Family, Music & The Poet’s Path: A Conversation with Taiyo Na

www.taiyona.com

Taiyo Na is a writer of poems, songs, stories and curricula who lives on unceded Lenape land (Queens, NY). The collaboration album Home:Word included a number of chart-topping songs in Asia. His writing has appeared in Kweli Journal, Poets House and in the anthology We the Gathered Heat: Asian American and Pacific Islander Poetry, Performance, and Spoken Word (Haymarket Books). He’s currently working on a collection of poems and stories about parenting and teaching.

In this engaging conversation, Lani Park and Taiyo Na explore themes of family, creativity, and activism. They reflect on their long-standing friendship, the challenges of parenting, and the importance of community in navigating today's complex realities. Taiyo shares insights on his artistic journey, the influence of youth culture, and the significance of solidarity in times of crisis. Taiyo Na and Lani Park explore the essence of life, the importance of being true to oneself and others, and the challenges and joys of parenthood. They discuss aspirations, the power of poetry and storytelling, and the significance of community support. Tail shares his journey as a father and writer, reflecting on the challenges of parenthood and the healing power of sharing stories. The conversation also touches on the role of teaching in shaping future generations & offers valuable advice for aspiring artists.

Takeaways

• Taiyo emphasizes the importance of nurturing one's voice and creativity.
• The conversation highlights the role of community in coping with societal challenges. Taiyo reflects on the influence of his mother and family background on his identity. 
• Taiyo shares his experiences of balancing parenthood with creative pursuits.
• The importance of solidarity and activism in today's world is underscored.
• Taiyo expresses gratitude for the resilience of marginalized communities.
• The discussion emphasizes the interconnectedness of personal and collective struggles. Being true to another human b

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Transcript

Lani Park (00:02)
Okay, aloha. Hope everybody is well and doing good. Today I have here with me, very honored and happy to see his face again. This is Taiyo Na. He is an amazing writer, poet, musician, father, husband, friend, human being. So this is my brother. want to say welcome to the show, Taiyo, and good to see you,

Taiyo Na (00:29)
Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Lani Park (00:31)
Yeah,

it's my pleasure. So, Taiyo and I have known each other for how many years now? Feels like decades, yeah?

Taiyo Na (00:39)
Long

time, yeah, let's see, must have been 1999, so 26 years. Wow.

Lani Park (00:45)
Oh my

God, 26 years. Well, cheers to that. I just want to share a cup of goodness. What are you drinking today?

Taiyo Na (00:54)
Definitely honey tea. Getting over a cold and still got a little cough, sore throat. But yeah, I got honey, ginger, lemon, cinnamon, and jujube.

Lani Park (00:56)
Right on.

Mm.

Ooh, very nice, beautiful. I am drinking some chamomile honey tea, so it's very soothing. Sulei made it for me to prepare for today.

Taiyo Na (01:11)
How about you? What you drinking on?

Thanks

Lani Park (01:24)
So how's your family? have a beautiful family and you know, it's just wonderful to see them growing with you online now.

Taiyo Na (01:33)
Thank you. Yeah, well, we're all right. Yeah, Jaiyu, our almost five-year-old, is the joy of our life. You know, just in... I saw, I remember when, let's Suleila Lalo was going through this, just like this explosion of creativity and art. So he's like drawing and painting all the time. He loves dancing. Dancing to APT. Are you kids into that?

Lani Park (01:42)
God bless.

my gosh, that's beautiful! Aww!

Yes, we dance that together as a family. Apt Apt. that's beautiful, man.

Taiyo Na (02:04)
All the kids love that song.

Yeah, yeah, and yep. Yeah, yeah.

Lani Park (02:15)
Sweet, right on. So what's been going on in your life? I'd love to just catch up and see what's new. What have you been up to lately? I know you're, are you still coaching or?

Taiyo Na (02:27)
No, I haven't been coaching basketball in a while since having Jaiyu, but you know, still teaching, still teaching and working on different writing projects.

Lani Park (02:32)
Hmm.

Right on.

Taiyo Na (02:41)
Yeah, feel, yeah, work wise, know, things feel good. Yeah, I can't really complain despite the crazy state of our country.

Lani Park (02:46)
Mm-hmm.

I know, right? This is the craziest it's been since I can't even remember. Lord. How do you cope? That's a good question. I'm asking everybody because we're all having to deal in our own ways with the madness that is our reality right now. So what's your way of coping?

Taiyo Na (03:11)
I mean, you know, I guess what it was was that that Toni Morrison quote, you know, it's like, it sounds like this where where the writers the artists go to work, right. So, you know, feel that like, you know, fascism wants everybody to fall in line fascism wants everybody to to just bow down and obey and be compliant and, you know,

Lani Park (03:20)
Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Word.

