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about Kelly Tsai
Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is a Chinese/Taiwanese American spoken word artist who strengthens cultural pride and survival through how she lives and how she spits. A poet, playwright, dancer and community organizer based in Chicago and New York, she rocks stages and runs workshops at spoken word, cultural, and political venues across the country. In 2003, she hosted the National Poetry Slam Asian American Showcase and coordinated the 2nd APIA (Asian Pacific Islander American) Spoken Word Summit, which brought together over 150 APIA artists nationally. The Illinois Arts Council also awarded her the Governor’s International Arts Exchange Award to attend the 6th Women Playwrights International Conference in Manila, Philippines. In 2004, she continued to tour nationally with Mango Tribe (a fierce crew of APIA women warrior theater artists). Kelly performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in the world premiere of “We Got Issues,” a performance-based dialogue on feminine power and politics directed by Rha Goddess. She is also featured on the 2004 season’s “Russell Simmons Presents HBO Def Poetry Jam.” She collaborated with the Urban Bush Women at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in a tribute to Fannie Lou Hamer, “Are We Democracy?” She performed at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center as a part of Nadine Mozon’s “Pouring Poetry Into Performance.” “Kelly totally rocks the mic, and stays true to her style…A great writer who can deliver a political message, that will still hold up on paper. Poems that make you think, with lines that will stand out for days.” – Krystal Ashe, Mental Graffiti, Former Chicago Slammaster discography: on CD“New Skool Poetics: A Night of Chicago’s Next” webliography (in addition to this feature)Kelly Tsai's personal website: yellowgurl.com
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