What Matters Most | Ep. 2 Su Hwang
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Welcome to the second episode of What Matters Most, a new video series by and for the Milkweed community. This week, poet Su Hwang invites us into her home and reflects on the ideas of interconnectedness and earthly wisdom that are comforting to her. Su also asks us to reflect on how we can sustain ourselves and each other through this difficult time—finding solace in the words of fellow Milkweed author, Robin Wall Kimmerer.
“When I think about what matters most and going forward—because there’s no going back to the old ways,—is the idea of “all flourishing is mutual,” a line from my personal bible, Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.”
To make the occasion all the more special, this past Wednesday, Su was awarded a 2020 Minnesota Book Award for her debut collection of poems, Bodega, which we published last October! Happy watching and happy reading! For a special behind-the-scenes tour of Su’s indoor garden tune in here.
We are grateful for our community. Because of you, we are able to publish transformative literature and produce special series, like What Matters Most. Learn more about our story here and consider making a sustaining donation here—any and every amount helps us live out our mission! We look forward to bringing more stories to you.
Su Hwang
Su Hwang is a poet, activist, stargazer, and the author of Bodega, which received the 2020 Minnesota Book Award in poetry and was named a finalist for the 2021 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Born in Seoul, Korea, she was raised in New York then called the Bay Area home before transplanting to the Midwest, where she received her MFA from the University of Minnesota. A recipient of the inaugural Jerome Hill Fellowship in Literature, among other honors, she is a teaching artist with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and is the cofounder, with poet Sun Yung Shin, of Poetry Asylum. Su Hwang currently lives in Minneapolis.
This collection offers a singular perspective on our nation of immigrants and the tensions pulsing in the margins where they live and work.
