Hearing Chen Chen read his poems aloud gave me a whole new take on his writings. I studied his poetry in my Intro to poetry class, specifically his poem titled “To the Guanacos at the Syracuse Zoo.” Studying his writing of this poem, I expected him to be an outgoing sarcastic individual. However, when I actually heard him read his own poems he was very soft spoken and almost shy seeming. His poetry is much more subtle in its sarcasm in his own reading versus when one reads the poem themself. The subtle sarcasm and humor add to the uniqueness and cleverness of his work. This technique was very apparent in his second poem he read about angels. He repeatedly contradicts himself in a comical way stating how he isn’t religious, yet talks about god and an angel consistently. He says these figures are “creatures he made up” yet he “misses them.” These slight sarcastic contradictions make the poem innocent and humorous.
In addition to his subtle humor and sarcasm, Chen Chen’s incorporation of outside references including movies and songs. He incorporated coldplay songs and ideas to add to the sad melancholic tone of some of his poems. He also uses movies, but not as much for tone but for references and ideas. He used references from both Home Alone as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer to his works. These allusions make the poems more relatable and familiar for readers. These references help to make his works so unique and interesting for readers.
I found that watching and hearing Chen Chen read his work created an entirely different view of his works. I feel that his works hook the reader and keep them interested the whole way through the poems. I really enjoyed seeing him in person and hearing the writer himself reading his poems the way he wrote them and intended for them to be heard.
