by SUSAN SCHEID
Author Wang Ping PHOTO/Wikipedia
An interview with Wang Ping, a poet and activist working to build a sense of kinship between the peoples of the Yangtze and Mississippi River valleys.
Susan Scheid: I would like to start by reading something from your book Of Flesh and Spirit.
Since my birth, silence has been my single weapon. Now it no longer suffices The need to speak leaves me restless like a hunger. My words may not say what I mean, but they’re my only means.
I feel this really speaks to all the work you do in the world. What do you think about that?
Wang Ping: I think it was true in the beginning and is still true now. And it is true for all the true poets who really struggle to find, to express their soul and spirits, and to speak through other people and speak for the other people who don’t have a voice yet. And also it reflects the general nature of language, of poetry and of our civilization.
Because language can never really truly express. That is the true nature of language – it can only gesture using metaphor, symbols, and that is where poetry comes in. I think poetry is the most effective tool to express our human nature and humanity in this world. If you look at all the conquerors, the very first thing they want to eliminate through cultural genocide is the native language. That is the deepest that they can dig to uproot civilization and conduct cultural genocide. If you look at Native Americans there used to be hundreds of languages. Now there are only three remaining. That is why Natalie Diaz’s work is so important and those who are making great efforts in teaching Ojibwa language.
SS: You have been described as a poet activist. How would you describe yourself?
WP: Well, I would definitely describe myself as a big mouth. A big mouth who doesn’t know my place as a woman and a minority in this culture. I always speak from my heart and my belief. So the moment I open my mouth, I become a political target or a political activist attracting the attack, the dislikes, and the hatred that I can feel just ripping through the air. But at the same time I also attract so much love and support from like-minded people. That is part of what poetry is for. You stir the most visceral reactions from people.
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