SLASH Featured Poet No. 2: Ariel Chu

Welcome to the featured poet series at SLASH! In this series, we interview spoken word artists of any age, any background, from anywhere in the world. We feature established poets alongside students and writers who are just beginning to hone their spoken word skills. Read on to learn about a brilliant writer and member of the HASH staff, Ariel Chu!

photograph by Sam Jeong

Name: Ariel Chu
Age: 18
Location: Eastvale, California


1. How did you first get involved with spoken word?

Though I've loved poetry since elementary school, I didn't get involved in spoken word until  college. A confluence of forces helped me to fall in love with the medium: my involvement in theatre, an impulsive decision to join my school's spoken word club, and the fortune of meeting other writers who had experience in the field. Before then, my only exposure to spoken word was through YouTube videos and the occasional high school poetry slam. It took me a while to realize that I could be an active participant!


2. What themes commonly feature in your poetry? How do you use the medium to express identity?

Poetry is a place of heightened emotion for me, a medium where the feelings I internalize around others finds a sort of cathartic expression. As a result, the subjects I end up writing about are dramatic to the point of being somewhat overwrought. There's the typical young adult angst--love, insecurity, idolizing people who are irresistibly toxic. But spoken word also provides an ideal platform for talking about problematic issues and making them resonate with an audience, and I've recently found that it's a great outlet for talking about my identity. As an Asian-American woman, I've faced no shortage of doubt about my ability to write well, engage in creative work, and succeed in the performing arts. I've grown to use spoken word as a platform not only for sorting through emotions, but also for addressing and dispelling some misconceptions about who I am. As a result, my work has turned a bit more political lately, dealing with the barriers that I've had to overcome as someone who doesn't fit the preconceived notion of who a "writer" should be.


3. How would you describe your style?

Having been involved in both writing and theatre, I love that spoken word is a chance to merge the best of those two mediums. Most of the poetry I write follows a rhyme scheme, and spoken word is an ideal platform for conveying the sense of rhythm, momentum, and musicality I enjoy. I'm also working on bringing elements of theatricality and storytelling to my performance--time will tell how that works out! Overall, I'd like to say that my works have a sense of flow and rhythm to them, a kind of sing-songiness that delivers unexpected, emphatic punches.


4. What sets spoken word apart from other forms of writing and performance?

Writing and most performing arts seem to hold the audience at an arm's length--authors speak to their readers only through words on a page, while actors and dancers have to exist in a world apart from the people watching them. But spoken word doesn't shy away from human interaction so much as it thrives off of the dialogue between the poet and the audience. A poem becomes a conversation, and a performance becomes inclusive. It's a much more personal and vulnerable form of art.


5. What inspires you?

I'm inspired by passionate emotions, thought-provoking conversations, social justice, powerful people, and larger-than-life beauty. I'm particularly enamored by the romance of deep space, the sea, and the desert.


6. Who are your favorite spoken word artists?

I've recently discovered a fondness for Franny Choi--"Floating, Brilliant, Gone" is beautiful both when read and performed. I admit to being new to the larger spoken word scene, though, so I've yet to discover a definite favorite.


7. Anything else you'd like to share about your experience? Any advice?

Don't allow others to stifle your inspiration or discourage you from your ambitions--if you can't believe in your own work, there's no reason to expect that anyone else should. Instead, use the doubt of others as fuel for your dreams. Success is the greatest revenge, and your persistence can inspire an entire slew of young poets who are in a similar place of self-doubt.



AMERICAN INVENTION by Ariel Chu

My name is Ariel.

I'm a tiny, fragile thing. My skin reeks of the color
Of anemic, washed-out sunshine. My roots are LA,
but still they ask me, "You're from China?" So I turn to them and say
That I am, and always will be, an American invention.

I spent most of my childhood adhering to convention.
When they value you for perfect grades and give you vast attention
Just for being nice and quiet and a paragon of silence
Then you learn to shut your mouth and give up all creative license

So they like you.

Yes, my mom said "people like you
Don't get work published in bookstores; no, your last name is abrasive
And the media erases
all the people with our faces
There are never special cases when it comes to people like you."

And I wondered if she's right, too.
Since I've always had to fight to
Justify my need to write to
Almost everyone I meet.

But I'm no precious fortune cookie:
Yellow and brittle, harmless and little
Break open the middle and read what you like
Protract all my sweat while you retract my rights.

And I'm not a dead white man
And I am not your Amy Tan
And I am not the robot chemist mathematician people think I am.

My name is Ariel.

My claim to creativity is no point of contention.
That is, and always will be, an American invention.


[audio coming soon]


Abigail Rampone, SLASH Columnist
slashcolumn@gmail.com

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SLASH Spoken Word: Updates

I apologize for SLASH's hiatus over the past month - my residency at the campus environmental center unfortunately interfered with this column's upkeep. I hope that all of HASH/SLASH's readers have had an eventful and productive month! Additionally, I wish a productive and literary (!) school year to all students who are preparing to return to the classroom.

Here's what you can expect from SLASH as the column resumes its weekly schedule:

• Next week, look for an interview with another member of HASH staff who experiments with the spoken word!
• The following week, SLASH will present a piece about spoken word and activism. Stay tuned!
• SLASH has established a tumblr presence to reach out to spoken word artists throughout the web. Check us out and follow us here!

And as always, please email me with questions/feature suggestions/etc. SLASH is a work in progress and I'd love to hear from you.

Abigail Rampone, SLASH Columnist

slashcolumn@gmail.com

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