Taiyo Na (03:42)
reason that really not just like nurture my own voice and nurture my own creativity, but really facilitate that at others, you know, and to push others to hone their voices and speak out and think for themselves, you know, about what's really going on. So, you know, I just, I mean, I...

Lani Park (03:47)
you

Beautiful.

when.

Taiyo Na (04:07)
really find a lot of joy in substance and teaching keeps me grounded, keeps me around young people and the fabulous educators and you know, it keeps me just grounded and rooted in the times and like, you know, young folks, know, they, they, they, they, they face in the world and you know I mean? They're, they're fearless about it, you know, and, and they got, they got the whole lives ahead of them. So.

Lani Park (04:12)
Mm-hmm. Well...

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

when

Taiyo Na (04:35)
All of that, their courage and their ingenuity and their fears, all of that, anxieties just keep me very grounded, centered and inspired.

Lani Park (04:46)
Hmm Yeah, that's beautiful and I I see that in you man I remember at your wedding those kids loved you all the kids you were coaching and teaching so And I love how you you know, you really are what you're about. So speaking of that, I love your scarf And I love how you stand in solidarity and I love all the things that you do. You've always been somebody who

Taiyo Na (04:57)
Thank

Lani Park (05:11)
like our entire friendship, I'm like, I'm so glad this person exists in the world. I'm so glad Taiyo was here. Like, you make me believe in good people again. I just, I'm grateful to you for that. man. So I know you're also an amazing poet. Do you have any poetry related things coming up? I saw something.

Taiyo Na (05:21)
Thank you.

Yeah, you know, I can't believe after all these years, people still want us around. Yeah, yeah. Right. There's readings coming up, Asian American Arts Alliance, something down the hall, down the way, think it may, Flushing Public Library. Yeah, we'll see.

Lani Park (05:57)
Mmm.

Taiyo Na (06:00)
Yeah, I think that's one another one of the great joys that's been keeping me going is like just connecting with younger artists, younger organizers, people who are like 10, 15 years younger than me, but they're they're fire. Yeah, yeah. know, just that energy of like being in your late 20s and early 30s just, just, just want to really

Lani Park (06:12)
Mm-hmm. They got that fire still, right? They got that energy. It's good.

Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (06:26)
you know, do something, do something special. But, you know, they have such a much wider consciousness now. And so that really inspired me. It's like, you know, we were, when we were doing things, you know, or when I was doing things in my twenties or teens, it was just so different. You know, it was much more of a very masculine culture of trying to, you know, grind hard.

Lani Park (06:33)
Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Yeah.

Taiyo Na (06:58)
you know, the, the, the, just the attention to like mental health and just, people's emotional wellbeing and psychological wellbeing wasn't there the way it is now people's attention to, you know, gender and, and just, just non-binary ways of being and thinking wasn't there. So just keep it in touch and just keep it close context and just getting to know all these like younger creatives and organizers.

Lani Park (07:04)
Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

beautiful. Right on. Yeah, we all help fuel each other, right? And they definitely are like the sparks and the fire that get us going. Right on. So tell us a little bit about your childhood. What were you like as a child growing up? Something about your background? For folks who don't know you.

Taiyo Na (07:34)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Wow.

Wow, where do we start with childhood? I grew up in New York City. I grew up with a single mom. And I think just the way my mom raised my brother and I and just how she had to rough it, so much of it on her own.

Lani Park (08:09)
you

Taiyo Na (08:26)
really created, I think, this unique identity in me where I feel like I was attuned to how maybe women suffer by the hands of patriarchy. But I also think I was really lost because of it. I didn't see models of love.

Lani Park (08:42)
Mmm.

Mmm.

Taiyo Na (08:55)
companionship and friendship in healthy ways. So I really had to learn that as, know, so I made a lot of mistakes, you know, in relationships, especially my twenties. And so, you know, there was both of that. my mother instilled in us such resilience and creativity and just, just.

Lani Park (08:56)
Mm.

Mmm. Yo, I feel you.

Taiyo Na (09:22)
being okay with being a lot more feminine than the very masculine dominant culture. But we didn't have any models for how to really healthily relate to each other. So I had to really learn through a lot of mistakes as an adult.

Lani Park (09:41)
Yeah,

I love your mom. She's such a wonderful woman and talented and creative in her own right. She's an artist as well. Like, do you feel like you get some of that from her or what?

Taiyo Na (09:47)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, definitely. And her

side of the family are all educators. The men and women, for 100 plus years, were educators in different ways.

Lani Park (10:00)
Hmm. really run in your family. that makes

so much sense. Tile. I love that. I love knowing that about you.

Taiyo Na (10:12)
Yeah, like at all levels, you know, women who like taught indigenous folks, you know, like in Okinawa or Hokkaido, you know, teaching them like, like sewing and like cooking and stuff to like, you know, people who like, you know, high school or college professors. So a lot of educators on that side of the family. And then, you know, I have and have had a complicated relationship with my father, but my father's side is

Lani Park (10:18)
Mmm.

