Eric Tu on Poetry

In the past several years, I have been drawn into the world of poetry, as well as prose, and recently have found myself at open mics around the Twin Cities.  Most recently, I've been at the Barbaric Yawp open mic poetry reading at the Underground Café, thanks to poet Michael Dean.  There, among other poets, was Eric Tu, who, in addition to being a phenomenal reader, has just released his first book of poetry, Space Channel 612: Journey on the Star Road. 

I asked Eric about what appears to be a renaissance of poetry lately, and he had this to say:

Though it seems like poetry has been enjoying a revival as of late, I would say that poetry never really died. Poetry has been alive in many of the biggest cities around America, especially New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Cleveland, and my current city, Minneapolis.

I've been keeping poetry alive for the past decade, from competing in my first poetry slam as a teenager, to exploring archaic meters and poetic forms, to evolving as a spoken word artist.

See, I don't believe poetry ever died out, it's just that it's popularity is much more prevalent with social media, allowing us to view videos of performances and read a plethora of works from all the great poets that have been around.

Perhaps the talent has always been in the heart of our cities, because the poets that have been relatively unknown up until the past few years have been receiving a lot of exposure lately, particularly on the Internet, and in turn local spots are understanding the importance and impact of poetry and various poetry events can be found around The Twin Cities every week. I'm proud to represent Minneapolis' poetry scene and appreciate the exposure that it has gained as of late.

I'd love to hear from you, Dear Readers, on your thoughts about poetry, your favorite poems, your favorite poets.  How is poetry different from novels, and how does it complement novels?

Find more about Eric at his tumblr page.  Eric Tu is a Judoka poet, born in San Jose, CA, and currently residing in Midtown Minneapolis. Eric finished his manuscript for Space Channel 612, a collection of poetry about his family's journey to the United States after the Vietnam War, last February on Chinese New Year and released the physical copy of the book on Chinese New Year 2017!

He is currently working on a few collaborative projects with other poets in the Twin Cities area before working on part two of his collection, which is about his life growing up as a second-generation Asian American, his disconnect from the War Experience, and being able to reconnect with his roots via family interviews and poetic introspection.

Eric is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he majored in English Literature and Asian American Studies, with a minor in Dutch Cultural Studies, and is recognized on the National Honor Society for graduating in the top 4 percentile of the U of M's Class of 2015. Eric works for Button Poetry and does judo 3 times a week..

COMING UP:

• February 10, 2017, 7 pm: I'll be reading and signing books at Magers and Quinn with Genny Kieley.  Complimentary wine and a medieval dessert!
• February 5, 12, and 19, I'll be reading on the Vehicle of Expression, part of the Art Shanty Project
• February 25, 2017: I will co-host Food Freedom on AM 950 with Laura Hedlund and Karen Olson Johnson.  Guests: Michael Agnew, craft beer expert and Ross Fischman on Russian literature.  We'll taste Russian beer: listen to the whole program from last month.

To learn more about my books, click on the images below.

If you would like to follow this blog, sign up HERE

If you like an author's posts, please click like and share

It helps us continue to do what we do

If you liked this article, you might also like
Medieval Poetry: When the Nightingale Sings
Poetry and Beer
other posts under the POETRY label