Poet Nellie Wong joined the Del Sol Quartet for Angel Island Insights for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Class at SF State. The mini-course explored Angel Island history through stories, poetry, and music with an in-person outdoor event in the Presidio on Thursday, September 30, 2021; 1:00 pm-3:30 pm.
Led by Angel Island descendant Andi Wong, “Angel Island Insights” brings to life the compelling tale of community resolve and collective advocacy that preserved American history on Angel Island. Participants experience the musicality of Hoisan-wa, the original dialect spoken by the Chinese immigrants, and enjoy a musical performance by the Del Sol Quartet, who spoke about the process of creating a brand new work of art inspired by Angel Island history.
With Angel Island in sight, the afternoon began with Nellie’s reading of “The Seascape,” one of the many poems carved into the Angel Island Immigration Station barracks walls by Chinese immigrants.
The seascape resembles lichen twisting and turning for a thousand li.
There is no shore to land, and it is difficult to walk.
With a gentle breeze I arrived at the city thinking all would be so.
At ease, how was one to know he was to live in a wooden building?
After an introduction to Hoisan-wa and the work of The Last Hoisan Poets, Nellie read “It’s in the Blood,” a poem from her book, The Death of Long Steam Lady, which she performed in 2010 for Poetry in Motion at the U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island.
Participants walked to the nearby Presidio Theatre for an exploration of sound and language with Del Sol Quartet. The afternoon’s performance included Spring Outing by Chen Yi, the premiere of a quartet version of Phrase by Kui Dong, My Two Hearts, a poem read in Hoisan-wa and English by Nellie, and the first public performance of Movement 1 of Angel Island: Oratorio by Huang Ruo, with narration by Nellie & Andi.
The class ended with a poetry writing activity, led by Nellie.
It’s really pretty simple
Home, safety and belonging.
Longing and belonging
Belongings that are part of our soul
Which to bring, which to hold?
Uncertainty scares us
Where will we go? Who will decide?
Let’s hold each other and speak.