On Oct. 24, Grand Valley State University’s Department of Writing encouraged students to spend their evening at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids for a poetry night with acclaimed poet Paisley Rekdal. The event was part of the University’s Arts Celebration program, which is organized by the Department of Visual & Media Arts (VMA), and provided a culturally educational experience for students.
The yearly programming includes free arts, literature and performance events for GVSU and the local community. Every year, the celebration features a poetry reading. This year, Rekdal read from her newest book, “West: A Translation,” and educated those in attendance about the struggles that Chinese Americans faced during the Chinese Exclusion Act. Rekdal also accompanied her reading with videos and historical essays for viewers to follow along.
One side of Rekdal’s family is of Chinese heritage, and she grew up on the West Coast. She added that the Chinese Exclusion Act affected a lot of Chinese American families, including her own, and wants to educate and inspire others through her books and poetry.
“West: A Translation” includes Rekdal’s translations of Chinese poems that show how the Transcontinental Railroad impacted the lives of workers and the cultural impact that the railroad brought to American life.
“I really wanted to highlight the ways in which the Transcontinental Railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act (are) paired together historically,” Rekdal said. “But, then also think about the Chinese contribution of the railroad in general because of my own family history.”
Rekdal emphasized the importance of sharing personal stories from history that haven’t been documented in mainstream arts and culture.
“I took a Chinese poem that had been carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station sometime during the Chinese Exclusion Act,” Rekdal said. “The poem elegizes a fellow Chinese detainee who committed suicide while in detention.”
Rekdal is currently a writer and professor at the University of Utah, where she teaches in the creative writing program, and is on the leadership team for a research center at the American West Center. Rekdal uses her teaching experience to create an educational atmosphere at her poetry readings.
“I want people to understand that poetry is one of the ways that we can see and reframe history,” Rekdal said. “The poems that I’ve written are also documentary, which is that they are archival documents to sort and create new, creative ways of looking back at history.”
Todd Kaneko, an associate professor in GVSU’s Writing Department, said that he thinks students were able to learn from Rekdal. Those in attendance were also able to speak with her after the event and get signed copies of her books.
“There is so much to learn from (Rekdal) about how to write and read poetry,” Kaneko said. “More than that, it’s important that (students) get to meet successful artists who place the arts at the center of their lives and careers.”
Kaneko said that through the Writing Department’s collaboration with VMA, he hopes the partnership can continue to host annual poetry readings. He believes bringing impactful artists to Grand Rapids can help to enrich GVSU and the local community.
“At GVSU, the arts are a vital part of our curriculum,” Kaneko said. “The GVSU Arts Celebration strives to provide impactful programming so our students have a chance to meet nationally acclaimed artists and writers, and learn more about their work.”