Mmm.

Taiyo Na (10:41)
is actually the very Indigenous side. And they're all people of the land, all people who are farmers. So, you know, there's certain kind of connectivity and, you know, earthiness that I have, a relationship to the land that I have that I think comes from my father's side, for sure.

Lani Park (10:46)
Hmm right on

Hmm. that makes sense. You are very earthy. Get it from him then. Nice. Yeah, and I love your song, Dear Mama. That's one of my favorites. I mean, I have a couple of songs of yours that are the classics in my head and heart. So, the Water and Dear Mama is just such a beautiful tribute to your mother. So, thank you for making that song. Yeah.

Taiyo Na (11:06)
I know.

Thank you. Yeah. Lovely to meet immigrant

mother. Dear mama, that's the Tupac song, but for sure, it's definitely, definitely influenced by that.

Lani Park (11:26)
Immigrant mother. Oh, sorry. I I'm an immigrant mother, you know my auntie my old

brain the Sepulchralola and the the age but I met immigrant mother Was it inspired by dear mama would you say at all or

Taiyo Na (11:43)
For sure. mean, I think Tupac was one of the sole voices, I think, in the 90s who, like he was such a ball of contradictions, you know, just like, you know, I get around, you know what I mean? Like the other side of the single is keep your head up, you know what I mean? So I think, but at the core of it, I think he was deeply feminist in the time.

Lani Park (11:45)
Mmm, I love Tupac.

Okay.

Mm-hmm. This one's for Tupac. Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (12:12)
that was anti-feminist, you know, so for sure I got those, like I remember playing Keep Your Head Up, that whole Strictly for My N-Words album, like that album was on repeat, like in the mid-90s for me. You know, I used to wake up every morning with that song, Keep Your Head Up playing. And just, you know, back in the day it was like different, you know, like you really treasure CDs and tapes and like these things were on repeat all the time, you know, my cassette tapes and my CDs, so.

Lani Park (12:25)
Beautiful.

Mmm.

Ooh, child.

Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (12:40)
For sure, think Tupac is a huge influence to allow just a young man like me to just like be okay with being vulnerable, be okay with standing up for women or speaking out for real justice for all people. yeah, and I think, obviously, yeah, like I said, it's Tupac, sure, but it's also like my mom.

Lani Park (12:59)
Bye.

Yes.

Right on. Speaking of Tupac and standing up and can you tell us a little bit about, you know, your scarf and why you're wearing it for people who may not know or people who, you know, I love.

Taiyo Na (13:24)
yeah. Yeah, This kofi

is, you know, something that kofi is indigenous to Palestine and, you know, wearing it to be in solidarity with people in Palestine and people of the diaspora of Palestine. And just, yeah, I mean, it's been really

Lani Park (13:28)
Kaffir.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Taiyo Na (13:45)
sad and tragic to see genocide and land theft, you know, roll out in real time and everybody watching, you know, social media and the news. So, yeah, you know, it's been the same story, you know what mean? For hundreds of years, it's been the same story, but for it to happen on our watch like this, the past couple of administrations especially, it's...

Lani Park (13:48)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (14:10)
It's horrible, but at the same time, it's galvanized the world. It's really shown people's true colors. the bravery and resilience of the Palestinian people is also something that we all take. And they guide us as lights.

Lani Park (14:16)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, bless them. Pre-Palestine.

They do, they guide us as lights right now in this time, you're so right. And it's so confusing and crazy and sometimes you get frozen with terror and sometimes you don't know what to do. What do you feel, what can we do to help? Sometimes we feel like we can't do anything, but what are some of the things that you do that you suggest that...

maybe other people who are watching can do who don't know like what is the most effective way to be in solidarity at this time. Do you boycott like the things, know, like Starbucks, et cetera?

Taiyo Na (15:00)
I've been boycotting the things for sure. BDS all day, boycott the investment sanctions. Like I said, for me, I'm an educator. That's how I pay my rent, both financially and karmically in this world. With teaching, I teach all the things. I don't hold back about colonialism, imperialism. Yeah, yeah, all those things.

Lani Park (15:02)
Mm-hmm. Weird.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

We're living in the belly of the beast, bros. Crazy. Do you ever feel like leaving?

Can I just ask you straight up? Like, you know how a lot of people are going back to Ghana, a lot of people are going back to their native countries and to their native ancestral homelands at this point. So I see two camps. I see people like staying to stick it out and fight. And I see people being like, I'm out. This is too much. And I respect both sides. feel like.

You know, both sides have valid reasons and you're doing it for what they feel is the best for their ancestors. How do you feel about that? Do you feel mad at the people who want to leave or do you feel like everybody's choice is their own?

