WCL8: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 2

Working Class History

Society & Culture, Education, History

5.0 • 813 Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2024

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Part 2 of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China, meeting with and writing about the work of Chinese migrant worker poets.

In this episode, we look at the work of the Migrant Worker Home, a self-organised space run by and for migrant workers on the outskirts of Beijing, which taught migrant workers about their rights, hosted a museum, and ran literary and cultural groups, until they were evicted last year. We also look at two more migrant worker poets, including Xu Lizhi, whose suicide in 2014 propelled him to global fame.

Full show notes including sources, further reading, photos, films and eventually a transcript are here on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/wcl-7-9-chinese-migrant-worker-poetry/

Acknowledgements

As always, huge thanks to our patreon supporters who make this podcast possible. A special thanks to Jamison D. Saltsman, Jazz Hands, Fernando Lopez Ojeda and Jeremy Cusimano.
Our theme tune for these episodes is ‘A Young Man from the Village’ by the New Labour Art Troupe, from the Migrant Worker Home. Stream it here.
This episode was produced by Jack Franco and edited by Jesse French.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to part two of our series on Chinese migrant work of poetry.
0:04.0	If you haven't listened to part one yet, I suggest you go back. I listen to that one first.
0:09.0	I listen to that one first. Before we get started, just a quick reminder that our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters.
0:39.3	Our supporters fund our work and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes,
0:44.3	ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content.
0:49.3	For example, our Patreon supporters can listen to all three parts of this series now,
0:53.3	as well as an exclusive Patreon-only bonus episode
0:56.7	that goes into more detail about the migrant work at home,
0:59.9	some of the writers that we discuss and their influences.
1:03.3	Join us or find out more at patreon.com slash working class history.
1:07.6	Link in the show notes.
1:09.5	A quick content note that this episode includes some mention of suicide and self-harm.
1:14.7	You might remember that this series is being produced and presented with the help of friend of the podcast, Jack Franco.
1:21.1	So at this point, we'll hand back over to him. In our first episode, we discussed some of the difficulties in classifying Chinese migrant
1:41.8	worker poetry as writing that balances personal history
1:45.0	with political activism and social critique.
1:48.0	In this episode, we'll talk about how poetry in China is a social practice and what that means,
1:53.0	looking at a number of migrant worker poets, including the life and work of Shui Li Juh, one of the most significant in recent years. We'll also take a trip to
2:02.2	the migrant workers home, a self-organized space run by and for migrant workers living in the urban
2:07.3	village of Pietun, on the outskirts of Beijing. All of this relates to how poetry is an art form
2:13.1	has been historically conceived in China, which Miguel Van Kravil, Professor of Chinese Literature
2:17.7	at Leiden University in the Netherlands, explains.
	...

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