Celebrating year of the Dragon: Free e-book of BARROW

To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, Bryan Thao Worra is giving away free e-book copies of his current book of speculative poetry, BARROW, to the first 100 people who e-mail him at thaoworra @ gmail.com. The second book of speculative poetry by Laotian American writer Bryan Thao Worra, BARROW includes all-new poems as well as poems that appeared in journals such as Whistling Shade, Northography and Tales of the Unanticipated between 1991-2009. BARROW continues an experimental journey across cultures and language to examine themes of multiplicity and meaning in an uncertain universe. You can visit Bryan Thao Worra at http://thaoworra.blogspot.com

Refugee Nation coming to LA: May 31st to June 24th

 

Produced by TeAda Productions and The Latino Theater Company, the acclaimed Lao American play Refugee Nation will coming to Los Angelese at the Los Angeles Theater Center from May 31 - June 24, 2012. The shows will be from Thursday-Saturday 8pm, and on Sundays at 3pm. General admission will cost $30 but Students, Seniors, and Groups can get a discounted price of: $20.

 Upcoming shows this year will be in Portland, Oregon and Vermont.

What is Refugee Nation?

A mother lives alone in the darkness. A father struggles to forget a lost war. A son battles in the streets of urban America. A daughter searches for answers in her community. Refugee Nation is about a young generation struggling to understand their history and the silence of an elder generation still healing from the traumas war. What can we learn from the wounds of a war over 30 years ago in the hope to find healing? 

Refugee Nation tells the stories of a community created by a U.S. led secret war in Laos. Intricately connected to the Vietnam War, Laotian refugees struggle to create a future as their American descendants struggle to understand their past. Since 2005, collaborators Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng have been collecting oral histories from family and community members across the country to create an interdisciplinary theater performance that explores a growing part of the Asian American Diaspora that is yet to be included as part of the American experience.

Through theater and movement they re-construct the stories of families trying to rebuild a community that has been spread like ashes across the U.S. and the world. More than just a telling of Laotian American history, the two-person performance eloquently touches upon issues relating to the refugee experience, assimilation, generation gap, and mental health using drama, film, music, and audience interaction, and personalizes these issues through a genuine Laotian American perspective.

The result is a product that not only brings to light the hidden stories of Laotian Americans around the U.S., but one that is able to unite people from all types of backgrounds, ethnicities, and histories by relaying the ideas of change, loss, struggle, healing, and the unrelenting strength of the human spirit.

You can find out more by visiting www.refugeenation.com

Kundiman poetry retreat deadline: February 1st

In order to help mentor the next generation of Asian American poets, Kundiman is sponsoring an annual Poetry Retreat in parternship with Fordham University.

During the Retreat, "nationally renowned Asian American poets will conduct workshops with fellows. Readings, writing circles and informal social gatherings will also be scheduled. Through this Retreat, Kundiman hopes to provide a safe and instructive environment that identifies and addresses the unique challenges faced by emerging Asian American poets. This 5-day Retreat will take place from Wednesday to Sunday. Workshops will not exceed eight students."

The Lao American poet Phayvanh Luekhamhan participated in the Kundiman poetry retreat, as has the Hmong American poet Andre Yang. If you're interested in Asian American poetics, it could be of significant interest to you.

The application is free. You'll need to submit 5-7 pages of poems and a brief paragraph about what you'd like to accomplish at the retreat.

Note that the tuition fee is $350 but room and board are free. It takes place in New York City from June 20th-24th. You'll also have to arrange your own transport to New York City and to the college.