Taiyo Na (15:59)
I mean, you know, migration is a human right, you know, I believe migration is nature, is natural. So folks want to migrate.

Lani Park (16:03)
Mmm.

Hmm, he's so why is he talking parables?

love it. My it's been like that. Yeah

Taiyo Na (16:14)
God bless

and good luck. at the end of the day, also, I live a very privileged, rather middle-class life here in New York City. I don't feel jeopardized, least in a financial way, to leave. But I'm also like...

Lani Park (16:32)
Mmm.

Taiyo Na (16:38)
You know, like you talk about Tupac, you know what mean? Like the Panthers and the Young Lords and the Yuri Kochiyama Asian American Movement Generation and AIM and American Indian Movement, you know, that generation in the 60s and 70s, like they were really, you know, they were really facing some heavy fascism and, you know, yeah, well, many of them were forced to go on the ground. And so we're not there yet. You know what I mean? But, you know,

Lani Park (16:43)
Mmm.

Yeah, that's true. guess every generation, this is another spiral or reiteration.

Taiyo Na (17:08)
I'm happy and honored to be part of the resistance in any way I can. like if it goes, if it comes to that level, then hey, you you know what I mean? Well, hopefully it doesn't, but let's see, you know what I mean? And I think, you know, it's, we all need to do what we can to feel safe, to feel protected and to pass on what we need to pass on. But I don't feel jeopardized to move just yet for sure.

Lani Park (17:31)
Mmm.

Right

on. Well, I'm glad to know you in these crazy times and I pray for the safety and the health of your family always. Yeah. So you have been a writer and a musician for decades now. And can you tell me how like, how do you navigate those two? Is it like sometimes you focus more on one and then another or you do both simultaneously all the time or is it more like focused on being dad or what's your?

Taiyo Na (17:45)
Thank you.

Lani Park (18:02)
creative life like nowadays and what's your process?

Taiyo Na (18:06)
Definitely the last four or five years since having Jaiyu being a dad has been my priority. In the beginning, it was really hard to accept that. Like, wow, this is like, I really don't have any personal time. Like, you know what mean? Like, I went from having like 20 hours of personal time a week to like, a month? Like, really? That was definitely shocking.

Lani Park (18:14)
Mm-hmm.

That's real. I feel you.

Yeah.

Welcome Welcome

to Parenthood, bruh!

Taiyo Na (18:35)
Yeah,

a huge, it's just sacrifice to have to accept for the first year or so. But, you know, I like, you know, I think like you said to me before, like, you know, they're, years when you write, they're years when you don't, they're years when you live in, they're years when you're, when you're studying, you know, they're years when you're, downloading, you know what I mean? Like, I, I believe that it's like really trying to listen to what

Lani Park (18:52)
Mmm.

Yeah.

Taiyo Na (19:06)
God wants you to do right now and what nature wants you to do right now. So I think, you know, how we know each other even was so.

was so special when we, you when I was in my late teens and y'all were in your twenties, like getting to know each other through performance poetry and spoken word, that was such a beautiful time. That's what was needed for my body right for then, you know what I mean? To not just like connect through poetry and song, but like connect through that community, you know? That...

Lani Park (19:17)
Hmm.

Yes, we're so blessed to be a part of that community,

right? gosh, was, mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (19:41)
Sure. So, so blessed to be part of that community. And for

me, that also laid a certain foundation to do more music, you know, in my late 20s. And everything I learned from the poetry spoken word times, you know, informed how I moved, you know, doing music in my late 20s and Magnetic North and all the music that we're creating with musicians. You know, this is now we're talking like 15 years ago.

Lani Park (19:52)
Hmm.

Taiyo Na (20:11)
So that was a special time for me too. And the last 10 years or so, I haven't really been writing a lot of music. God hasn't been calling me to do that. My body hasn't been calling me to do that. It's been more about writing poems and stories again. And it's not that I, you know, like.

Lani Park (20:12)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm, beautiful.

Taiyo Na (20:39)
music isn't a part of my life or all of that. Music is still a part of my life. love music. I love playing. I love singing. But right now, I feel what I'm downloading, what I'm channeling is more like poems and stories.

Lani Park (20:54)
Mm, that's beautiful. And I feel that's so true because we have these different chapters in life and we grow and we evolve. And so it's not like we're always stuck doing the same thing. We're always in a different evolution, a different chapter. Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. Right on. So speaking of, you know, Magnetic North, and I just saw that video again. That was a beautiful video, man, for We Belong.

Taiyo Na (21:00)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah

thank you.

Lani Park (21:20)
Is that another

video? feel like I saw a video in the past and is this a newer version? Because it speaks about the... Okay.

Taiyo Na (21:26)
That was the one from 2021.

