A bilingual poetry recital at Duke Kunshan University brought together students, faculty, local writers and poetry lovers for an afternoon of poetry, music and cross-cultural exchange.
The event, “Poetry Connecting DKU, Kunshan and the World,” was jointly organized by Duke Kunshan University and the Kunshan Federation of Literary and Art Circles, a local cultural organization.
Held April 28 at DKU’s Performance Café, the program featured classical and contemporary works in Chinese and English, highlighting Kunshan’s literary traditions and its international ties.
Participants included faculty and students from DKU and Kunshan Chengfeng Foreign Language School, members of the Kunshan Writers Association, local recitation groups and other poetry enthusiasts.
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The recital was divided into three chapters. The first featured classic works inspired by Kunshan’s landscapes and cultural traditions.
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The second chapter brought together international faculty, students and local poets, with Chinese and English works presented side by side to create a dialogue between languages and traditions. DKU professors Stephanie Anderson and Ye Lu joined students Solana Arielle Torres, Zhiyuan Ma, Liam Roj Curaming and Delfin Kaplan in the program.
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The final chapter turned to contemporary life and Kunshan’s cultural future. It included a video recitation of “Spring” by Wang Jibing, a Kunshan-based delivery worker and poet known for writing about the lives and struggles of ordinary people.
The program concluded with a group recitation of “The Open Sky,” a tribute to Kunshan.
In his welcome remarks, Chancellor Yaolin Liu said DKU values the humanities and sees poetry as part of an education that helps students see the world through other people’s experiences. He said the event also reflected DKU’s role as a bridge between Kunshan and the wider world.
Executive Vice Chancellor John Quelch told students that writing, listening and speaking are deeply connected, especially in the age of artificial intelligence. He said the ability to observe the world, reflect on real experiences and bring words to life through performance remains deeply human. He encouraged students to use writing and recitation to record their stories and share their experiences.
Huiqing Feng, chair of the Kunshan literary and arts federation, said the event brought together DKU’s international strengths and Kunshan’s local cultural resources and showed how local traditions can reach new audiences through cultural exchange.
The recital was part of an ongoing cultural collaboration between DKU and Kunshan.
