The Last Hoisan Poets — Genny Lim, Flo Oy Wong, and Nellie Wong — return to the de Young with “American People,” a poetic call and response, celebrating the life and art of Faith Ringgold. Inspired by Ringgold’s work, hear the poets speak to their own lived experiences as women, artists, and contemporaries of Ringgold. The program includes performances by singer, songwriter, and harpist Destiny Muhammad, Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County Tshaka Campbell, and Poet Laureate of San Francisco Tongo Eisen-Martin.

Writers of all ages and skill levels are also invited to a poetry workshop with The Last Hoisan Poets. Learn how to write an “American Sentence,” inspired by the 13th-century Japanese poetic form called the haiku. Thlim Sim Ling Gim is the Hoisan-wa name given to Ringgold by the poets, meaning “Believe in heart, make gold.” Come write with The Last Hoisan Poets and express your appreciation for this iconic artist.

Schedule

• 1 – 2 pm \ Poetry and music, Koret Auditorium
• 3 – 4:30 pm \ Writing workshop, Kimball Education Gallery

About the Last Hoisan Poets

The Last Hoisan Poets — Genny Lim, Nellie Wong, and Flo Oy Wong — trace their roots to China’s Toisan villages, home of the Hoisan-wa (a.k.a. Toisanese/Taishanese) Chinese dialect. They hold special poetry readings in English and Hoisan-wa, to pay homage to their mother language which is at risk of fading from collective memory.

Genny Lim is the recipient of two lifetime achievement literary awards from PEN Oakland and the city of Berkeley. She has also served as San Francisco Jazz Poet Laureate and San Francisco Arts Commissioner. Lim’s award-winning play, Paper Angels, the first Asian American play to air on PBS’s American Playhouse in 1985, has been performed throughout the US, Canada, and China. She is the author of five poetry collections, Winter Place, Child of War, Paper Gods and Rebels, KRA!, La Morte Del Tempo, and co-author, with the late Him Mark Lai and Judy Yung, of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, winner of the American Book Award in 1980. 

Flo Oy Wong, co-founder of the San Francisco-based Asian American Women Artists Association, is an artist, poet, and educator. She is a recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts awards, and has been a visiting artist at various colleges and universities. She has also been featured in articles in multiple publications. Growing up in Oakland Chinatown, she spoke her family’s ancestral dialect, Hoisan-wa. In 2018, Flo published her art and poetry book, Dreaming of Glistening Pomelos, inspired by her childhood.

Nellie Wong has published four books: Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park, The Death of Long Steam Lady, Stolen Moments, and Breakfast Lunch Dinner. Her poems and essays appear in numerous journals and anthologies, including This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color, and excerpts from two poems have been permanently installed at public sites at the San Francisco Municipal Railway. A building at Oakland High School is named after her, she is co-featured in the documentary film, Mitsuye and Nellie Asian American Poets, and a poem of hers was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She traveled to China in the First American Women Writers Tour with Alice Walker, Tillie Olsen, and Paule Marshall, among others. She taught poetry writing at Mills College and women's studies at the University of Minnesota.

About the special guests

Tongo Eisen-Martin is a poet, movement worker, and educator originally from San Francisco. His latest curriculum on extrajudicial killing of Black people, We Charge Genocide Again, has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His book, Someone's Dead Already, was nominated for a California Bookstore Award. His book Heaven Is All Goodbyes, published by the City Lights Pocket Poets series, was shortlisted for the Griffins Poetry Prize and won a California Book Award and an American Book Award. His latest book Blood On The Fog was released this fall in the City Lights Pocket Poets series and named one of the New York Times poetry books of the year. In 2020, he co-founded Black Freighter Press to publish revolutionary works. He is San Francisco’s eighth poet laureate. 

Tshaka Campbell is an internationally accomplished poet, artist, performer and Santa Clara County Poet Laureate. He is a husband and father inspired by life and asks the world to “Listen Different!” Tshakacampbellpoet.com

Destiny Muhammad is a recording and performing artist, band leader, composer, and producer. Her genre, ̃Celtic to Coltrane, is cool and eclectic with a mix of jazz and storytelling. Destiny has curated concerts for the Grace Cathedral Christmas Concert Series and SFJAZZ Tribute to Jazz Harp Legend Alice Coltrane. She has shared the stage with Jazz Masters Denise Perrier, Omar Sosa, and Blue Note Artist Ambrose Akisemuire. She has headlined the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and Butchertown Jazz Fest and is the Healdsburg Jazz Festival 2022 Artist in Residence. Destiny is Governor Emeritus and Educational Chair Emeritus of the Recording Academy, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Songwriter Awardee, SFJAZZ Teaching Artist, Bay Area Jazz and Blues Award Winner, and a California Arts Council Legacy Fellow.

About the exhibition

Bringing together fifty years of work, Faith Ringgold: American People is the most comprehensive exhibition to date of Faith Ringgold’s groundbreaking vision. Featuring works from across Ringgold’s best-known series, this show tracks the development of her figurative style as it evolved to meet the urgency of political and social change. Throughout her career, Ringgold has drawn from personal and collective histories to both document her life and amplify the struggles for justice and equity. From creating some of the most indelible artworks of the civil rights era to challenging accepted hierarchies of art versus craft through her experimental story quilts, Ringgold has produced a body of work that bears witness to the complexity of the American experience. Long overdue, this retrospective provides a timely opportunity to engage with the art of an American icon.

COVID-19 guidance

Masking is strongly recommended, but no longer required for members of the public or employees while in the museum.

Ticket info

This is a free event, taking place during the Faith Ringgold Celebration. Advance tickets are recommended to ensure access to the permanent collections and special exhibitions, including Faith Ringgold: American People. Reserve workshop tickets separately. 

Contact info

Public Programs
publicprograms@famsf.org
415.750.7694