The Greatest Poem
Walt Whitman believed that the power of poetry and democracy are derived from their capacity to make a unified whole from diverse and sometimes contradictory parts. He said, “The United States are the greatest poem.” As a Hybrid American who contains multitudes, I see myself reflected in Whitman’s words and those words inspired me to write “The Greatest Poem,” a declaration of what it means to me to be American, to be human, to be a poem.
My poem was turned into a gorgeous, animated short film by a team of 20+ talented and brilliant artists from around the U.S. and world. Each artist took a section and illustrated it in their own style. Then, the amazing director Elyse Kelly created a beautiful, unified whole from those disparate parts. This exquisite corpse process felt like magic to me! I am so proud to share this work with you. I am so proud of this team of incredible artists.
The work was commissioned by the incredible artist Shanara Gabrielle for Arena Riffs. I am grateful she believed in my story and my ability to write it.
I wrote this poem to tell a very personal story about growing up as one of only two kids with Asian faces (my brother was the other kid) in my school in a small Southern city where the world was split between Black and White. I never felt a hybrid like me belonged in either world, never felt like I fit in anywhere really. Eventually, though, I learned to embrace my multitudes and to create space in which I would flourish, in which I could become a poem, in which I belonged in the greatest poem.
Artist Dorca Musseb, who created the flower crown imagery at the end of the film, said, “To not only thrive but be full of blossoms is the ultimate way of honoring both sides of ourselves.”
When I first shared my poem with the much younger artists who worked on this project, I worried they would find it difficult to relate. I was shocked to find out how deeply they connected with my story. I would have preferred for our culture to have evolved enough to have made my story irrelevant to them. I feel so honored they saw themselves in this work and this work become as much theirs as my own.
