The Poets Are Coming! (Arthur Sze Edition)

     Before I focus in on my encounter with Arthur, I just want to say that the morning that we spent with Carol and Arthur was a truly wonderful experience. They are two very charming people who are obviously very passionate about their craft, and it was great being able to talk to them about their work.

     Arthur is a self proclaimed “science dropout” who was enrolled at MIT prior to deciding that he wanted to pursue poetry. After being recommended by one of his professors at Berkley to move to Santa Fe, Arthur took on a series of seemingly odd jobs, such as working on a reservation and in a prison; these experiences were crucial influences on his poetry in that they provided him with very raw insights into the cultural tensions that exist in New Mexico. (On a side note, he is also an avid mushroom hunter, and if you bring it up in conversation it never fails to put a smile to his face.)

     As a Chinese-American cultural tension is something that Arthur is very familiar with; he often infuses his Chinese heritage and the tension that it generates into his writing. Arthur’s work also highlights the cultural tensions in New Mexico between the Anglo, Hispanic, and Pueblo cultures. He referred to his work (and, more generally, New Mexico) as “a braiding of cultures”, and the tension between those cultures generates “friction, heat, light, and vitality” that make both his work and New Mexico vibrant.

     One particular part of the conversation we had with Carol and Arthur was very meaningful to me, especially as a person who makes a hobby out of poetry, and that was towards the very end when they described their own writing process. They talked about how, in revising a poem, one is really re-envisioning it and that one must surrender oneself to the poem, for it is all too easy to lose the poem in revising it. They also spoke about the tension between tradition and innovation, which is always present during the creative process, and how they go about balancing tradition with innovation in their own work.

     Overall, the time we spend with Arthur and Carol was awesome.