Literary Life // Tiffany Kang

Hey all, this is the first in a possibly never-ending series of posts from local writers about their lives, writing and otherwise. If you are so inclined, send us your stories and we’ll put them up here for others to enjoy and learn from.

I’m Tiffany Kang – a second-generation Asian-American college student from suburban America.  In more problematic terms, I’m just another kid who learned to drive a car before learning to navigate the public transportation system, and who experienced a cultural identity crisis early on when she realized her lunch wasn’t packed in a brown paper bag, but in a bento box reeking of last night’s bok choy.  She likes to think she has come a long way, having since learned the basics of SEPTA and twice made use of a rice cooker in her college dorm room. 

Since moving to Philadelphia last autumn to pursue a double major in English and Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, I have explored the literary environment around me – particularly spoken word poetry and creative writing – in ways that pre-college, suburban existence never quite facilitated. As a member of UPenn’s spoken word collective, The Excelano Project, I have had the opportunity to perform at various college venues, having slammed at the 2011 College Union Poetry Slam Invitational and collaborated with collectives at other Philadelphia universities.  However, the “college bubble” applies equally to lifestyles as it does to poetry communities.  Therefore, beginning in January, I will tumble headfirst into the city-wide poetry scene by traversing every/any open mic and slam for which I can humbly afford admission – an arena I have not yet taken the time or effort to encounter. 

I often struggle to negotiate my identity as a poet, let alone a Philadelphian poet; thus, the upcoming months will serve as quite the learning experience.  I hope to gain insight into different strains of poetry discourse at the community level, seeking to understand not only the content, styles, and slams unique to Philadelphia; but more importantly, the poets and the livelihood at the heart of their poetry.  A couple questions I want to consider:  To what extent does the Philadelphia poetry scene regard itself as a literary community, as opposed to a purely social one? How integrated and aware are Philadelphia poets of the regional or national poetry scene?  What recurring themes emerge in Philadelphian poetry and are these themes expressions of personal, city-wide, or universal discourse?  How – as a sheltered, barely 20 year-old Asian female – will exposure to the Philadelphia poetry scene influence my perception and practice of poetry as art, social utility, or medium of identity formation? 

Perhaps, come May, I will emerge with multiple answers to all these questions, or perhaps I will have found these questions altogether irrelevant.  Regardless, I anticipate a mind-boggling journey through both the familiar and unfamiliar, with the fair share of finger-snapping, howling, growling, laughing, and bawling that accompanies any spoken word experience.  Join me in my pilgrimage throughout the city. After all, whether it be (as in my case) from college kid to poetry nomad, or (perhaps in one of yours) from investment banker to undercover stripper, we all dig the thrill of an alter-ego indulgence.  Let’s not force our ridiculous dreams to wait around any longer for the courage we already have.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 12:01 pm. It is filed under Literary Life, Philly Writers, Slam Poetry, Spoken Word and tagged with asian-american, excelano project, philadelphia literary scene, philadelphia poetry, philly poets, poet profile, University of Pennsylvania poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.