On The Other Side Of The Eye

Vampire Novel of the Century award nominees announced!

2012-02-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Horror Writers Association (HWA), the international association of writers, publishing professionals, and supporters of horror literature, in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the Rosenbach Museum & Library, proudly announce the nominees for the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award, to be presented at the Bram Stoker Awards™ Banquet at World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 31, 2012. The Award will mark the centenary of the death in 1912 of Abraham (Bram) Stoker, the author of Dracula.

A jury composed of writers and scholars selected, from a field of more than 35 preliminary nominees, the six vampire novels that they believe have had the greatest impact on the horror genre since publication of Dracula in 1897. Eligible works must have been first published between 1912 and 2011 and published in or translated into English.

The nominees are:

The Soft Whisper of the Dead by Charles L. Grant (1983). Grant (1946-2006) was a prolific American writer of what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror," writing under six pseudonyms as well as his own name. Grant also edited numerous horror and fantasy anthologies. The novel is part of Grant's series of 12 books set in his fictional small town Oxrun Station, Connecticut. Grant was a former president of Horror Writers Association and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

Salem's Lot by Stephen King. First published in 1975, this was only the second work by the now-legendary American author of dozens of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and horror stories, comics, and novels. Set in the town of Jerusalem's Lot, it tells of a man's return to his hometown, where he finds a plague of vampirism. The book has twice been made into television mini-series and has been recorded by the BBC. King's work has won countless Bram Stoker Awards™ from HWA, and King (1947- ), a lifelong New England resident, was recognized with HWA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. First published in 1954, the novel is set in the mid-1970's, when a plague has swept the world, bringing with it zombie-like creatures identified as vampires. Richard Neville, the book's protagonist, may be the last living human. The work has been filmed three times under various titles, most recently in 2007, under its original title, starring Will Smith. Matheson (1926- ), an American, has written screenplays as well as short and long fiction, and many of his works have been filmed or made into teleplays. He wrote frequently for The Twilight Zone in its heyday. Matheson received HWA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman first appeared in 1992. The novel imagines an alternate history in which Van Helsing and his cohorts failed in their attempt to rid England of Dracula. In this timeline, Dracula went on to marry Queen Victoria, ushering in an era of vampire aristocracy in England and elsewhere. The book is followed by two other novels and a number of shorter works set in the Anno Dracula universe, all meticulously researched to include numerous historical details and many characters of Victorian and more recent popular literature. Newman (1959- ) is an English writer of fantasy and horror, as well as reference books in the field, and frequently appears as a host and critic for the BBC and other media.

Interview with the Vampire by Southern American author Anne Rice first appeared in 1976 and achieved enormous popularity, selling more than 8 million copies. The book introduces the vampires Louis and Lestat, who, along with a dozen other unique individual vampires, appear in a long series by Rice known as the Vampire Chronicles. The novel was filmed in 1994 starring Tom Cruise as Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis; another work in the series, Queen of the Damned, was filmed in 2002; the novel was also produced as a Broadway musical in 2006. Rice (1941- ) has written numerous other gothic fantasy novels, selling more than 100 million copies worldwide, and has won many awards, including HWA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, published in 1978, is the first of a 25-book (so far) series featuring le Comte de Saint Germain, a 2000+-year-old vampire, whose adventures in many historical periods are recounted. This novel overlaps in many details with the historical facts of le Comte de Saint-Germain, a mysterious figure. An American writer, Yarbro (1942- ) publishes three or four books a year, under various pseudonyms, in a variety of genres, including mysteries and romance tales. She was awarded HWA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

The winning book will be announced on March 31, 2012. HWA will also celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary on that date.

Speculative Poetry: Lee Ann Roripaugh

2012-02-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

I think one of the less-discussed scenes in speculative poetry are the Asian American contributions of the 20th and 21st century. As I get ready to discuss the subject of speculative poetry and writing with students at St. John's University next week, it seems appropriate to look at some of the compelling figures who are making Asian American speculative poetry happen, such as Lee Ann Roripaugh.

Lee Ann Roripaugh is the author of three volumes of poetry: On the Cusp of a DangerousYear, Year of the Snake (2004 Association of Asian American Studies Book Award winner), and Beyond Heart Mountain (1998 National Poetry Series selection).

