Workshops and Art

This past Thursday and Friday night, I taught two undergraduate poetry workshops at HKBU. They both went really well! The theme was “Writing the City” and we looked at contemporary poems by Hong Kong poet Leung Ping-Kwan and did some writing exercises (postcard poems, list poems, writing as walking/running). It was really fun since the students came from all different backgrounds (translation, visual arts, European studies, business, etc.). I greatly appreciated their curiosity and openness. Some really difficult and important questions were also posed; for instance: what is the future of poetry? What is the future of the Book (considering online books, text-message novels, etc.)? This was my first time teaching a college-level class and, I have to say, I really enjoyed it. At the end of one class, I realized my cheeks were flushed…. not because I was nervous, but because I was just so excited to be teaching.

Yesterday, Alley, Michaele, and I visited the Old Central Police Station, which is now hosting (through March 15th) a massive art and architecture exhibit called “Refabricating City”. It’s quite impressive. Great use of the space, plus some really innovative curators. To see an installation in the middle of a prisoner’s cell: really powerful. Some rooms were fun (i.e. an entire floor covered with computer keyboards) and others eerie (i.e. an installation called “hands up, hands down” in a completely dark and barren room, only containing a cross and a touch lamp with clouds).