It's late Sunday night. I'm taking a break from the task of preparing for a short reading tomorrow at Drexel University. I'll be reading as part of a "marathon reading" where poets, fiction writers, and essayists read their work, one after another, all day long. There will be short breaks for the audience, and each reader will take questions from the audience. I am making a few notes about artist Ai Weiwei and poet Bei Dao so that I can bring attention to the work of writers and artists who are suffering for human rights. Ai Weiwei was arrested by the Chinese government on April 3rd for charges that only exist in paranoid and oppressive countries. Ai is an activist, trying to bring attention to social problems in China--problems that when simply spoken of often put him at odds with the government. Or, from their perspective, he is the social problem. Ai's story is a fascinating one: an artist who designed the most noted structure at the Beijing Olympics--the pride of the Chinese Government--is now under arrest. I plan to use part of my time during the marathon tomorrow to read three poems by Chinese activist and exile, Bei Dao, and a quote from Ai Weiwei's TED talk--his talk was actually delivered via a pre-recorded video that managed to make it out of China to the TED talks. Bei Dao's work is available online through a SALT / Jacket co-issue published in July of 2001. Here's Weiwei's quote.
"You need people who can act, who can give-up their opinions, who can talk to the young people, to try to find a way to encourage people to be involved. Only when you are doing that, can you have a civil society."
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