While Aimee Le '12 can often be seen riding her bike by the Green like many typical Dartmouth students, she has also recently co-authored a poetry book titled "Feral Citizens."
Le a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., who is majoring in film modified with English wrote the book with her childhood friend Fiona Chamnes.
Le said she worked harder and more diligently than she ever had before in order to finish her 29-poem contribution to "Feral Citizens."
She and Chamnes are both members of The Neutral Zone, Ann Arbor's local teen center, which solicited submissions last spring to be published by Red Beard Press, The Neutral Zone's small printing endeavour.
"Fiona already had some of her poetry published before," Le said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I don't think I would have done it if she didn't offer to co-author something with me. Working with her made me realize that I could do it myself."
Le, an active member of Dartmouth slam poetry group Soul Scribes, was formerly a member of the Ann Arbor youth slam team featured in the HBO documentary "Brave New Voices." She has also shared the Kennedy Center Concert Hall stage with ?uestlove and The Roots' Black Thought last summer.
Le has also written a great deal of new material while taking classes at Dartmouth, she said.
While working on her poetry selection for "Feral Citizens." Le said she spent the majority of her free time including traditional sleeping hours. She also decided to include some of her earlier work from high school and selected pieces she had performed in Soul Scribes.
"I put some of the stuff I wrote when I was 17 or 18 in because I talked to my slam coach, and he said I had to put some of them in this book," Le said. "I think it's helpful to have a range of poems that are honest and straightforward, which showcase all aspects of my voice."
"Feral Citizens" is divided into two sections. Le's dynamic poetry constitutes the first half, and Chamness's works follow. The middle of the book also features an interview they had with Red Beard Press, which shows not only their quirky humor, but also their dedication to their craft and passion to make their words known.
Another poem, "Bac Hai & The American Way, or, my position on McCain's history of military service," unpacks Le's family's baggage, including her uncle's views on why he does not vote, her Vietnamese father using incorrect English and the opinions of McCain, on the Vietnam War, racism and greed.
"You know, there are the language poets and the life poets, and I think I had my own oscillation within that," Le said. "I think right now I'm much more interested in speech and talking, and capturing that rhythm on the page, particularly capturing some of the ways people speak especially my father."
Le drew from her time at Dartmouth as well, such as in "Poem Written By Aimee's Imaginary Roommate, Charles," and "Three (After-Hour) Words for Students of the New Hampshire School," which was the result of many late-night wanderings around campus. One of these involved running into an elderly homeless man in Novack, who told her he was "born the day of the stock market crash."
"I think I've been moving back towards a more conversational, vocal music," Le said on her new material. She hopes to publish her more recent poetry sometime in the near future, she said.
Now in its third printing, students can purchase "Feral Citizens" from Le for $10. The majority of the proceeds benefit The Neutral Zone.