Roripaugh is a Professor of English at The University of South Dakota, where she is the Director of Creative Writing, and Editor-in-Chief of South Dakota Review. Over the years, Roripaugh has racked up several distinguished awards and recognition that include a Bush Artist Foundation Fellowship and the 1995 Randall Jarrell International Poetry Prize, and as we look at her body of work, it's easy to see why.

When we look at Beyond Heart Mountain, we can see how Roripaugh drew upon her heritage and her experiences to create a series of poetic portraits of Japanese American internees who were held at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. Would some of these be considered speculative poetry under the conditions many are used to expecting?

The line is a little more clear in her book, Year of the Snake, where she goes on to use poetry to address mixed-race identities as well as the myths and fairy tales of Japan, and metaphors of transformation. These are definitely the subjects of speculative poetry, but they also fall under what some think should be classified as slipstream literature. You can see an example of this style in her poem Dream Carp, which I admit, I find can be read both as speculative poetry and not. Others may disagree, but I think the argument can be easily made, either way.

Some might dislike the vagaries and whether a book like Year of the Snake should be considered part of the greater canon of speculative poetry, but I would think that it is precisely because Year of the Snake gets us to ask these questions that it should be considered and appreciated for the way it broadens the depth and potential of this corner of the poetry world.

Speculative poetry is not all she writes, any more than Asian American poetry is not all she writes, but when she does write it, I would personally insist she be recognized for it. But in any case, I'd recommend you take a look at it. There's some powerful verse here.

2011 Rhysling Nominations open

2012-02-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Although I still maintain my objection that the Rhyslings should also have a category for whole books of speculative poems, rather than just short-form or long-form poems, nominations for speculative poems first published in 2011 are open until 2/15 for members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. You must be a member of SFPA to nominate; however, the poem's author need NOT be an SFPA member.

Last year's winners were:

Short Poem Category
First Place"Peach-Creamed Honey" by Amal El-Mohtar
Second Place"Binary Creation Myth" by Karen A. Romanko
Third Place"Dogstar Men" by C.S.E. Cooney

Long Poem Category
First Place"The Sea King’s Second Bride" by C. S. E. Cooney
Second Place"Dark Rains Here and There" by Bruce Boston
Third Place"Wreck-Diving the Starship" by Robert Frazier

This year, I suspect Ann K. Schwader will be particularly competitive, having recently examined her 2011 book, Twisted in Dreams, a volume of Lovecraftian poetry edited by S.T. Joshi, but also more than that. Twisted in Dreams. As I mentioned before, whole books are not considered by the Rhyslings.

I'm personally also looking forward to seeing if any pieces by Kristine Ong-Muslim, Anchalee P. Roberts, Burlee Vang, Andre Yang, Oscar Bermeo, Barbara Jane Reyes or Shweta Narayan can and will be put forward. But who are some of the people you hope to see nominated?

2012 National Poetry Month poster revealed

2012-02-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

Each April, the Academy of American Poets creates and distributes—free of charge—over 150,000 copies of a new National Poetry Month poster to U.S. schools, libraries, bookstores, and community centers to help promote the month-long celebration and to increase poetry awareness.

This year's poster features a line from newly appointed United States Poet Laureate Philip Levine, and was designed by acclaimed graphic designer Chin-Yee Lai.

The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook and science fiction poetics

2012-01-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

Next week, I'll be giving a lecture to a class in New York on fantasy, horror and science fiction poetry, or what we tend to call speculative poetry these days. To that end, this week and next I'll be discussing a number of issues and opportunities related to the subject that may be of assistance.

One of the leading organizations on the subject is the Science Fiction Poetry Association, founded in 1978 by the writer Suzette Haden Elgin. One can only imagine the initial number of eyebrows raised at the notion. In 2005, Elgin published The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook through Sam's Dot Publishing, which has also published my two collections, On The Other Side Of The Eye (2007) and BARROW (2009).

As a quick background, Arkansas resident Suzette Haden Elgin is also a novelist, known for Coyote Jones and The Ozark Trilogy. She also has a number of non-fiction books under her belt including The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense, Genderspeak and How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable. Alas, given the tenor of much of today's political debates, clearly many would-be candidates have not read these. She's been retired since 1980 and had run the Ozark Center for Language Studies.

The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook is the first official book of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, although they produce a fairly regular newsletter, Star*Line.

To Elgin, personally, there are three key elements of science fiction poetry:

"1. A science fiction poem must be about a reality that is in some way different from the existing reality.

