Author: hoisanpoet

SFJAZZ Poetry Festival 2018 with Genny Lim

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date April 5, 2018

Thursday, April 5th – Sunday, April 8, 2018, Joe Henderson Lab

Curated by SFJAZZ Poet Laureate Genny Lim, the 2018 Wordology Festival featured “the greatest poets of the Bay Area and beyond, centered on the concept of ‘wordology.’”

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Genny Lim and Francis Wong at SFJazz Poetry Festival 2018

“I want poets to… let go of their concept of how the poem is supposed to be, to surrender to the spirit of improvisation, so the poem can breathe and become a whole new poem.”
GENNY LIM

This year’s festival is bookended by two illustrious poets: on opening night, former California poet laureate Al Young, whom Lim calls “the Duke Ellington of letters,” and who is the much-honored author of 22 books of various genres; and, playing piano at the closing matinee, Ishmael Reed (“just a lion—a political satirist, a playwright, an essayist,” says Lim).
In between is a multicultural and multigenerational lineup of poets, rappers, spoken-word artists and jazz musicians, many among them part of San Francisco’s underground arts scene, many of them social activists as well: Arlene Biala with musician Brittany Biala; Royal Kent with Copus Multimedia (his duo with composer/pianist Wendy Loomis); also Paul Flores, Tongo Eisen-Martin, QR Hand, novelist and hip-hop artist Aya De Leon, Tony Robles, rapper Equipto, the musical ensemble the Broun Fellinis, “drum strategist” Marshall Trammel and saxophonist Francis Wong. The festival includes a tribute to Charles Mingus and Native American sax player Jim Pepper.
Poetry and Jazz Make a Harmonic Hybrid by JEAN SCHIFFMAN, sfarts.org

Performance

SFJAZZ Poetry Festival 2017 with Genny Lim

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date April 6, 2017

Genny Lim with Anthony Brown & the Asian American Orchestra: “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite”

Sunday, April 9, 8:00pm, Joe Henderson Lab

The SFJAZZ Poetry Festival 2017 was curated and hosted by Genny Lim, SFJAZZ Poet Laureate. The program on Sunday, April 9 featured poetry and music by poet devorah major, and then we became, with recording artist Destiny Muhammad, and “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite,” with Genny Lim, composer and percussionist Anthony Brown and the Asian American Orchestra. The evening was co-presented by Litquake in the Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ Center, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco.

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Genny Lim, SF Jazz Poet Laureate, performs Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite at SF Jazz (2017)

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On stage, in front of panels lit in blue and reds, SFJAZZ Poet Laureate Genny Lim, Amikaeyla Gaston and trombonist Jasim Perales roar with laughter, as they perform together for "Poetry Matters" the closing performance of SFJAZZ Poetry Festival 2017.

Genny Lim with Anthony Brown and The Asian American Orchestra – Freedom Now Suite

Tags Alejandro Murguia, Anthony Brown, Asian American Orchestra, AVOCTJA, Claude Palmer, Daniel Heffez, Destiny Muhammad, devorah major, Janice Mirikitani, Jennifer Barone, Lewis Jordan, Litquake, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Mo Sati, Poet Laureate, Rico Pabon, SFJAZZ, Tennessee Reed

Mural

Hong-Lim Hall Mural

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date February 7, 2016

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The Hong-Lim House mural painted by the students depicts portraits of authors Maxine Hong-Kingston and Genny Lim connected by a dragon, on opposite ends of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A Mural Consecration Ceremony was held on February 7, 2016 at UC Santa Cruz’s Hong-Kingston Hall, where students created a mural honoring Maxine Hong-Kingston and Genny Lim.

Genny recalled, “We both came to the event and met the wonderful students. Hong-Lim Hall was formerly Oakes Hall, the dorm where students of color reside. The students voted for whom to name the hall after, and Maxine and I garnered the most votes. It was a cool event, I brought my mom and daughter, and we got lost as I took a wrong turn and navigated the Santa Cruz mountains. My carburetor started smoking, so I had to stop in a garage for a temporary fix and limped home. My poor mom was praying the whole time!!”

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Hong-Lim House Mural at UC Santa Cruz

Hong-Lim House

Maxine Hong Kingston’s books are among the most widely read multicultural books in the national public school system. She was born in Stockton, California. Her parents came to the United States in the 1930s from a peasant village in China. As a child, she learned the millennia old Chinese legends, traditions and folk beliefs that helped her make sense of her own life. Her autobiographical novel, The Woman Warrior – Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, and her book, China Men, won national awards.

Genny Lim is a native of San Francisco. The author of Paper Angels, a prize winning drama about Chinese immigrants detained on Angel Island, Lim also co-authored Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island: 1910 -1940. Lim has been honored with the American Book Award and the 1988 New Genre fellowship from the California Arts Council. She teaches theater and women’s literature at the New College of California in San Francisco, and conducts the Poets in the Galleries program at the Fine Arts Museums of the San Francisco Arts Commission. She was the graduation speaker at Oakes College in June of 1995.

Tags Hong-Lim House, Maxine Hong-Kingston, mural, Oakes Hall, UC Santa Cruz

Poetry Reading

Conversations at the Wartime Cafe: A Decade of War 2001-2011

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date November 3, 2011

Reading and signing. 30 writers marking the 10th year of the War on Terror.

Genny reads her poems, “Revoked,” “Resurrection from Egypt to Wall Street,” “Exile,” “37 Practices of a Bodhisattva,” “This is My Country,” “Life is a Riff” and “The People’s Prayer” at the DNA Lounge, 375 Eleventh Street, San Francisco.

