Poet Ray Hsu - The Art of Breaking Free

By Leah Misener, student writer Ray Hsu, acclaimed poet and post-doctoral fellow at UBC, entertained and delighted a packed audience with his clever and unorthodox reading style during the final event of the Canada Council Reading Series at Nipissing University on March 6. “I don’t know about you,” Hsu told the audience, “but this is boring.” Taking his book of poetry, Anthropy, in both hands, he proceeded to tear out several pages in front of a room of shocked bibliophiles. After coaxing audience members to tear out their own page as well, Hsu began choosing his readings from his collection of poetry by having crumpled up book pages thrown at him; the best aim was rewarded with a reading. Hsu is not your average poet. After having published two volumes of poetry and winning numerous awards for his work, Hsu took on the arduous task of teaching creative writing in a Wisconsin prison. A connection with a colleague in the writing centre of the University of Wisconsin-Madison put him in contact with an anthology editor interested in the “first 29 days” in the U.S. prison system. With the idea of the prison anthology in mind, Hsu began teaching English classes in the daytime to inmates working towards their high school diplomas while also offering a workshop devoted to creative writing in the evenings. After almost three years of weekly workshops, Hsu and his students were able to produce a radio program of the creative work performed by the participants; a segment of the production was played during Hsu’s reading. “There is so much invested in keeping those worlds separate,” Hsu says, speaking of the restrictions of working in the prison system, and the struggle to finally publish students’ work. “The students are the reason to bring self-expression into the prison setting.” Inmates who chose to attend Hsu’s workshop gave up the chance to go to the gym each week, opting instead to learn point-of-view, description and the finer points of creative writing. “I thought the workshop would be about creating an opportunity for self-expression,” Hsu says about his experience as a poet and teacher in the prison system.”  What my students really wanted was the opportunity to learn the craft of writing for themselves.”