2. It must contain some element of science as part of its focus.

3. It must contain some element of narrative-some "story" element."

This is principally her personal definition, mind you. But it's an interesting starting ground. To that end, one might expect that for horror and fantasy poetry, the key change is in principle 2: "It must contain some element of horror or fantasy as part of its focus," would be the presumed, logical iteration.

I do think there's a nice out for science fiction poetry in Elgin's definition in that she does not strictly include 'accurate science.' Although one might argue it's inferred.

I think the field has diversified dramatically today in terms of the languages, styles, and subject matter that ask to be considered science fiction poetry. So, I personally weigh in that there are some parts of the Elgin definition that can be quibbled with, and lead me to prefer the term speculative poetry.

If we're going to call it science fiction poetry, then, by the use of the word fiction, there must be a narrative.

But there are forms of poetry that are not strictly narrative in the conventional sense. Symphonic or tone poetry comes immediately to mind, which had its roots in the dada movement and other examples of surrealist and absurdist poetry. Hugo Balls' "Gadji beri bimba" which is the inspiration for the Talking Heads song, "I Zimbra" is a good example of poetry absent of narrative. To me, it's almost a European koan. But it's not impossible to create poetic work with elements clearly influenced by the imagination we normally reserve for science fiction, fantasy and horror.

To me, a poem, if we choose to write a poem, should clearly be a poem, and not a short story or a novel with bad formatting.

We see in books like Toby Barlowe's Sharp Teeth, an interesting example of the speculative prose poem. While it deals with lycanthropes in modern California, it would not strictly be considered science fiction under the Elgin definition. Under that definition, we would have to look for where science must be a focus in part of the poem. It's possible to find it, but it also feels like we're stretching it.

Ridiculous as it is, the notorious satire Elektronik Supersonik is a fairly good example of an experiment in science fiction poetics set to music, but not necessarily a coherent narrative.

This is part of why I prefer the term speculative poetry. To me it catches a wider swath of some of the interesting things being done in the field. The term speculative poetry can encompass the scifaiku movement, for example.

One ongoing point of interest is how we will see the development of multicultural speculative poetics.

What is interesting to a speculative poet in one culture, might not even be considered speculative poetry in another. There may be critique regarding the use of language and repurposing of cultural symbols and myths, or the degree to how far someone presents a reality unlike our existing reality.

If alt-history poetics is just starting to emerge, what will happen within multicultural or post-colonial alt-history poetics? Is it science fiction poetry to present sonnet about a world where French did not colonize Indochina, for example? Or do we need to incorporate something outlandish such as steampunk technology to fully cross the threshold?

There can be some humorous exchanges that emerge with speculative poetry. One's use of an alien language or language such as that in Caroll's Jabberwocky might not get called out, but bad French or English grammar, questionable romanization of Indian or Lao, or misuse of the Oxford comma and punctuation? That's fair game.

I've had poems called out for suggesting that the legendary nak could be found at the Talaat Sao marketplace in Vientiane, for example.

The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook provides some interesting things to consider. Elgin asks us to consider how a poem looks, how it sounds, and how we choose words to make our poems successful. These are good ideas that can be applied and considered in any form of poetry. She discusses the additional challenge a poet faces when one has to address the suspension of disbelief, or the credibility gap.

How does Poe engage us in "The Raven" that we so readily accept a big black bird coming in to a narrator's room to perch upon a bust and taunt's him with the word "Nevermore!"

There's great deal of world-building in Homer's The Iliad, Dante's Inferno or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but how do we get to the point where we say: Ok, I understand the rules of this poem and what can and can't happen here so that suddenly this becomes fantastic and interesting, but not so ridiculous I give up on it.

The ghost of Virgil can lead a man through the layers of hell, but speculative poets today can have a hard time getting their audiences to go with them to Mars. These are some of the questions that can intrigue those of us who are working with speculative poetry.

For several of us working with Lao American literature, speculative poetry and fiction is of interest to us for the liberty we have to address sensitive taboo topics or gaps and unresolvable conflicts in the historical record. For many other cultures, I imagine there will come a point where they, too will start to discover the possibilities inherent within this approach.

Some find a metaphor of wolf totems, the grass mud horse or river crabs useful to them. Others may turn to more traditional symbols or try to create ones that serve as a better stand-in to address our present and emerging concerns. Planet of the Apes, Godzilla and Night of the Living Dead are significant examples of how we engage in social critique through speculative literature.

