January 2020
This month's voice:
"Multiplicity" by Travis Frank
Introduction
When Travis Frank presented a plenary session on diversity at KOTESOL’s 2019 Team-Building and Connections Day, I was impressed by how nuanced, thorough, and thoughtful his presentation was. In particular, I appreciated his considered suggestions for KOTESOL’s path forward as we continue to strive to embody the values of equity, inclusion, and belonging, and I was especially taken with his recommendation that we seek to create space for our lesser-heard members’ voices.
As his workshop ended, nearly bouncing with excitement, I approached Travis about creating the column you see here now: KOTESOL Voices, a space dedicated to sharing the perspectives and experiences of our many diverse members, with a focus on the human side of being a teacher in Korea. Travis embraced the challenge, and I am delighted to announce that he and I will be curating and editing the column in the coming year. He also agreed to write the first piece for the space, and I am absolutely thrilled to introduce it. Please enjoy the elegant, eloquent poem below, a work that lays open Travis’s reflections and experiences while also showcasing his facility with words and his incisive insight. It also seemed particularly appropriate to me as the first publication from KOTESOL Voices, as it beautifully reflects the intentions and values shaping this publication.
Happy reading, and we hope to see you again next month!
ㅡLindsay Herron
KOTESOL President
A Word from the Author
What is it about poetry that makes it stand out from the rest when it comes to the analysis of literary genres? Why is it so peculiar and alluring, yet also so frustrating at times to get to the bottom of in terms of semantics and meaning? These questions (amongst a host of others) have fueled the impetus that I have been blessed with to write poetry over the past twenty-one years, and it is a passion that I hope will not be extinguished over the course of time.
At present, what I am working on developing is a set of acrostic poems that has as its central focus the analysis of diversity-related buzzwords. The anthology that is in the process of being drafted is coming together organically, lending itself more to the onset of inspiration and haphazard daydreaming before being shaped into something that is encoded as being culturally and pedagogically meaningful. There is a light balance of playfulness and the making of sharp social commentary that underpins the ethos of this anthology, and it is hoped that teachers and students alike can use these resources as rhetorical points of reflection on a private level as well as avenues of critical discourse to invite in changes to the way we perceive and treat others as well as our place in their lives. It is also hoped that this endeavor will be the precursor not only of the development of various other anthologies of poetry written in different styles, but also a plethora of literature in other genres aimed at bridging cultural, social, and linguistic gaps through the duality of bolstering commonplaces and beholding the attributes that make us unique.
ㅡTravis Frank
Author & KOTESOL Diversity Committee Chair
January 2020
Multiplicity
By Travis Frank
Maybe you are just a little different to the rest,
Undervalued and always put to the test.
Life is much more than a treacherous trail
Taking us into a void of identity.
If we open our eyes to possibilities,
Placation’s seeds are sown in misunderstanding’s fields,
Leaving us questioning what we once ‘knew’.
I strive at your side in our plight,
Called to bear arms in the good fight.
Injustice shall crumble in the face of beauty,
The manifestations of which being too numerous to number,
Yearning that we put our differences asunder.
About the Author
Travis Frank is a South African English teacher who has been teaching in Korea since 2016. He holds a Master of Arts in TESOL from Woosong University and is intent on progressing onto doctoral studies in the near future. His research interests encapsulate exploring literature as an intercultural communicative bridge as well as examining the extent unto which ESL textbooks embolden unfounded stereotypical sentiments of cultural and racial superiority. Travis is the current KOTESOL Diversity Committee Chair (2019-2020).
If you enjoyed this poem, don't miss Travis's new poetry anthology, One Is Not Enough!
