Jane Wong's The Poetics of Haunting

One of my absolute favorite reads/experiences of the Fall in poetry this year has been Jane Wong's "The Poetics of Haunting"or more fully, "The Poetics of Haunting in Asian American Poetry." It pushes the boundaries of our expectations with a wonderful intersection of the oral and the visual.

This is a digital humanities project based on her dissertation, with powerful and stunning performances/conversations/videos/poems/images/ephemera by Asian American poets Don Mee Choi, Bhanu Kapil, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Pimone Triplett, Monica Sok, Cathy Linh Che, Sally Wen Mao, Christine Shan Shan Hou, and Jane Wong's communion with Theresa Hak Kyung Cha.

I'm very intrigued by Jane Wong's dissertation and the Asian American poets she brought together for this project. I believe there's a tremendous amount for us to consider here in the ongoing discussions of speculative poetry, both from a technical standpoint, as well as the content.

Audio, video, text, illustrations and photography intersect significantly with history, folklore, tradition and other aspects of the human experience. I appreciate this deeply for showing us what's possible, even as I wonder where all of this could take us next.

This is absolutely essential for all emerging and experience Asian American poets to experience.