In the 20th and 21st century, it's been a while since a poem in English has captured the imagination and consciousness of the community, particularly a speculative poem, but there is ample precedent, such as the Aeneid or Orlando Furioso that we should consider.

To be fair, we should expect the process will also create some very, very terrible things once in a while:

But we press on!

Robert Frost on poetry

2012-01-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

"Poetry is what gets lost in translation."
Robert Frost, 1874-1963.

Doing Literature Hemet Discussion Group: Canterbury Tales, Feb. 11

2012-01-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 11th, 2012 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, the ongoing "Doing Literature" discussion group will meet at the Hemet Public Library at 300 East Latham Avenue in Hemet, California.

This month's book is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, specifically "The Wife of Bath's Tale," although readers are invited to discuss any of Chaucer's classic stories during the discussion. On March 10th, the group will be discussing A Man For All Seasons, a play by Richard Bolt on the life of Sir Thomas More. The discussion group is free to attend.

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is among the best-known of the Canterbury Tales, and is typically remarked upon for the how well-developed the character is compared to many of the others in the book. This particular tale is important for the insight it is believed to give about women's roles of the the Late Middle Ages.

The story centers on a knight who has been condemned to death for a heinous crime, but who will get a reprieve if he can answer the Queen's riddle, 'What is the thing that most women desire.' He is given a year to find the answer, but everyone he asks gives him a conflicting answer, until an old woman offers to supply him the correct answer, in exchange for a payment later. And as so many of these stories go, there's a bit of a catch to that...

Join us, if you can!

Celebrate Year of the Dragon! Free E-Book Copy of BARROW

2012-01-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, I'm giving away free e-book copies of my current book of speculative poetry, BARROW, to the first 100 people who e-mail me at thaoworra @ gmail.com this week!

If you enjoy it, please recommend it to a friend or a family member!

If you really like it, consider buying a hard copy of it (If you use the link to the right of my blog, I'll also personally sign it for you, and ship it in a snazzy envelope with a few extra goodies just for you.)

I also appreciate any reviews or blurbs you post on goodreads.com or other websites.

Have a great week!

Lao train stamps: Kinnaird

2012-01-26T14:36:00.000-08:00

An example of a 1997 Lao stamp featuring a French steam engine on it. This particular example is a Kinnaird. It never saw use in Laos, but it is interesting to consider how different things might have been if it had.

Speculations Reading Series for February and March

2012-01-25T14:57:00.000-08:00

The SPECULATIONS READINGS SERIES continues at DREAMHAVEN BOOKS, 2301E 38th St, Minneapolis. Each Speculations Reading includes a reception with free soda pop and cookies.

On Wednesday, February 15, S.N. ARLY reads her fiction from6:30-7:30. Ms. Arly enjoys writing dark stories suitable for youngadults and regular adults. Her most recent publications include a darkfantasy tale in Tales of the Unanticipated (TOTU) #29 and a retellingof "Little Red Riding Hood" in the all wolf story anthology Wolf Songsvol. 1. She lives in St Paul with her spouse, two young children, andtwo shelties who routinely herd ideas in her direction.

On Wednesday, March 14, CATHERINE LUNDOFF reads her fiction from 6:30-7:30. Ms. Lundoff is an award-winning author and editor from Minneapolis. Her recent works include the short fiction collection A Day at the Inn, a Night at the Palace and Other Stories (Lethe Press, 2011) and the forthcoming novel Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel (Lethe Press, 2012). She is the editor of Haunted Hearths and Seraphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories (Lethe Press, 2008) and the co-editor, with Josella Vanderhooft, of the anthology Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic (Lethe Press, 2011). In her other lives, she's a professional computer geek and teaches writing classes at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Website: http://www.catherinelundoff.com

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven Books and SF MINNESOTA,a multicultural speculative fiction organization that also hosts amidsummer SF convention, DIVERSICON, the 20th edition of which will beheld in the Twin Cities on August 3,5, 2012, with Guests of HonorTANANARIVE DUE and STEVEN BARNES.

Journal of the Day: The Journal Of Unlikely Entomology

2012-01-25T00:11:00.000-08:00

If you stop by The Journal Of Unlikely Entomology you'll find a quirky e-zine centered on "the world of things that creep and crawl and explores the limits of what it means to be human," edited by Bernie Mojzes and A.C. Wise.

