consider this performance the program that defined her lifetime.

Michelle Kwan performs her signature spiral at a practice session at the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo: Kevin Rushforth)

During the 1989 French Open, 17-year-old Chinese American Michael Chang embarked upon an over four-hour long match against Ivan Lendl, number one ranked tennis player in the world, knowing that the odds were against him. Even though Chang demonstrated speed and athleticism, he had to rely on strategy and mental strength to get him through the excruciating remainder of the match when severe muscle cramps set in early on.

“Michael showed that with patience and mental toughness you could get close to players who were supposed to beat you, and even beat them,” said former Grand Slam champion Tony Trabert.

With their blend of physical and mental prowess, these historic APA athletes evoke in Americans a rallying spirit that is truly irrelevant of race and ultimately at the heart of every all-American sport.

As consumers of sports media, we must contribute to the effort of such APA athletes by using our buying power to advocate sports that operate blindly with respect to the race of its players.

By choosing to support other sports like golf and figure skating where APAs have a fair chance at success, you communicate to corporate big shots at the NFL, MLB and NBA, that racial profiling needs to end in their recruitment techniques.

Related Stories —

USA Today: Michelle Kwan Elected to World Figure Skating Hall of Fame

Agence France-Presse: ‘Tiger Woods of Bangladesh’ Leads in Delhi

Los Angeles Times: Jeremy Lin has Lunch with Writer of Offensive Headline

‘Smile for Nippon,’ a volunteer organization, came to speak at the University of Southern
California’s  Annenberg Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 13, to remind people that the relief
efforts in Japan are far from over. Check out the slideshow.

By Sara Clayton

A man from Tokyo and

his ‘Smile for Nippon’ team

are on a mission —

a mission to do whatever they can to support tsunami victims and keep them smiling despite the hardships they have faced.

It has been ten months since the tragic magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Tohoku, the northeastern region of Japan, and though many of us saw images and footages of cars, houses and people being swallowed up by the relentless tsunami waves, this disaster has been abandoned by the media and the rest of the world after almost a month of coverage.

But one small organization, Smile for Nippon, which came to speak in the Annenberg Auditorium on Friday, Jan. 13, is determined to remind the world that Japan still needs as much help as possible.

A group of graduate students from USC and UCLA have been touring around Los Angeles and giving presentations in order to educate people on what has happened since media coverage of the tsunami area halted. But these students would not have come together if it were not for a certain Mr. Tsun-san, who goes by the name Chonmage, the hairstyle featuring a shaved pate and a small ponytail that most sumo wrestlers don before a match.

Chonmage has visited Tohoku 17 times since the tsunami, and with every visit, he brings up amenities – shoes, sausages, games, etc. Because he lives in Tokyo, each trip he makes up to Tohoku and back covers approximately 1000 miles, but Chonmage does not mind making the trip because all the smiles he sees whenever he visits Tohoku makes all the traveling worthwhile.

“I heard that the people who lived in Tohoku needed shoes, and since I am a shoemaker myself, I decided to bring up 200 shoes to give to them,” Chonmage said in Japanese, “When I delivered the shoes, I made a pinky-promise with a little boy that I would come back. Since then, I have returned sixteen more times.”

With donations and money out of his own pocket, Chonmage has been able to brighten the lives of people from all ages in Tohoku. And along with the supplies and entertainment he gives to those in the disaster areas, Chonmage also noted how much they enjoy his presence. “They love to see my goofy outfit. It gives me a reason to talk to them and gives them a reason to laugh. Everyone remembers me.”

Chonmage, with the help of the Los Angeles team, among others, will continue to help those in Tohoku for many years to come. “My ultimate goal is to take the kids to Tokyo Disney!” exclaimed Chonmage, with a brilliant smile.

If you would like to learn more about Chonmage and his mission, please “Like” Smile for Nippon on Facebook and follow Chonmage on Twitter.

Related Stories —

New York Times: Panel Challenges Japan’s Account of Nuclear Disaster

KTVZ: Japan Tsunami Debris Threatens Ore. Coast

The Tokyo Times: Japan welcomes new foreign friends as volunteers

Here is an interview with Director David McClister as he explains the video concept, calling the vision “‘Where the Wild Things Are’ meets ‘Lord of the Flies’ meets ‘Peter’s Pan’s the lost boys.’”

Let us know what you think. Watch the full version of “The Broken Ones,” by Dia Frampton here.