The poems Black Star (Gaynell Warr, 1932-2015) and My Father's Favorite Past Time are part of the "Two Languages / One Community" translation project.

Two Languages / One Community emerged out of an insistent idea, the cultivation of old and new relationships, and a meeting of minds between myself and poet, graphic novelist, scientist, and translator, Chun Yu. I had long wanted my poetry translated into Chinese. After a few failed attempts to find a co-conspirator interested in translating my writing, I stopped searching and nearly gave up until Chun Yu and I met following one of my readings at the weekly “Thursdays At Readers Poetry Series” at Fort Mason curated by former San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman and sponsored by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. Our collaboration began the very next day. What started as a personal trek evolved into a shared exploration.

-- Michael Warr

Translation demands deep understanding. In our process, Michael and I spent much of our time breaking down the meaning of certain words and the cultural and historical background behind them. Often, as the translator, I drew on the social history of China, its culture, and my own experience in order to more accurately express something that is very distinct in American culture. I also relied on Michael the same way when I asked him to edit some of my poetry written in English or translated from Chinese into English. Such exchanges deepened our understanding of each other’s culture in a way that would have been unlikely. The subjects and topics of such understanding can also be quite unexpected, and often, deeply gratifying.

-- Chun Yu

Two Languages / One Community is rooted in the use of writing and translation as a way to exchange culture and experience where such exchange is rare.  We wanted to replicate our exchange and learning in community settings where African Americans and Chinese speakers lived side by side, yet had little cultural interaction. We believe that such an exchange invokes storytelling that facilitates engagement, understanding, bonding, and mutual support between communities.

Our first partnering organization was the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC). The Zellerbach Family Foundation served as our first funder. In workshops held at the OACC, we both shared our writing, including work that had been translated, followed by writing prompts in poetry and prose focused on family, workshop participants exchanged and discussed their writing.

We were especially gratified by the writers’ sharing their distinct cultural experiences and celebrated their contributions at a public reading at the OACC where they read their work. Two Languages / One Community the chapbook, includes all the writing produced in the workshops. One workshop participant translated her work into Japanese, providing an unexpected bonus that expanded our project from two to three languages.

We are proud of the agility and openness of the project. It can be tailored to all ages, novice and seasoned writers, and with languages than English and Chinese. We are excited by the prospect of taking the project to other communities.