Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

This week I drafted the first piece for my final project. I stared at a blank document, not knowing where to start. The process was challenging for many reasons. The topic itself felt very vulnerable to write about, and I was not sure how comfortable I would feel sharing it during the workshop let alone have it broadcasted on the radio. I also was not sure whether or not I was engaging with the class material deeply enough. Other than the themes of the writing itself, I struggled with the form. As we discussed in class, I wanted to be more creative with the form and challenge myself to take a cross-genre approach. Initially, the piece began as a prose piece, similar to the class readings we have had thus far. However, I ended up changing it to a poem. Another reason why I found myself hesitating to begin writing was due to the ambiguity of my vision for my final project. When I began writing, I was not sure if I wanted all of my pieces to be connected to one another or if I wanted them to each be their own standalone pieces. After reading Dictee, I am leaning more towards having a more cohesive project where all of the pieces are connected to each other and build off of one another. It may be interesting to incorporate narrative elements to my final project. I am not sure how this particular piece that I wrote would fit into that, and I will need to think more about how I want all of my pieces to come together. 

When revising this particular piece, I want to be more creative in my approach to the form of this piece and use the form more intentionally. I felt really inspired by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s approach to form in Dictee. I like how she incorporates visual elements in addition to switching between genres. Our discussion of the performative of her work also led me to reflect on how I can increase the performativity of my own pieces, especially in anticipation of the radio that will be created in the future. Furthermore, the discussion of Korea’s history with Japanese colonialism in Dictee was also inspiring, especially as someone who identifies as Korean American. I really resonated with the book, as I grew up in a Korean American Catholic household. In my workshop piece, I want to explore how I can incorporate more historical context in a creative way as Cha does.