Brian Laidlaw: Experimental Poetry, Campfire Songs

You might not imagine abstract poetry and folk songs could come from the same brain, but why not? For Brian Laidlaw, these two are endlessly interconnected and inspiring…

Lacking rhyme and complete sentences, Brian Laidlaw's experimental poems are just plain hard for many people. But he's also a songwriter. And when Laidlaw does that, his words reach a wider audience. KFAI's Emily Bright reports. (Photo by Ali Rogers of Prana Lens.)

David Mura: Becoming Japanese →

It was such an honor that this story of mine got picked up by PRX Remix. The credit goes to David Mura, of course, who has a powerful story and tells it well. I just got to hold the mic. Though I did have the challenge of compressing a conversation about understanding and claiming his Japanese-American heritage--and using creative writing to talk about race--into just a few minutes.

When David Mura was growing up, he wanted to be white. Then he visited Japan and began to explore his Japanese-American heritage. That knowledge infused his writing — he's a poet, novelist and essayist — with a sharp wit about the long-term impact of World War II internment camps and ethnicity in America. KFAI's Emily Bright reports.

 

 

Interview with Poet Sun Yung Shin

It was a treat to interview Minneapolis writer Sun Yung Shin for this radio story. She is such a warm person, broadly interested in the world and deeply thoughtful. Example? Her new poetry book Unbearable Splendor manages to speak to the ancient story of Antigone, modern commentaries on race and identity...and robots. Curious?

Sun Yung Shin is a Minneapolis writer whose work takes on topics as ancient as Greek history and as futuristic as robots, with commentaries on race and identity thrown into the mix. With two new books due out this year, Shin spoke with KFAI’s Emily Bright about turning dilemmas into creative work. (Photo by Dan Markworth)