Genny Lim’s reading – Conversations at the Wartime Cafe: a Decade of War 2001-2011

The book, Conversations at the Wartime Cafe: a Decade of War 2001-2011 is an anthology of poetry, fiction, memoir, journalism, and essays.

Conversations at the Wartime Cafe @ DNA Lounge

Thursday, November 3

6:30pm – midnight.

all ages.

$5.

Tags Conversations at the Wartime Cafe, DNA Lounge

Theatre

Paper Angels (2010)

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date September 14, 2010

Projection of the Chinese Exclusion Act, PAPER ANGELS workshop 2009. Photo by Damian Wampler.

Director Victoria Linchong’s multimedia retelling of the seminal play, Paper Angels, by Genny Lim. Performed in Portsmouth Square on September 15-17, 2010.

San Francisco Fringe Festival, 2010 – Winner, Best Site Specific Production

Workshop production at University Settlement, 2009

PAPER ANGELS takes place on Angel Island in 1915, and follows a group of Chinese who are detained on Angel Island because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. To create the world of the play, we’ll be projecting archival images not only of Angel Island, but also of anti-Chinese magazine covers, posters and advertisements that were prevalent in late 1800s and early 1900s. The play begins with photographs of the Chinese coming across the ocean and the Chinese Exclusion Act itself.
Victoria Linchong on her 2010 production of Paper Angels

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Paper Angels, Portsmouth Square, May 2010, directed by Victoria Linchong

Playwright Genny Lim joins the cast in a bow.

Promotional images for PAPER ANGELS.

Photos by Damian Wampler. Styling by Victoria Linchong. Props by Sinotique. http://www.victorialinchong.com/paper-angels

Tags Angel Island, Paper Angels, Portsmouth Square, San Francisco Fringe Festival, Theatre, University Settlement, Victoria Linchong

Performance

Where is Tibet?

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date December 4, 2009

December 4-5, 2009 at Counterpulse

“All warfare is based on deception.” Sun Tzu, 6th c. B.C.

Politics is gentlemen’s warfare. But when words fail, bombs fall. WHERE IS TIBET?, a performance piece by Genny Lim presented by Asian Improve aRts, invites you to consider the ancient history of China and Tibet before Tibet’s occupation. It is a meditation on our human capacity to understand the nature of good and evil that exists within each of us.

Featuring Genny Lim, Tsering Dorjee Bawa, Lenora Lee, and Francis Wong. Photos by Andy Nozaka.

Tags Asian Improv aRts, Counterpulse, Francis Wong, Lenora Lee, Tsering Dorjee Bawa, Where is Tibet?

Poetry

Bohemian Universe (2009)

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date November 23, 2009

"Language of the Birds," site specific sculpture by Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn. Photo by Andi Wong. 2016.

Genny recited her poem, “Bohemian Universe,” at the dedication ceremony for Brian Goggin’s and Dorka Keehn’s site specific sculpture, “Language of the Birds,” on the corner of Columbus and Broadway, on Sunday November 23, 2009.

Published in The Semaphore, Winter 2009, a publication of the Telegraph Hill Dwellers,

Tags Bohemian Universe, Genny Lim, Language of the Birds, North Beach, poetry, public art, Telegraph Hill Dwellers, The Semaphore

Film

“The Voice”

Genny Lim: The Voice by David Moragne premiered on October 2002 at the 13th Annual Black Filmworks in Oakland.

David Moragne, producer/director of Centre City Digital’s mini-documentary on Author, Playwright, Librettist, Performance Artist, Educator and Poet Genny Lim. This piece weaves through several performances and an interview, where Genny traces the origins of her voice. Documentary / Beta SP / 26 minutes

The Black Filmmakers’ Hall of Fame was founded in 1974 in Oakland, California to promote black filmmaking and celebrate the contributions of black creatives to American film. 1990 marked the start of Black Filmworks (last held 2003), a film festival designed to showcase the winning submissions to the annual film competition.

Tags Black Filmmmakers' Hall of Fame, Black Filmworks, City Centre Digital, David Moragne, The Voice

Poetry Reading

The Poetry Center: Q. R. Hand Jr., Genny Lim, and Juan Felipe Herrera (February 24, 1983)

Post author By hoisanpoet
Post date February 24, 1983

The Poetry Center presents poets Q. R. Hand Jr., Genny Lim, and Juan Felipe Herrera, presenting their poetry at the South of Market Cultural Center (subsequently SOMArts), San Francisco. Hand and Lim each read solo from their work, and Herrera is joined in his performance by Troca, a Bay Area grupo featuring a mix of percussion, bass, and guitar. The poets, who each offer extended sets, are introduced by Poetry Center director Jim Hartz, who thanks poet Wilfredo Castaño of the South of Market Cultural Center, along with the San Francisco Arts Commission, for the community-centered collaboration with The Poetry Center.

Genny Lim, two poems, Feb 24 1983 at South of Market Cultural Center — The Poetry Center

Link to FULL PROGRAM VIDEO at DIVA San Francisco State University Poetry Center Digital Archives

Genny Lim reads two poems: “She sits in a slip, mirror in hand….” and “A Woman’s Room” (noted as “a poem for Virginia Woolf”), on February 24, 1983, at the South of Market Cultural Center (now SOMArts), on a program organized by The Poetry Center, San Francisco State University. Featured besides Lim on this historic full-program video are extended performances by fellow San Francisco poets Q. R. Hand Jr. and Juan Felipe Herrera. The video-still depicts Lim drawing the Chinese character for “woman.”

Tags Jim Hartz, Juan Felipe Herrera, Q.R. Hand Jr., SOMArts, The Poetry Center