Yeah, that was, that was, yeah, with all the anti-Asian hate crimes and hate going on and especially with the Atlanta shooting in 2021. That was TVU really like.

Lani Park (21:42)
Mmm,

I love TV. I love how you guys come together like Voltron to make this beautiful powerful impactful You know statement for our community. So thank you for doing that

Taiyo Na (21:54)
Thank you. mean, it was an honor to be amazing to be part of it. I think also just it's what we needed, what we were feeling in the Zeitgeist.

Lani Park (22:00)
Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (22:10)
Yeah, that was also a time. 2021.

Lani Park (22:16)
my goodness. So what matters most to you, Taiyo, in this world? What would you say?

Taiyo Na (22:25)
Hmm.

I think just being true to another human being, another life.

Lani Park (22:41)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (22:42)
That's what matters

most. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So all we have is now, and the people around you, the living creatures around you, that's being good to them, being good to yourself as much as you can. That's what matters most, I think.

Lani Park (22:45)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Bye.

Mmm.

Beautiful And if you had just one more day to live what would you do on that day? How would you spend? Maybe we'll start a little easier. What about bucket list you have anything left on the bucket list? Let's extend the time Any kind of things you want to do still in this lifetime that you haven't done yet

Taiyo Na (23:15)
Aw, love. jeez. My own struck.

Mmm.

Well, I've been working on this collection of poems and stories that have to do with like, like my life as a as a parent and as a

Lani Park (23:39)
Ooh.

Mmm.

Taiyo Na (23:49)
teacher around young people. just, I never, you know, it's like, it's always about like going back to Toni Morrison, you know, the book you want to see in the world that you haven't seen it, you know what I mean? Like, like, yeah, like there's, there are these poems and stories that have been coming out through me about just, just poems about young people and like the relationship between young people and just parents and teachers. And so that

Lani Park (24:00)
Yes.

Taiyo Na (24:18)
That's project I'm working on right now, let's see, Infruition. But yeah, other than that, know, parenting and teaching,

Lani Park (24:26)
Right

on. That's so exciting. I can't wait to read it. I'm looking forward to it. Beautiful. Yes. You are such a beautiful writer. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend. I loved your writing since your first poems many years ago. And I can't even tell you how many times I've cried because of like certain words or certain phrases or certain poems and songs. So you do have that heart and soul is very, is very, touches my heart. So yeah.

Taiyo Na (24:56)
Same, I mean, I can, I was just thinking today about how many of your poems in your work, your writing, impacted me and is in my DNA, you know, like, yeah.

Lani Park (25:03)
You're such a nice person.

Okay, kumawa your brother Sweet so is there anything how can we support you tile and you're a beautiful family What are some ways that if you want can they take a workshop with you or come see you in an event? Or what are some ways that people could is there? Yeah

Taiyo Na (25:15)
I'm like, no.

yeah, I mean, I'm, you know, I'm on the socials, I think I've been really connecting with this group locally called Think Chinatown, so I'll be around there. I've been supporting these younger artists like Trey Alam and Jessic Snow and I love what they do and

Lani Park (25:44)
Mmm.

Mmm.

Taiyo Na (25:57)
And then, you know, there's that anthology that we're a part of. I'm so happy we got to be part of that. We the Gather Heat, know, anthology, API spoken word, poetry, anthology. So, yeah.

Lani Park (26:04)
yes. Congratulations, beautiful.

Right on. So thank you for sharing. I'll include links. And what has been one of your proudest accomplishments? Can I ask that?

Taiyo Na (26:29)
One of my proudest accomplishments.

Lani Park (26:35)
or a challenging part of your journey.

Taiyo Na (26:37)
Yeah.

No.

Yeah, let me answer the challenge. I mean, I'm always trying to work on the next proudest thing, know, another day as a dad, you know, another, another poem, another story. Challenging, the most challenging thing.

Lani Park (26:47)
Yeah. Yay. Word.

Taiyo Na (27:02)
I think the most challenging thing has been becoming a dad. think like just like...

Lani Park (27:05)
Mmm.

Taiyo Na (27:10)
You know what, I read a poem about it? Okay.

Lani Park (27:13)
Yes, I would love that. Thank you. I forgot you brought some poems. I want to hear all of them.

I'm sure our audience would love to hear some poetry as well. So thank you.

Taiyo Na (27:22)
Okay, so this is a poem I recently wrote that kind of answers like how challenging parenthood has been, like, like, just learning to be a dad, and like, just just how amazing also it's been as well. It's like supremely challenging, but supremely amazing. This is called jumps.

Lani Park (27:23)
Mmm. Yay!

Well, that's the truth.

Taiyo Na (27:51)
By the first month my son is born, I'm crawling out of my skin. The sleeplessness and the restlessness of being a father to a newborn feel completely alien to my whole body and psyche, however much I originally wanted to be a parent. My gray hairs explode, I seek and find a therapist, and I lose my temper and fits I never have had to endure in my entire life.

