| From Genesis to Revelations |
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By Dale Lee Kwong Calgary, Alberta
Background InformationNative Calgarian Dale Lee Kwong is a third-generation Chinese-Canadian. Her plays have placed in competitions sponsored by Alberta Playwrights Network, Lunchbox Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects and Storybook Theatre. As a poet, Kwong has read for Calgary’s ImaginAsian Writer’s Showcase, Urban Curvz Theatre, The Calgary Stroll of Poets and The Calgary International Spoken Word Festival. A career highlight was studying with Wayson Choy at The Banff Centre, and reading immediately before him. She is the CBC (Calgary) winner of Poetry Face-off 2008. Her performance will be broadcast nationally in April, with listeners determining the winner by voting on-line. Before he passed away, my father (Jack) charged me to tell the story of our family. The sacrifices of my Grandfather, Grandmothers, aunties and uncles weigh heavily on my shoulders, and I feel a responsibility to honor their memory with my work. This piece is part of a larger text about my family. For inspiration in my writing, I often visit the sculptures at Sien Lok Park in Calgary’s Chinatown. A granite pyramid shows a pictorial history of Chinese-Canadian immigration. Another sculpture is covered in leaves, and features a Dragon and a Phoenix. An inscription on it reads, “Those that came before planted trees, so that future generations can enjoy the shade.” “From Genesis to Revelations” is a poem of national history, family secrets and personal triumph. It was written specifically for the 2008 CBC Poetry Face-off, on the theme “Heating Up”. The intention was to heat up Chinese-Canadian history and show that the impact of The Exclusion Act can never be fully comprehended. The piece is part of a larger text I am working on. Note: Chinese believe they are descendants of the Dragon. Phoenix are also prominent in Chinese mythology, dying and being reborn in order to live forever. Comfort Women is the euphemism given to women forced into sexual servitude and prostitution by the Japanese military during World War II. Related linksCBC site which will update national broadcast info for CBC (National) Poetry Face-off 2008: http://www.cbc.ca/poetryfaceoff/ For background information and an interview about this poem: http://www.cuemedia.ca/CUETalk/show/cid/60 To read more of Kwong’s work: http://www.splinterswerve.com/ |
