The Poetry Vlog (TPV): A Poetry, Arts, & Social Justice Teaching Channel

In support of my trans-siblings in the LGBTQIA+ communities and beyond, I posted a poem last week by Alok Vaid-Menon on @thepoetryvlog Instagram: "Identity Blues." It is from their chapbook, "Femme in Public," which you can purchase for $6 in .pdf form: (https://www.alokvmenon.com/store/femmeinpublicebook). About "Femme in Public," quoted from their site, (alokvmenon.com): "Femme In Public (2017) is a collection of poetry by nonbinary artist Alok Vaid-Menon. In the author's words it "is a dream of what it could look like to celebrate transfemininity in public – both in ourselves and for the people who desire us (by which I mean: everyone, across time, always)."" More on Alok -- "ALOK (they/them) is a gender non-conforming performance artist, writer, and educator. Their eclectic style and poetic challenge to the gender binary have been internationally renowned. Alok was recently the youngest recipient of the prestigious Live Works Performance Act Award granted to ten performance artists across the world. In 2017 they released their inaugural poetry chapbook FEMME IN PUBLIC. They have been featured on HBO, MTV, The Guardian, National Geographic, The New York Times, and The New Yorker and have presented their work at 350 venues in more than 40 countries." -- bio quoted from Alok's site, (alokvmenon.com). ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

E.J. Koh joins us for a bonus episode! She generously shares from her book, "A Lesser Love," and shares her project "The Love Letters." E. J. is a thoughtful and open hearted interlocutor. If you're looking for some feel goods and thoughts on healing and love as both poetic and social practice, listen in and let me know your thoughts! More on E. J. -- E. J. Koh is the author of poetry collection A Lesser Love (Louisiana State U. Press, 2017), winner of the Pleiades Editors Prize, and memoir The Magical Language of Others (Tin House, 2020). Her poems, translations, and stories have appeared in Boston Review, Columbia Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Prairie Schooner, and Southeast Review. She accepted fellowships from Kundiman, The MacDowell Colony, Vermont Studio Center, and The Jack Straw Writers Program. She is the recipient of the 2017 American Literary Translators Association Emerging Translator Fellowship. She earned her MFA at Columbia University in New York for Poetry and Literary Translation of Korean. She is completing her PhD at the University of Washington for English Language and Literature in Seattle. ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

E.J. Koh is the guest reader today, reading from her book "A Lesser Love," and in particular, her poem, "Beyonce's Single Ladies English to English Translation." We have a longer, podcast-only bonus chat with her coming up later today, so this also a preview into her thoughtful work. More on E. J. -- E. J. Koh is the author of poetry collection A Lesser Love (Louisiana State U. Press, 2017), winner of the Pleiades Editors Prize, and memoir The Magical Language of Others (Tin House, 2020). Her poems, translations, and stories have appeared in Boston Review, Columbia Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Prairie Schooner, and Southeast Review. She accepted fellowships from Kundiman, The MacDowell Colony, Vermont Studio Center, and The Jack Straw Writers Program. She is the recipient of the 2017 American Literary Translators Association Emerging Translator Fellowship. She earned her MFA at Columbia University in New York for Poetry and Literary Translation of Korean. She is completing her PhD at the University of Washington for English Language and Literature in Seattle. ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

E.J. Koh is the guest reader today, reading from her book "A Lesser Love," and in particular, her poem, "Testimony Over Tape Recorder." We have a longer, podcast-only bonus chat with her coming up this week, so this also a preview into her thoughtful work. More on E. J. -- E. J. Koh is the author of poetry collection A Lesser Love (Louisiana State U. Press, 2017), winner of the Pleiades Editors Prize, and memoir The Magical Language of Others (Tin House, 2020). Her poems, translations, and stories have appeared in Boston Review, Columbia Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Prairie Schooner, and Southeast Review. She accepted fellowships from Kundiman, The MacDowell Colony, Vermont Studio Center, and The Jack Straw Writers Program. She is the recipient of the 2017 American Literary Translators Association Emerging Translator Fellowship. She earned her MFA at Columbia University in New York for Poetry and Literary Translation of Korean. She is completing her PhD at the University of Washington for English Language and Literature in Seattle. ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

