Nghiem Le is an active anteater on campus with involvements such as SPOP staffer, CA at Puerta del Sol housing, Student Operation Manager for the ARC, and he also is president of the only spoken word organization on campus, Uncultivated Rabbits.
Nghiem sparked his passion for spoken word in the 6th grade after his first encounter with poetry. He says poetry just “felt right” and it soon became his creative outlet and way to express himself. He began spoken word at the age of 16 and was the only performer at his high school. Spoken word is the performance of poetry as an art form. He believes that sometimes things are easier shared through spoken word than talking to a person. The moment he knew he was coming to UCI he researched and found Uncultivated Rabbits, the only spoken word organization on campus, and joined within his first year.
For Nghiem, spoken word challenges his poetry and him as an individual by forcing himself to be vulnerable. He believes that things often get lost in translation and that spoken word more accurately conveys emotions and prevents the message from getting lost in translation. The women in his life who have shaped him into the man he is today inspire many of his pieces.
As president of Uncultivated Rabbits, Nghiem helped plan and put on the Express URself event on May 17th, 2013. Every year Uncultivated Rabbits plan a show, but what made this year so different? The entire showcase had members of this organization, alumni and current members be the only performers of the night. They usually bring in an established poet, but due to budget issues they were not be able to hire one, but instead they took this opportunity to do something they have always wanted and put the focus on the talents of the students on campus. Planning had begun in October and the usual hour-long meetings every week became two to five hours. I asked Nghiem what the main reasoning behind having the showcase was and he said the most important thing is that the stories are heard more than the applause or who comes. The point of spoken word is to “express not impress.”
Nghiem is a true celebrity on campus because of his passion and his inspirational message to others. With his involvement in Uncultivated Rabbits, he has made a lot of improvements within the organization and he has grown so much as a person over the last four years as well. Uncultivated Rabbits was established in 2005 and has been growing ever since. During his past four years, Nghiem has created a family within his fellow team members, became a mentor for others, and helped the organization grow in general. He hopes that this organization will become more noticeable on campus while keeping its focus on the poetry and performances.