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THE BUZZ: 'REAL KARAOKE PEOPLE'

by Kristin Tillotson, Star Tribune

March 31, 2006


BOOK: REAL KARAOKE PEOPLE

A potent voice for young immigrants and their second- and third-generation peers, poet Ed Bok Lee can conjure imagery he's only heard about from Asian elders as sharply as he can describe stumbling to a downtown-Minneapolis club (where "I ... definitively refuse to ever dance with your memory/ again, and end up giving it a/pedicure.")

While Lee's ethnic-identity angst can bog down his galloping imagination, he clearly describes what it's like to be part of a global generation. His experiments with prose/poetry blending are bold and unself-conscious, as in this excerpt from the title work:

"when you're singing karaoke
really singing from the center of your being,
in whatever town you're in, whatever bar, club or smoky poolroom
you find your spit-bright rainbow sizzling
the one hot stage light on a Tuesday evening
jukebox broken, stars
a million faceless frozen angels

the only thing that really matters is...

Destiny

and how much you can affect it with the far end of your voice..."

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