As We Sit in a Circle on the Grass, and: 环 Circle, and: Untamed Tongue 母语

Abstract

Abstract: "Circle" and "untamed tongue" are from 离离草 Chinese Artists and Organizers (CAO) Collective's poetry writing workshops in 2022. The poems were originally written in Chinese using the Exquisite Corpse method, where workshop participants continued after each other's lines under a tight time limit to co-author collective languages and narratives. They were translated into English by CAO Collective members fran yu 嚼嚼 and huiyin zhou 徽音 in collaboration. These poems and their translations engage with the affective experiences of Chinese queer feminists in the diaspora. These collaborative processes, whether as a group or as a duet, rebuild our own lifeworlds that traverse national, geographic, and generational borders. As we call and respond to one another, and murmur tTHERE IS A HOUSEo queer/feminist ancestors and family members who seem out of reach, we reimagine what it means to be with each other, to stand with arrested feminist activists and victims of lockdowns from afar.