My father and my grandfathers never got paternity leave. They also all considered raising children as women's work norms of their time. I come from at least three generations of fathers who couldn't or wouldn't spend time with their kids when they're in that toddler age. And I feel it in my bones, my genes and some innate part of me because it's midwinter recess. My son is now four and I know I can send him to daycare, but I don't.

Lani Park (28:34)
Yeah

Taiyo Na (28:45)
We paint Optimus Prime, Voltron, and Dinobot on large butcher paper, build a train city with tracks winding through the room in a network of figure eights, play with blocks, marbles, and cars, and eat pizza and more pizza. We go to the science museum, the grocery store, the science museum again. Everywhere we go, it's usually the mom or the nanny with the other children, sometimes the grandparent. And at another point in my life, I would have felt alienated by this feeling of singularity, but I don't.

Lani Park (28:50)
Hmm.

Taiyo Na (29:16)
I feel all the fathers in my genes before me and dwell in this feeling that even though they never got all these hours and days with their children, they now are through me. With parenting, a lot of times the metaphors escape you because parenting is the most primal and primary thing. Why we pour our love into them relentlessly, the energy coming from God knows where, them and ours to keep up.

Lani Park (29:19)
Hmm.

Uhhh...

Taiyo Na (29:45)
Our four-year-old just led us through a kind of guided meditation, calling for peace and quiet as he makes us close our eyes. We all giggle while we sit crisscross applesauce and eat the grapes we bought from the fruit stand. Moments before, he threw a deck of three pillows at me and called it a sandwich. Moments later, I see my four-year-old leap off the couch into my partner's arms in an impromptu game of trust. He keeps telling her to step a little back.

and then step a little forward till he finds just the right distance. Jump and you catch me, he says. He means he'll jump and we'll catch him. It's all there in every little thing. Elemental. His hands clash when he's nervous. His mouth puckers when he's focused. His cheeks magnetic to my lips. Parenting feels the most sacred when it's like that.

Lani Park (30:37)
You

Taiyo Na (30:45)
Jump and you catch me.

Lani Park (30:51)
Oh my goodness. Bro, you made me cry. Oh Lord, that was so beautiful. See, that kind of magic. That's why I have such pure aloha for you. Thank you, brother. That's my favorite new poem now ever. Can you send that to me? Is that a poem or a story? It's just a beautiful, wow, gift. Thank you.

Taiyo Na (31:07)
No.

Yeah,

thank you. It's like a prose poem. You know what? I've recently been feeling out, gonna send it to you right now. I'm feeling like I'm in that Willie Cridomo tradition. love, I think, yeah, yeah. I think he talked about that once. He's like, I don't know if my poems are prose or poetry, but it's something, whatever it is, it feels like that.

Lani Park (31:19)
It is.

Alright. Aw man.

I love Willie. He's such a great poet in person.

Mm-hmm.

It's the truth of your

soul and it's so beautiful. It's that magic.

Do you have more poems? I'd love to hear what, if you have some that you can share because I feel like right now stories around the fire are very healing. They're very good for the soul. It's the good medicine that we need. That's kind of why I'm doing this because you know, the same thing about Toni Morrison. I haven't seen it, but I want to see it. And I know it exists because this is our world, right? So why don't we share a little bit of goodness that is not even anywhere to be on T and Netflix, et cetera. You know what I'm saying?

Taiyo Na (31:58)
Okay.

Hmm.

I am not a man.

Hmm

Lani Park (32:17)
This is how we really talk and these are the things that we do and share, like our art or poetry or conversations, our family.

Taiyo Na (32:24)
Okay.

Okay, okay, okay. Well, thank you for the invitation. How about one more? Is that all right?

Lani Park (32:32)
Of course and a song maybe if you feel like it

Taiyo Na (32:35)
you know,

my voice is pretty gravely at the moment because of the cold I'm getting over. Let's see.

Lani Park (32:40)
No, yeah, you don't have to sing but can you send me

some songs that I could put in the podcast if people want to check you out or find you like maybe a couple of them awesome. Yay Mahalo

Taiyo Na (32:48)
yeah, sure. Yeah.

Okay, so let's see. Similar kind of theme, but this is, so I've been teaching, I've been teaching many things over the years, but one course I've been teaching for the last eight, nine years, like pretty much every year has been this course on Malcolm X.

his legacy on social movements and just like young people writing their own narratives. And so I always would tell like the same kind of story when we get to that part in the book where he's conking his hair, you know, so he's like, it was a popular thing for black men in 1940s, 1930s to...

Lani Park (33:24)
God bless. Right on.

Mm-hmm.

