Timothy Yu's Wendy Deng Poem!

Author: Margaret Rhee

Posted: 7/22/2011 - 4:31am

Murdoch, Deng, and New Media Poetics

Im thrilled to republish here, scholar, poet, and Kundiman fellow Tim Yu's poem!
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So, I'm a huge fan of Tim's work, his book, Race and the Avant Garde (Stanford University Press),
has been tremendously formative to not only my scholarly interests in avant garde poetics, but also, my
own writing of poetry as well. Tim's vital scholarship makes it possible, gives language, and renders legible
race *and/as* experimental poetics. (see also, Wendy Chun's special issue of Camera Obscura on Race and/as Technology!)

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On a personal note, Tim's work has made it possible for me to identify, claim,
and create not only as an experimental poet but simultaneously an Asian American poet.
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Tinfish Press Editor, poet and Professor Susan Shultz provides a great write up on Race and the Avant Garde here
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And you can buy Tim's book--which won the literary studies award from
the National Asian American Studies Association last year--here
<3 <3 <3

Timothy Yu's Race and the Avant-Garde

cover for Race and the Avant-Garde

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I love scholars who embody what they preach. :)

Moreover, Tim intervenes in the constructed binary of poet or scholar.

As a poet, Tim's chapbook Journey to the West won the Vincent Chin Prize from
Kundiman and was published by Barrow Street.
You can read and hear and see more about Tim's innovative poetics
@ Rabbit Foot Movies

and @ Shampoo
(both super fabulous & innovative digital spaces for contemporary poetry, I must add!)
!!!
So, Tim's recent poem, posted on fb, and his blog is about Wendy Deng.

And its kinda totally awesome, just like the "tiger swipe" that "saved" Murdoch!
I find what's happening in this poem in particular, not only interesting in
terms of content, its interventions in ideology and stereotypes,
(Asian American women, tiger moms and wives!) but the form... love the hyperlinks!
and the narrative, and/or anti-narrative... the links/lines tell another story.
worth the read, worth the click.
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The poem provokes so many questions about the intersections of poetry and new media, and race.
Thus at some point soon, we shall and must return to this. In any case, if you
for some reason missed the flurry of posts about Deng pie save,
you can get it all here in a poem.
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Without further ado, Tim Yu's awesome poem about Wendy Deng:

Chinese Silence No. 26: The Tiger Wife

by Tim Yu

for Wendi Deng

tiger tiger tiger wife

wonder woman volleyball spike

if you have an Asian wife

maybe shes not just a gold-digger?

tiger wife or trophy wife?

slam-down sister or socialite?

bright pink jacket and pencil skirt

not like gold-digger who wants old man hurt

Wendi Deng is a Power Ranger