There are names for homes that are not on any maps. The complexity of calling a place home while struggling to find acceptance there permeates these video poems. As many of us are spending more time where we dwell than ever before, the gratitude we might feel for our home is colored by a feeling of entrapment. At the same time, the comfort, safety, and services of shelter are by no means guaranteed. This screening is for the displaced, the vulnerable, and the shut-ins crawling out of their skin; for those whose struggle to define and redefine a concept of home for themselves is continual.
During a period of isolation, five young Asian-American poets across the United States explore their respective locales through the ghazal, a form of Arabic lyric poetry. Written words are read over Street View images of each poet's hometown as These Homes: Ghazals at the Ends of America deals with the negotiation of distance through foreign eyes, and the contradictions and common ground of our identities, what we leave behind, and what we continue to hold onto.
In this meditation, the artists leave their words along America's highways, across parking lots, suburbs and coasts; spaces for entry and departure, acceptance and desertion.
With a ghazal each, the five chapters are:
I. YEARNING by Alfred Yu (俞瑞德) from Elk Grove, CA
II. HUNGER by Stella Li (李静怡) from West Windsor, NJ
III. ASSIMILATION by Victor Xia (夏谱春秋) from Seattle, WA
IV. MEMORY by Celine Choi (최세린) from College Station, TX
V. FLIGHT by Minnie Zhang (张明妮) from Richmond, VA
- Year2020
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, with hardcoded English subtitles
- CountryUnited States
- NotePoets: Victor Xia, Minnie Zhang, Alfred Yu, Stella Li, Celine Choi
- DirectorVictor Xia
There are names for homes that are not on any maps. The complexity of calling a place home while struggling to find acceptance there permeates these video poems. As many of us are spending more time where we dwell than ever before, the gratitude we might feel for our home is colored by a feeling of entrapment. At the same time, the comfort, safety, and services of shelter are by no means guaranteed. This screening is for the displaced, the vulnerable, and the shut-ins crawling out of their skin; for those whose struggle to define and redefine a concept of home for themselves is continual.
During a period of isolation, five young Asian-American poets across the United States explore their respective locales through the ghazal, a form of Arabic lyric poetry. Written words are read over Street View images of each poet's hometown as These Homes: Ghazals at the Ends of America deals with the negotiation of distance through foreign eyes, and the contradictions and common ground of our identities, what we leave behind, and what we continue to hold onto.
In this meditation, the artists leave their words along America's highways, across parking lots, suburbs and coasts; spaces for entry and departure, acceptance and desertion.
With a ghazal each, the five chapters are:
I. YEARNING by Alfred Yu (俞瑞德) from Elk Grove, CA
II. HUNGER by Stella Li (李静怡) from West Windsor, NJ
III. ASSIMILATION by Victor Xia (夏谱春秋) from Seattle, WA
IV. MEMORY by Celine Choi (최세린) from College Station, TX
V. FLIGHT by Minnie Zhang (张明妮) from Richmond, VA
- Year2020
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, with hardcoded English subtitles
- CountryUnited States
- NotePoets: Victor Xia, Minnie Zhang, Alfred Yu, Stella Li, Celine Choi
- DirectorVictor Xia