No Neutral: Poetry Night with Shin Yu Pai

ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club presents Shelley Memorial Award winner and former Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, as she graces us with a retrospective reading of her poetry across the years, including her most recent work, No Neutral.

A collection deeply occupied with the notion of voice and who gets to have one, No Neutral presents poet Shin Yu Pai’s perspective in its expansive range of concerns, reaching toward what’s most authentic. She dives into explorations of place and their histories: from Port Townsend and the Inland Empire of Southern California to the deserts surrounding Palm Springs, the poet contemplates one’s identity within these shifting spaces. Throughout the book, the author weaves poems about social unrest, conflict, solidarities, friendships, the mindset of an activist, and her experiences as a woman, mother, artist, and daughter.

Joining Shin Yu is Spokane local poet Asyia Gover who will be reading a couple of her own writings including pieces from her first chapbook, East Side Solitude.

Free and open to all! RSVP and get a chance to win a book in the raffle. Donations are encouraged for those who have the financial capacity to contribute so we can continue making our programs accessible.

This event is brought to you by ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club, Auntie's Bookstore, Better Health Together, KH Consulting, YWCA Spokane, KSPS PBS, and KYRS.

Check out the rest of Asian American Heritage Month events and updates at aclspokane.org/heritagemonth.

About the Artists/Poets

Shin Yu Pai is the 2024 Shelley Memorial Award winner. She was The City of Seattle's Civic Poet from 2023-2024 and served as the former Poet Laureate of The City of Redmond from 2015-2017. She is the author of 13 books, most recently No Neutral (Empty Bowl, 2023) and Less Desolate (Blue Cactus, 2023). Her work has received awards from The Academy of American Poets, Artist Trust, 4Culture, and The Awesome Foundation. Her poetry films have screened at the Zebra Poetry Film Festival and the Northwest Film Forum. Shin Yu is also the creator and host of Ten Thousand Things, an award-winning podcast on Asian American stories that she produced for KUOW, Seattle's National Public Radio affiliate for three seasons and now produces independently.

Asyia Gover is a writer, artist, educator, and mediator. Her poetry has appeared in the multimedia collection, SEXT (boys who like butterflies, 2011), and anthology zines such as Love and Outrage (2016). She has written and co-directed three stage plays for youth performers, in partnership with Odyssey Middle School. She has taught individual and group classes to all age levels on subjects including cannabis culture, critical pedagogy, and creative language. She completed an Interdisciplinary Concentration at Fairhaven College in 2019, and has also received certifications aligning with Washington State standards in Medical Cannabis Consultation (2017) and Interest-Based Mediation (2023). In March 2024, Asyia received the Washington Mediation Association‘s “Rookie of the Year Award” for her development and management of Whatcom County’s first housing-focused mediation program. Her work seeks to capture a queer, third-culture perspective on ordinary life and folk traditions. She and her feline familiar, Cora, have made a home in the liminal space between the Pacific and Inland Northwests. Depending on the season, you might find her harvesting fruits and veggies from the backyard garden, walking along the beach at low tide, curled up with a good book, or spinning donuts in a snowy parking lot. East Side Solitude (Finishing Line Press, 2024) is her first chapbook.

About Chai Culture Club

ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club aims to communally experience complex Asian and Asian American narratives through divergent cultural media (such as film/visual arts, literary, music/podcast, and theater/performance). We help create spaces of belonging where club members can celebrate our community stories and critically discuss their impact. Club membership is free and open to any Asians/Asian Americans in the Spokane area. Occasionally, we will have events open to the public (like this poetry night). Sign up at bit.ly/chaicultureclub. For questions, please contact Frances at Zm1vcnRlbCB8IGFjbHNwb2thbmUgISBvcmc=.

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