Taiyo Na (33:47)
straightened their hair because it looked white. when I get to that part, I always talk about my aunt. And my aunt has since, you know, left the world a long time ago, maybe 10, 15 years ago. But yeah, so this one's called, Ode to Aunt Chiaco and El Haze Malek El Shabazz.

Lani Park (33:56)
Mm.

Mmm.

Mmm!

Taiyo Na (34:15)
When I talk to students about Malcolm X as Detroit Red and that fire red conch and how it looked right because it looked white, I talk about my aunt Chiaco, my favorite aunt, the one who has since crossed over, who descended from a millennia of earth tone farmers, who showered me with doting eyes, toys, and that so special phrase, choose anything from the store and I'll get it for you.

Lani Park (34:40)
Hmm.

Taiyo Na (34:42)
I talk about how this dear aunt, sweeter than syrup, always had a jar of skin-bleaching cream by her bathroom mirror and sink. The pang it gave me to see how someone so beautiful felt the compulsion to do as what Malcolm would say, such self-degradation. Aunt Chiaco had a sixth sense.

Lani Park (34:51)
Cool.

Taiyo Na (35:07)
Her body moved with premonitions and cigarette fumes. When my father, her younger brother, would fall into years of flandering joblessness and credit card debt, she knew no matter how much he hid those things, she'd have these dreams, feelings telling her he was not all right, confirmed when she'd ask me piercing questions about his whereabouts and ways. Years later,

Lani Park (35:11)
Hmm.

Taiyo Na (35:36)
think of her when my three-year-old brings home a drawing and it's a self-portrait of crayons and construction paper. I see that my son has chosen the color brown for his skin. And I say what I always say, this is beautiful, but the feeling under my skin is so, so different.

Lani Park (35:45)
you

Beautiful.

Wow. I so love that you are teaching Malcolm X and that you are writing these poems. mean, you're definitely doing your part to just keep the awareness alive and spread the, tell the stories that need to be told. So thank you.

Taiyo Na (36:27)
Thank you.

Lani Park (36:29)
Yeah, that makes me think of Yuri Kochiyama with love, who I know you also love and was an integral part of, know, times and Malcolm's life as well. you know, I used to go up to her place and have these weird having sessions to try to free an Asian American prisoner at the time. And yes, and she was so loving and kind and warm. And she would bake these butter cookies for us or she had them ready, I don't know, and milk. And so,

Taiyo Na (36:32)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

David Wong, yeah.

Lani Park (36:58)
she kind of provided this comforting space while people organize, you know? And that always stuck with me. And that's something that as I'm coming into my auntiehood, I feel like there were times when I was on the street, there was times that I was saying the poems and I was getting like in the middle of all the heat, right? And now in this stage, I feel like I'm at the time where come gather, you can use my house, which is what my grandfather did, you know, during the time when Korea was occupied, he actually did that in his basement, he got in trouble for it, but.

Taiyo Na (37:12)
Hmm.

No.

Hmmmm

Lani Park (37:24)
I feel like this is

like a modern day iteration. This is where my stage is at life. And I've finally gone okay with that. There are times, there are different people who have different roles and they serve in different ways in this new revolution. And I feel like all the ways are valid and all the ways are nourishing. We don't all have to be doing the most public in your face thing, especially if you have families and stuff. So I feel like people should respect each other's roles more and work together as opposed to fighting amongst ourselves in this crisis.

Taiyo Na (37:45)
Yeah.

Lani Park (37:54)
I don't know, it's just, you made me think all these things with your magical portal of a story.

Taiyo Na (38:01)
You're right, all of that is in there. All of that is in there. I mean, that's why I saying, like, I've been loving connecting with these younger artists, because we'll host them at our house, or we'll be the ones cooking, or we'll be the ones. They seek out for, like, elder advice, you know, because they're going through something that we might have went through in our 20s and early 30s.

Yeah, we all play a part, you know? It's just, keep moving from chapter to chapter, like you said.

Lani Park (38:32)
Yo, there's

somebody here on my yard. Can I? I'm so sorry to interrupt. Hey, hi! Can I help you?

okay, hi.

Okay, thank you mahalo Sorry, yeah the dogs okay. Yeah, thanks. I have a podcast going on Sorry about that man Yeah, I guess you know a little notice would have been nice, but it's okay things happen that's life an email, you know Anyway, come on. Why you're talking about some deep beautiful stuff and

Taiyo Na (38:54)
Okay.

Ha

Lani Park (39:13)
Anyway, okay, I'm gonna.

Taiyo Na (39:14)
I mean, it wouldn't

be a body if there wasn't some animals or something.

Lani Park (39:20)
That's life.

Yeah. I was like, brother. So, okay. Let me reset.

Taiyo Na (39:26)
Yeah, I mean, like I said, like, yeah,

just echoing what you're saying. Like, you know, when we get into that generation, like, yeah, it's time for our time to host. It's our time to host meetings and whatever, for sure. I feel that 100%.

