Yale's Premier Asian American Poetry & Performance Group

Jook Songs was founded by David Lin in 1999. We are Yale’s official Asian & Asian American spoken word group. Our name comes from the term jook-sing, which is derived from the Cantonese words for "empty bamboo." Chinese immigrant parents used it as a derogatory term for their American-born children--they looked Asian on the outside but were empty, devoid of Asian culture or heritage on the inside. Turning jook-sing into Jook Songs indicates that there are, in fact, voices inside those bamboo stalks.

 

Since our founding, we have collaborated with artists such as Sally Wen Mao and Princess Nokia, performed at the Asian American Writers' Workshop, hosted open mics for incoming Yale first-years, created youth poetry workshops with Splash at Yale, and more. Our members and alumni have gone on to direct musicals, write New York Times best-sellers, win fellowships, and receive publication in Poetry. 

 

We lead weekly writing workshops at Yale's Asian American Cultural Center and host poetry shows at the end of every semester. You can view our past events on our Facebook page here.