Spoken word artist tells story of incarceration, community action
By: Emma WestRasmus, Associate News Editor
Issue date: 3/5/10 Section: News
Facing deportation after two decades behind bars, activist poet Eddy Zheng visited Macalester last Friday. His trip was a long time coming for Zheng's friend, Political Science professor Paul Dosh.
The decade-long friendship between the two is what brought Zheng to Mac for "Breathin': An Evening of Spoken Word, Music, and Inspiration." The event was a collaborative effort by Zheng, Professor Dosh, and Dosh's brother Martin Dosh, a noted experimental and electronic musician.
A large, energetic audience of Macalester students and community members in Olin-Rice's Smail Gallery attended the evening performance. The trio told Zheng's story through various artistic mediums.
Zheng and his family came to the United States in 1982 when he was 12 years old. At age 16 Zheng was tried as an adult for robbery. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years to life in prison. During his two decades of incarceration, Eddy taught himself English, completed his GED and earned a college degree through a San Quentin Prison college program.
Zheng now works for the San Francisco Community Youth Center as a Project Manager and travels around the country sharing his story. He has become an advocate for prison activism and a voice on Asian American and Pacific Islander issues. He serves as a national advisory board member of the "Asian American Law Journal" and is also the editor of "Other: An Asian and Pacific Islander Prisoners' Anthology."
"In prison I transformed myself," Zheng said. "I was ignorant, had no self-esteem, and had no respect for anyone, including myself. I learned about taking responsibility-it's not all about me, myself and I. Education saved my life."
It was during his incarceration at San Quentin that Zheng met Dosh, who was teaching at the prison during the late 90s while in graduate school at the University of California Berkeley. Zheng was an active poet, and told Dosh that he should try crafting a poem of his own. Now a published poet who has performed at poetry slams, protests, and many other venues, Dosh remembers the beginning of his poetic career well.
The decade-long friendship between the two is what brought Zheng to Mac for "Breathin': An Evening of Spoken Word, Music, and Inspiration." The event was a collaborative effort by Zheng, Professor Dosh, and Dosh's brother Martin Dosh, a noted experimental and electronic musician.
A large, energetic audience of Macalester students and community members in Olin-Rice's Smail Gallery attended the evening performance. The trio told Zheng's story through various artistic mediums.
Zheng and his family came to the United States in 1982 when he was 12 years old. At age 16 Zheng was tried as an adult for robbery. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years to life in prison. During his two decades of incarceration, Eddy taught himself English, completed his GED and earned a college degree through a San Quentin Prison college program.
Zheng now works for the San Francisco Community Youth Center as a Project Manager and travels around the country sharing his story. He has become an advocate for prison activism and a voice on Asian American and Pacific Islander issues. He serves as a national advisory board member of the "Asian American Law Journal" and is also the editor of "Other: An Asian and Pacific Islander Prisoners' Anthology."
"In prison I transformed myself," Zheng said. "I was ignorant, had no self-esteem, and had no respect for anyone, including myself. I learned about taking responsibility-it's not all about me, myself and I. Education saved my life."
It was during his incarceration at San Quentin that Zheng met Dosh, who was teaching at the prison during the late 90s while in graduate school at the University of California Berkeley. Zheng was an active poet, and told Dosh that he should try crafting a poem of his own. Now a published poet who has performed at poetry slams, protests, and many other venues, Dosh remembers the beginning of his poetic career well.
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