Huang Xiang: Will read his poems as part of the La Cultura series on Monday, Feb. 12 By Adrienne Urban / Staff writer

The writing is on the wall, but you probably can’t read it. However, Monday night you can hear it.

Exiled Chinese poet Huang Xiang, known for his curious poem-covered abode on Pittsburgh’s North Side, comes to UPG on Monday, Feb. 12. His poetry performance will begin at 7 p.m in the Hempfield room.

The Chinese characters which cover the poet’s house aren’t simply cultural graffiti. “House Poem” is a visual testament to the freedom Huang enjoys in the United States.

Huang served 12 years in Chinese prison and labor camps for using poetry to challenge communism. He was forbidden to write and was not allowed to be read or published in China for 40 years.

“’House Poem’ enhances the community, and all aspects of Mr. Huang’s story and his arrival here are interconnected,” said English professor Kelli Maloy, who helped orchestrate the La Cultura event.

“He has become a real presence in the Pittsburgh writing community,” said Judith Vollmer, professor of English.

This may seem strange considering Huang speaks no English.

At the event, Pittsburgh poet Sharon McDermott will precede each of Huang’s readings with an English rendition of the poem.

“I would have enjoyed the reading as a performance even without the English translations,” said Maloy, who saw Huang perform last September.

Although Huang is in his 60s he is not content to simply read his poems. He performs them.

Huang leaps, dances, chants and utters guttural calls that are both graceful and riotous.

His poem, “Writing in 3-D” illustrates his use of body language to augment the language of his poems.

The oldest way to write poetry
Is with a brush
The newest way to write poetry
Is with the body
The most wonderful way to write poetry
Is to stand on your head
With mind and body as one
And dab ink
On the ground!

Maloy says audiences have a tough time taking their eyes off Huang.

“He is very dynamic, and his stage presence is mesmerizing. I was amazed by his ability to convey so much emotion, and I was able to connect with the poems through his delivery of them,” said Maloy.

Maloy is inspired that “someone who has endured imprisonment and torture can convey so much joy and peace.”

Vollmer says his life offers an important lesson.

“His story is educating a whole generation of younger writers who have never heard of Tian’anmen Square or a writer so publicly courageous,” said Vollmer.

In 1978 Huang posted several of his poems criticizing totalitarian leader Mao Zedong in Tian’anmen Square in Beijing. This became known as the Democracy Wall.

That same year Huang helped found the Enlightenment Society, which was the first Chinese civil association not affiliated with the government since 1949.

Huang wrote at night and memorized or found crafty ways to conceal his poems. He would roll manuscripts up, wrap them in plastic and dip them in wax to mimic candles.

He carried these with him when he fled, fearful of further persecution, to the United States in 1997.

The 2000 PBS documentary “Well-Founded Fear” documents Huang and wife, writer Zhang Ling’s, quest for asylum.

The couple has been hosted by Cities of Asylum since 2004. With help from the Mattress Factory, COA Pittsburgh provides a residence and living stipend for writers whose livelihood is threatened in their country of origin.