Staff Writer- Shy Lee
Sun Yung Shin, poet and writer, will be visiting Gustavus for the Bards in the Arb to read her award-winning writing from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on April 9th at Melva Lind Interpretive Center. Shin was born in Korea and raised in the Chicago area with many writings on immigration, identity, and transnational adoption. Her most notable work is Unbearable Splendor (2016) and The Wet Hex (2022), the former winning the 2016 Minnesota Book Award for Poetry and latter winning the Society of Midland Authors Award.
Bards in the Arb is a long-standing and recurring event, created to bring dynamic and talented writers to Gustavus and allow students to interact with them and hear the authors read their books, Associate Professor of English Matt Rasmussen stated. It is an opportunity for students to see writers, who often seem unapproachable or pedestalized, as people who were once students like them were and still are experimenting with and captivated by writing and the literary arts.
As Rasmussen planned the event with Shin, a fixed schedule has been set. The reading begins at 7:00 p.m., ending around 7:40 p.m. and moving onto the second section of Bards in the Arb. The second section quickly starts after reading finishes, at 7:45 p.m. with an ending time of 8:00 p.m. The third and final section continues with a book signing from 8:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“In addition to Sun Yung Shin’s work, I’m looking forward to learning more about two anthologies she edited (A Good Time for Truth: Race in Minnesota and What We Hunger for: Refugee and Immigrant Stories on Food and Family), especially in light of recent ICE raids, activity, and dangerous anti-immigrant rhetoric,” Senior Continuing Assistant Professor of English Eric Vrooman expressed.
As simple as it looks, Bards in the Arb holds a strong connection to the discrimination of multiple people, subtly discerned as a passageway to find solace for those who feel isolated. Even then, Bards in the Arb was not made to be one-dimensional. There will be questions and thought-provoking messages with many who could find it challenging.
“All great literature challenges us. This is the difference between literature and entertainment. It is what makes literary readings and literature amazing. They are not designed to elicit a predetermined emotion from the audience, as is the case in media designed solely for entertainment,” Rasmussen explains.
Seeing how Shin was the person to be invited for the upcoming event, it is clear about the skills she holds in writing.
“I teach pieces from A Good Time for the Truth and What We Hunger for on a regular basis in FTS and English 256: Writing Creative Nonfiction. She’s prolific,” Professor of English Rebecca Fremo added.
Students who previously took Fremo’s classes could have already experienced Shin’s readings and possibly taken a liking to it. There is no current data on the enjoyment of reading Shin’s books, however, it is expected to assume the English Professors of Gustavus would make use of knowledgeable and enjoyable books such as hers.
“If you’ve never been to a literary reading before, I encourage you to attend this one. Sun Yung is a wonderful reader and speaker and is charming, funny, and down-to-earth,” Rasmussen accredited. “I was also a student at Gustavus back in the day and meeting and hearing writers I admired broke down barriers I had erected for myself and allowed me to believe in my own writing abilities. It allowed me to connect personally with accomplished writers and connect to them in a personal and intimate way.”
For those who may find interest in writing or poetry but have never stepped foot into territory – this event can establish the foundation to help yourself push through to finally start it as a hobby or career. There is no commitment to attending the event, rather, a chance to divulge and see whether it truly is the correct match.
“Sun Yung is my friend, so I’m probably a little biased, but after hearing her read and talking with her, you’ll want to be her friend too,” Rasmussen exclaimed.
Looking past the bias, attending will build cognizance in various issues in the modern world and connections to present writers. Come and find a spot at Melva Lind Interpretive Center for a safe space in poetry and reading.