Lani Park (39:31)
No.

Mm-hmm.

Right on. Okay, so I have another question. What do you wish somebody had told you at the beginning of your artistic journey? Like what would have been helpful?

Taiyo Na (39:56)
I I felt like I got some of the best advice, you know what I mean? Like, you know, think Beau Sia was someone who was like, you know, like, I like on some, you know, real key tip, just like, you know, live first, you know what I mean? Live first and then write second. You know, you got to the questions, you know?

Lani Park (39:57)
Yeah.

I love you, Bo.

word.

Taiyo Na (40:20)
I mean, I think the kind of advice maybe I didn't get was like, make sure you don't burn bridges so that you could find a way to stay getting paid. You know what I mean?

Lani Park (40:25)
Mm-hmm.

That's useful, that's real.

Taiyo Na (40:42)
Like, I mean, you know,

maybe that kind of advice wouldn't have mattered anyway, because when you're young, it's like you have so much reckless energy.

Lani Park (40:50)
Yeah, aren't you

glad we didn't have Instagram and tick tock and all this back when we were younger?

Taiyo Na (40:58)
Yeah, right. We just be addicts. Like these young folks, just phone social media addicts. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I just, there's times where like, there's some, I had so many broke years where I felt like maybe I didn't have to go through that, you know? So that's, that's, no, I said broke years. had so many, I had so many broke.

Lani Park (41:04)
lord.

What do mean by real key years? broke years. I thought you were being very poetic.

I thought you were referencing the poet. you're broke years. feel you on that. We all go through them in our 20s sometimes.

Taiyo Na (41:27)
Yeah

Yeah, like, but you know, maybe that's just a rite of passage, but I don't know. guess as a dad, like I would never want my son to be that hungry. Like, make sure you always got some fly kicks on, you know what I mean? I don't know. That's just, yeah, I don't know. I'm still dealing with that, I guess.

Lani Park (41:47)
Yeah.

That's honest. I appreciate that. So what would you say to somebody who wants to follow a similar path as you? Would you give them like what kind of tips or advice? Any kind of if someone wants to go down a road like.

Taiyo Na (42:10)
similar path. Yeah, I mean,

I'd say like, I'd say like embrace teaching, you know, like, I felt like, um, it took me until like, I was 30 to be like, okay with teaching, you know what mean? I feel like teaching in general in this country is like, teaching is only for those who don't make it or teaching is for those there's that like phrase like

Lani Park (42:18)
Hmm.

Taiyo Na (42:36)
you know, those who don't do teach or something like that. you know, there's a lot of like hater phrases of, know, towards teachers and, know, but.

Lani Park (42:40)
That's a hater phrase. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

Teachers do the

most work. mean, they're shaping the human beings that are gonna live in our society.

Taiyo Na (42:53)
Sure,

but I think probably most creative writers who, you know, sustain themselves like over a longer course of time, like they all teach, you know what I mean? Like they all teach. So like, you know, there's just no knocking it.

Lani Park (42:59)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that's true.

Taiyo Na (43:15)
Yeah, yeah, think just check the delusions of grandeur, know, like, just like, doesn't, you know, like, it's, think that's the thing. Like, I think that's what I wanna like, any young person who's like, you know, just following the creative path and they actually wanna listen to me. It's like, you know, that,

Lani Park (43:21)
Well...

Taiyo Na (43:40)
The person busking on the subway or, you know, and the person at the open mic or whoever, that, a voice you never heard of can still be the most beautiful voice next to whoever's been, you know, publishing gets all the awards. It's like, you know, just respect, respect, respect when realness is being shared, regardless of who it's from.

Lani Park (43:49)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Word. That's some good words of advice. I appreciate that right on. God bless you, Taiyo. It's good to see you in the world and growing and evolving and entering this beautiful chapter of life here as a father, as a husband, as a teacher. And yeah, I look forward to getting more old hairs with you and having more cups of honey tea.

Taiyo Na (44:30)
Yeah.

Lani Park (44:34)
connecting. So thank you for taking the time out of your day for this. I really appreciate it. We went over by like 20 minutes, but that means we were talking about good things and having a good time. So I appreciate you, man. I know you got to go back to your family. So yeah.

Taiyo Na (44:42)
Okay.

Okay,

well thank you for having me. It's been a blast always and yeah, I'm loving that you're doing this. So cool that you're doing this and yeah, you know, I'm always here to support anyway I can.

Lani Park (44:49)
Yes.

God bless.

I know you're my brother, you're the best. appreciate you. Sweet. Say aloha to your beautiful family. God bless and Daichi your mother aloha to everybody. And yeah, thanks for connecting and I will see you again. Aloha.

Taiyo Na (45:18)
Yay.

All right, aloha, love, love.