YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI stage reading in Minneapolis, 1/23

Lao American writer Saymoukda Vongsay has announced that she would love it if you came to the stage-reading of her work in-progress play, YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI. She's really looking to get audience feedback to make it better as she fleshes it out. "Please come January 23 at 7:30pm at the Playwrights Center, but please reserve your tickets! ★★ its free!! ★★"

It's good to see she is actively at work at her next contribution to Speculative Theater to follow up Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals.YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI promises to be another interesting project from her. It's also exciting to see that Mu Performing Arts is providing significant support to Lao American theater to develop on its own terms rather than catering to conventional expectations, especially as the Lao community marks forty years in diaspora this year.

The Playwright’s Center is located at 2301 East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. It is showing on Friday, January 23 at 7:30pm. YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI by Saymoukda Vongsay is being directed by Scotty Gunderson.

The synopisis is "Three generations of Lao Americans – a grandmother waiting to die, twin sisters (one in love with an asianphile, one struggling to come out), and a buffalo boy with zero effs to give – are connected by folktales and ominous dreams."

This is a work in progress. As those who were following the development of Kung Fu Zombies vs. Cannibals will remember, often a play like this goes through many radical changes between its initial readings and the final production that's considered "stage-worthy."

Laotian American poetry collection Dance Among Elephants available now for pre-sale

Sahtu Press officially announced that pre-sale orders for Krysada Panusith Phounsiri's debut Lao American poetry collection, Dance Among Elephants have now opened. 

Krysada Panusith Phounsiri is a Lao American who "was born in Houay Xai, Laos. He immigrated to the U.S. at age two where he lived in Southeast San Diego. He began writing poetry at age 11, but fell in love with poetry when he attended UC Berkeley."

A multi-talented artist, Krysada Panusith Phounsiri's work has appeared previously in publications such as the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, Little Laos on the Prairie, Asian American Press, and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s national photo project “A Day In the Life of Asian America”.

 

 

Sahtu Press was established in 2013. Their mission is to publish and promote enduring contemporary Lao American literature and to create academic and grassroots learning opportunities. Their first book was the children's book "A Sticky Mess" retelling the story of Xieng Mieng for modern times. They plan to release a follow up to that book soon. "Dance Among Elephants" is their first collection of poetry they are releasing, although they are looking for additional poets to publish in the future.

Sahtu Press acquires, publishes, and markets high quality, imaginative work from emerging and established Lao American writers or those working on issues of interest to the Lao American community.

Dance Among Elephants is normally available for $19.99, but during the pre-sale will be available for $15 plus shipping. You can order here: http://sahtupress.com/books/dance-among-elephants/

Keeping Lao Poetry Weird

Lao American writer Bryan Thao Worra recently noticed that Google Image Search is using boring photos of him in their top results.  For obvious reasons as an award-winning poet with strong connections to horror, fantasy and science fiction, he's taking steps to correct that. Some recent images he posted include shots from Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Ukiah, California. Be sure to help him out if you get a chance.