Asian-American poet to speak about culture, domestic violence

By TASHA GALLEGOS

Marilyn Chin considers herself a devoted mother. Not literally, though.

Although the 49-year-old poet does not actually have children, she sees her poems as just that — her children.

“They are all my beautiful children and I love them all equally,” she said. Her poetry, she said, has something for everybody.

But for Chin, who will speak Thursday in the Alice Peters Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., her path to where she is today has not been an easy road. She said adjusting as a minority in America, a woman in society and a poet in the literary world was difficult.

“There are few Asian-American poets. It’s hard to survive. I had to break new ground,” said Chin, who also noted the world doesn’t love poetry as much as fiction writing.

Born in Hong Kong, Chin immigrated to the United States at age 7. She was raised by her mother and grandmother and has lived in Oregon and San Francisco.

Chin received her bachelor’s degree in Chinese literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a master of fine arts degree in the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, a two-year residency at the University of Iowa.

She now lives in San Diego, where she teaches fine arts at San Diego State University and co-directs the school’s master of fine arts program.

Besides teaching, Chin, who is a leading contemporary voice for Asian-Americans and women, addresses such issues as assimilation and domestic violence.

“I try to speak for the subaltern, the poorest, most fragile girl,” she said.

With work and effort, she has received numerous awards, including two from National Endowment for the Arts, Ratchliffe Institute Fellowship from Harvard, PEN-Josephine Miles Awards and the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford.

The self-described woman, poet and lover has traveled all over the world, speaking and sharing her poetry. But out of all the places she has visited, one place stands out: Bali.

“It’s just luscious,” she said. “It’s a place frozen in time.”

She also calls herself a “Pacific rimmer,” visiting friends and family in Hong Kong, Seattle and Hawaii.

But when she’s not traveling, writing or reading, she enjoys working out and salsa dancing.

Even with her awards and experiences growing up in America, she said her only regret was being too “scholarly” when she was younger.

“I regret that I didn’t go wild,” she said. Although she is soft-spoken, she speaks with certainty and a strong passion for the work she does.

And those qualities are apparent in her shows, she said.

“I usually give a very nice show,” she said, laughing. “I’ll be decked in my multi-cultural outfit.”

Chin’s works include 1987’s “Dwarf Bamboo,” 1994’s “The Terrace Empty” and 2002’s “Rhapsody in Plain Yellow.”

She said she is now working on a “book of poetic tales.”

The event is free and the second in the San Joaquin Literary Association’s new Visiting Writing Series.