Yijin
Yijin Kang
Carnegie Mellon University – French & Francophone Studies
Voici Yijin
Elle est asiatique
Une immigrée studieuse
Une machine, industrieuse
Mais je ne suis pas monophonique
Ouvrez les oreilles et fermez les yeux
Moi et toi, nous sommes tous des œuvres symphoniques
Chantant avec de nombreuses voix harmonieuses
Voici Yijin
Calme et timide
Forte en mathématiques
Fana d’informatique
Mais regardez-moi sur la scène
Une artiste du son, une musicienne
Je joue mon propre rôle, unique
Dans mon propre conte épique
Je m’appelle Yijin
J’ai des racines asiatiques
Mais aussi des intérêts artistiques
Plus qu’une seule histoire, blanche et noire
Ma culture, mes ambitions, mes désirs s’entrelacent
Comme les fils dans le tissu de mon identité
Au-delà ce que l’on peut voir
Comme les rythmes dans la partition de ma vie
Au-delà ce que l’on peut entendre
Moi, je suis moi
--
About the poem, above:
Slam or spoken word poetry is a form of poetry that aims to be performed live. As such, it departs from traditional perceptions of poetry as primarily written for an elite readership. The current form of poetry slams was born in Chicago in 1984 but performance poetry has a much longer tradition traced back to ancient times in Africa. "Le slam," as it is known in France, has garnered instant success in France and is still growing in popularity as an art form that is anchored in both urban culture and in the long tradition of the French "chanson à textes." Indeed, slam artists often engage with social issues and their impact of their own lives and communities.
In Spring 2019, French students enrolled in the 82-305 course "French in its social contexts" had the opportunity to study the form through the work of famous French slam artists such as Grand Corps Malade and Abd Al Malik. More importantly, they also had the opportunity to take part in a slam workshop with Québécoise artist Jenny Salgado. During a visit made possible by the generosity of the Department of Modern Languages, the Department of English, and the School of Music, Jenny Sagado, a Montréalaise of Haitian descent spent a week in Pittsburgh and worked with students in the course on the form, its intention, and its craft.
Subsequently, students composed their own slam poems. At the end of the semester, they performed their poems twice in front of the cameras, once with a traditional camera indoors, and once with a 360˚ camera outdoors. The texts you have here are the results of some intense self-reflection, hard work, and a week of fun spent with Jenny.