Reel Poets Episode 013 Big Fish (feat Mey-ling Perez)
Reel Poets continue to cast our lines and grab our reels and realness for another incredible episode, this time with the inimitable author of Amar, Perder, Y Renacer [https://www.amazon.com/Amar-Perder-Renacer-Poesia-Spanish/dp/B0CD3C7FCC?ref_=ast_author_mpb], Mey-ling Perez.
Mey-ling was named for a character in the Bruce Lee Classic, Enter the Dragon - but Scottt knows the name from his favorite Chinese Restaurant he use to go with his family growing up just outside his hometown of Edison in the neighboring Metuchen, New Jersey on Main Street. Even though Mey-ling's family is not of Asian descent, she has found her name to be a portal into a culture she might not have otherwise known, similar to Scottt's experiences with his son Bonzai, poetically named for a combination platter of his mother Bonnie, a Chinese horticultural practice/Japanese term symbolizing long life of 10,000 years and a sc-fi classic across the 8th dimension. Mey-ling means beautiful spirit and true to form she dazzles and charms with her stories, poems and overall vibe.
Who of you has used poetic license in telling a story or putting down a poem on paper? When does a kernel of truth pop its way toward a cornucopia of conspiracy?
On this episode we tackle Tim Burton's "Big Fish" as our special guest Mei-Ling Perez explores themes of truth versus myth, storytelling as survival, and the balance between creative expression and practical reality. Mey-ling shares how her Cuban heritage and upbringing has influenced her dynamite poetry collection exploring love, loss, and rebirth.
The group discusses how the film portrays storytelling as a way to cope with life's challenges, with Edward Bloom's exaggerated tales representing emotional truth over literal facts. We examine the relationship between the protagonist and his son, debate whether the father was faithful to his wife, and consider how myth can serve as a coping mechanism during difficult times. The conversation concludes with the hosts sharing their own poetry, including a piece about the film that Mey-ling has written.
Stay for the stories, stick around for the poems. Scott tries out Crowd Work and Mey-ling echoes the film in verse while Renzo makes waves with Everywhere Hello.
Shout out Norther Winslow-- where's your Spectre? And comment with a poem about your place of Origin.
Hey diddle diddle, follow the riddle.
Noside backwards is a circle with Metuchen in the middle.
Keep It Reel.
