SHANZHAI POETRY with Panda Wong

Presented by Darebin Arts, as part of inSITU: Workshop Series - Spiralling

SHANZHAI POETRY with Panda Wong

Used to describe bootleg goods, ‘shanzhai’ is a Chinese word that literally translates to ‘remote mountain village’. Also referring to an independent group of people living in the mountain and taking it as their own home, this term also gestures towards a place of freedom from authority and control.   

Moving beyond just direct imitation, ‘shanzhai’ has become a way for people to take the original, pull it apart, reconstruct, embellish, and make it something new. How can it inspire us to write poems of innovation... deviance… or collectivity? 

In this workshop, we will learn how to write poetry that channels this ‘shanzhai’ spirit. Together, we will read poems by Danielle Mitchell, Vidya Rajan and Chen Chen that will introduce us to centos, cut-up poetry, and lyrical borrowing. Using these techniques, we will create our own ‘shanzhai’ poems. Please bring your favourite text (poem, song, story, conversation, anything at all). 

 All participants will be sent a SHANZHAI POETRY reading list before the workshop. 

This venue is fully wheelchair accessible and has all gender bathrooms. 

If you would like to come along and require Auslan Interpretation, please send us an email at writingprojects@darebin.vic.gov.au

Saturday 10th May, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre, 189 High Street, Northcote
Free, bookings required. Limited places available.  

About Panda Wong 

Panda Wong is a poet/editor living in Naarm. She is also one-half of the music/poetry project lotus threads. With a focus on collaboration, she works across sound, film, performance, and digital spaces. Her chapbook ‘angel wings dumpster fire’ was published by Puncher & Wattman in 2022, followed shortly by her debut poetry EP, ’salmon cannon me into the abyss’. She also co-edited Best of Australian Poems 2023. 

Darebin City Council acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people as the traditional owners and custodians of the land and waters we now call Darebin and affirms that the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people have lived on this land for millennia, practising their customs and ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal. Council acknowledges that Elders past, present and emerging are central to the cohesion, intergenerational wellbeing and ongoing self-determination of Aboriginal communities. They have played and continue to play a pivotal role in maintaining and transmitting culture, history and language.