In this weeks episode of Poets in the Kitchen, I rock out my mother's Vietnamese Lemongrass Porkchops. Probably the easiest of all my recipes, but also the most rushed. It's been so tough coordinating with artists. I'm in scramble mode, trying to get postings up, but trying to not rush the product.
My original premise was creating an almost reality tv-esque aesthetic with candid footage, and always having an audience. This time around- it was super tough, so I wrestled with how am I going to show the cooking and art, and if it would be ok to just shoot them separately and show them.
I decided it was ok to do this. Not just because I needed to get stuff up, but what I realized- which I'll chat more about in my reflection post on this- is I discovered why I decided on working on this project. Spoken word, comes from a place of speaking out loud. Recent history has tied it with many community based art practices, but specifically with activism and social advocacy. People without voices, join in community, to create a space where they suddenly have a voice, a platform to speak. And part of the agreement is that people will listen. Much like cooking shows, and cooking for friends- it's a space where one decides to cook, and creates a platform for that to happen, where bystanders/audience members/guests agree to eat and take in what is offered. I think it's about the communal identity that is created when entering an agreement to share something between two or more people.
This week has also been especially hard... in light of all the recent news about Ferguson, and racism across N.America... a lot of the work I do has been impacted by it. And it shows up in my poem. One point of sadness- I was hoping to put my intro/preamble of my poem and my poem together in 1 video, but length was a concern- so sadly, I had to split it. Anyway, enjoy! As always, comment and spread if you like :)
P.S. as promised... more attractive friends- even though Michael is a repeat guest :) And also a smoke alarm candid fiasco that you just can't script. LOL.
Thanks,
Johnny.
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