The Poet Marilyn Chin's How I Got That Name

Poet Marilyn Chin was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Oregon, U.S. When Mei Ling moved to U.S she changed the name to Marilyn Chin because of his father insistence. Chin is a noted anthologist, translator and educator as well as a poet and novelist. Her sister name was also changed from Jayne Mansfield to May Jayne because her parents thought it would be more suitable for them in society. Her poetry is noted for its direct and often confrontational attitude “How I Got That Name: an essay on assimilation” which focuses on assimilation into U.S. culture.

One of the main reasons she became poet is because she had problem with American poetry. She was fond of reading at early age and she found American poetry being self – satisfied, lovey- dovey or extraordinary. So she began writing suburban poetry. That happens to all educational poets in academic place. Chin thinks that poets really need to relate to their work." Chin analysis of recent American poetry also extends to a meditation on the style of poetry and construction. " She was also inspired by poets like June George and Adrienne Rich consider becoming an poet. I think there needs to be a dedication

both form-wise and content wise. In my opinion I just think that poetry is complicated and vibrant and vibrant art. As far as I am concerned I don't think any American poets have taken advantage of the many possibilities that poetry has to offer."

As an instructor in Literature and Fine Arts at Florida State University, Marilyn goes to educate her students "to pay attention to what they're reading,” One of the main reason she became successful was because she was exposing students to many different forms that cross cultures and languages.

"I try to tell my students that they learn in another language and relate to poetry in alternative language. I believe it's very significant that we think about ourselves as if we are competing from around the global instead of the U.S.." She has won lots of recognition and awards including the, multiple Pushcart Prizes, PEN/Josephine Miles Award, a Stegner Fellowship, the Paterson Prize, a Fulbright Fellowship, and further fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard and the National Endowment for the

Arts.

In conclusion, I learned that cultural assimilation often carries harsh party-political overtones. In her poem “How I Got That Name: An Essay on Assimilation,” from The Phoenix Gone and The Terrace Empty. Chins most poems dealt with theme of culture assimilation and diversity. Chin writes of her father’s obsession about Western values and cultures: ‘Mei Ling’ to ‘Marilyn. Other poems she wrote reflect upon the scars borne by diverse Asian Americans, including women who are valued as sex objects. Chin also compacts with the chance of second-generation Asian Americans in poems like “I’m Ten, Have Lots of Friends, and Don’t Care,” included in her second groups of poems, Dwarf Bamboo. I also learned that Chin has taught workshops all over the world. Recently, she was guest poet at universities in, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong Manchester, Berlin and Sydney taught at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. In addition to writing poetry and fiction, she has translated poems by the modern Chinese poet Ai Qing and by the Japanese poet Gozo Yoshimasu.