This week, I am continuing the new approach to the flash briefings. The past four days, I read the introduction, the 12 framing questions to Bhanu Kapil's book, and an excerpt from "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers." Today, I am reading another one of the answers she received, "67. Who is Responsible for the Suffering of Your Mother?" At the time it came out, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers" was published under the name Bhanu Kapil Rider. You can still purchase it through Kelsey Street Press and I cannot encourage you enough to snag it while it is still available in print. More on Bhanu Kapil -- (www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bhanu-kapil) ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

This week, I am continuing the new approach to the flash briefings. The past three drays, I read the introduction, the 12 framing questions to Bhanu Kapil's book, and an excerpt from "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers." Today, I am reading another one of the answers she received, "18. Where Did You Come From/How Did You Arrive?" At the time it came out, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers" was published under the name Bhanu Kapil Rider. You can still purchase it through Kelsey Street Press and I cannot encourage you enough to snag it while it is still available in print. More on Bhanu Kapil -- (www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bhanu-kapil) ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

In this episode, Patrick Milian makes a third guest appearance to break down the lyrics of and translations between both Imogen Heap's and Ariana Grande's versions of "goodnight and go"/"goodnight n go." He also reads from his favorite book of poems, Ventrakl by Christian Hawkey. We had so much fun doing this, that we are going to make this a weekly-ish special, so stay tuned for more and send in your requests for "Patrick and pop culture" segments! More on Chelsea -- I am a published scholar, poet, and university writing and poetry instructor with an MFA, MA, and Ph.C. I am completing my dissertation portion of my Ph.D. For more info on me, the tutoring, consultation, and teaching services I offer, publications, fellowships, and speaking events, visit my website (thepoetryvlog.com) or reach out via the below links. More on Patrick -- Patrick Milian is a David A. Robertson Fellow, doctoral candidate, and teacher at the University of Washington where he also received his MFA. He has been a William Ralph Wayland Fellow, the recipient of a grant from the Klepser Endowment, and winner of the Richard J. Dunn Teaching Award. His poetry and creative non-fiction have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Fourteen Hills, Mid-American Review, The Offing, and The Seattle Review, for which he was a Pushcart Prize nominee. Peer-reviewed essays have appeared in Joyce Studies Annual and forthcoming in Modernism/modernity. The Gleaners, a song cycle written in collaboration with composer Emerson Eads will be premiered by Northwest Art Song this Fall. ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

This week, I am trying a new approach to the flash briefings. The past two days, I read the introduction and the 12 framing questions to Bhanu Kapil's book, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers." Today, I am reading the one of the answers she received, "14. Describe a Morning You Woke Without Fear." At the time it came out, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers" was published under the name Bhanu Kapil Rider. You can still purchase it through Kelsey Street Press and I cannot encourage you enough to snag it while it is still available in print. More on Bhanu Kapil -- (www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bhanu-kapil) ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

This week, I am trying a new approach to the flash briefings. Yesterday, I read the introduction to Bhanu Kapil's book, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers." Today, I am reading the 12 Questions she posed in creating the book, and tomorrow (and Friday) I will read selections from the answers she received. At the time it came out, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers" was published under the name Bhanu Kapil Rider. You can still purchase it through Kelsey Street Press and I cannot encourage you enough to snag it while it is still available in print. More on Bhanu Kapil -- (www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bhanu-kapil) ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).

This week, I am trying a new approach to the flash briefings. I read the introduction to Bhanu Kapil's book, "The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers." At the time, it was published under her name Bhanu Kapil Rider, but you can still purchase it through Kelsey Street Press. I read the intro because it explains the unique framework to the text: a set of 12 questions Kapil asked South Asian Indian women. Tomorrow, I will read the 12 questions, and then for the rest of the week I will read some of the responses she received. More on Bhanu Kapil -- (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bhanu-kapil) ● The Poetry Vlog is a YouTube Channel and Podcast dedicated to building social justice coalitions through poetry, pop culture, cultural studies, and related arts dialogues. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join our fast-growing arts & scholarship community (youtube.com/c/thepoetryvlog?sub_confirmation=1). Connect with us on Instagram (instagram.com/thepoetryvlog), Twitter (twitter.com/thepoetryvlog), Facebook (facebook.com/thepoetryvlog), and our website (thepoetryvlog.com).