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Lesson Overview
In this lesson, students will explore the lives and poetry of the last Hoisan Poets and their connection to the Chinese immigrant experience. Through close reading, listening, and discussion, students will examine how poetry preserves language, culture, and history. They will step into the poets’ shoes by collaborative writing and performing their own group poem. By the end of the lesson, students will understand that poetry is not just self-expression, but an act of remembrance.
About Collaborator
A Chinese American poetry collective composed of three poets, Genny Lim, Flo Oy Wong, and Nellie Wong, whose families share roots in the Hoisan region of Guangdong, China. United by a shared heritage and commitment to justice, the group writes and performs poetry in both English and Hoisan-wa to honor their ancestors and advocate for their community. Their work draws on personal memory, intergenerational experience, and the collective history of Chinese immigrants in America, including the trauma and resilience of those detained at Angel Island Immigration Station.