Formally, they're searching for:

"Beautifully-written fiction, characters that grab us by the throats and refuse to let go until their stories have been told, worlds that draw us in and demand to be explored…and bugs. Genre isn’t particularly important to us—speculative, mainstream, slipstream, and the unclassifiable tales in between—we’ll read anything; all we ask is that something pertaining to bugs is integral or significant in your story. The bug element can be literal or metaphorical, hallucinatory or behavioral or metaphysical, or any combination thereof. Note, our definition of bugs is flexible and includes, but is not limited to: Insects, arachnids, scorpions, lobsters, BEMs of pulp science fiction fame, centipedes, trilobites and were-ladybugs—basically pretty much anything with bug-like qualities: multiple legs, stingers, feelers, or an exo-skeleton. Not quite sure what we’re talking about? Think of The Metamorphosis, Ender’s Game, Angels and Insects, Naked Lunch, A Recipe for Bees, District 9, and Eight Legged Freaks. Basically, think bugs, and let your imagination run wild. There are no barriers as to levels of profanity, gore, or sexuality allowed, but be sure to use them well if you do use them."

Alas, they would be doing this just as I'm hitting a writer's block regarding unusual stories about bugs, but it is just the sort of thing I would encourage people to send work to.

You would think, given all of the unusual things I've written about over the years I'd have a significant number of pieces on bugs besides my poem "Maggots," which many of you may recall appeared in my collection, On The Other Side Of The Eye. It was inspired in part by Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Ode to the Maggot." I suppose I do also have the poem 'Today's Special at the Shuang Cheng,' which appeared in BARROW and the Mid-American Poetry Review. But I should probably write more about bugs.

I've got entries on the Laotian Rock Rat, the dreaded Popobawa, and the Mongolian Death Worm, but those hardly count:

We even have a rare baby picture of future rock and roller Yu Zhenhuan, but no bugs.

As a quick side-note, I found myself in a conversation with A.C. Wise about whether one had 'arrived' on Twitter when one was plagued by pornbots. I personally think the results of the google image search are far more amusing, given what strange things can become associated with you. Tweet led to tweet and the next thing I know, the question of the Lizard People came up. As opposed to the horror of a Newt-Romney '12 ticket.

Now, the Lizard People are an elusive group, as noted in this blog about the search for them back at the start of the 20th century. On the other hand, in Minnesota elections, we are starting to see them as viable candidates compared to our other options:

There are moments lately where I suspect had I known they were an option, I would have voted for them too. Hindsight getting me.

Anyway, among the things I discovered while searching for a good image of the lizard people was the fact that Minnesota is home to Rogue Taxidermy, whose artists go far beyond jackalopes. Among the ones I found particularly interesting was the work of Takeshi Yamada, whose work is consistently jaw-dropping, to say the least:

However, for my colleagues at the Horror Writer Association, it's definitely worth a look for some interesting inspiration.

So, as a nod to A.C. Wise, I'm going to go with one of my favorite pictures of the evolved dinosaur / dinosauroid / lizard people who never were, from a theoretical sculpture by Dale Russell and Ron Seguin made in 1982. It was on display at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, and may yet be:

Who wouldn't vote for this guy?

In the meantime, be sure to submit your bug-related stories to The Journal Of Unlikely Entomology! And say hi to A.C. and Bernie for me.

The Year of the Dragon and Mr. Lao

2012-01-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

So, to celebrate the Year of the Dragon this year, here's a tip of the hat to the character of Mr. Lao, who appears in the now-defunct Marvel series, Agents of Atlas or, later, Atlas. He served as an adviser to the organization, and many others, naturally all the way back to the days of Genghis Khan. Don't they all? Still, it's worth checking out the collected editions if you can find them. A big thanks to Comics Alliance who recently blogged about him in their round-up of great dragons in the comics.

The work of poets

2012-01-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

In light of this month's literary festival at Mumbai, here's an interesting note from Salman Rushdie, although I tend to think of him more as a prose writer: "A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep."

Poets and autobiography

2012-01-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

"A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else is just a footnote."-Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

Lao Steampunk: "I'm on a bateau"...

2012-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

While doing research for an alternate history story set in Lan Xang, an interesting set of notes up regarding the possibilities of submarine technology such as the Nautilus of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

Depending on how one wants to set up the development of technology in an alternate Southeast Asia, one can choose approaches that are wholly independent of Europe, limited interaction, or fully-engaged.

As we've mentioned before, the Dutch first reached Vientiane and the kingdom of Lan Xang in 1641.

What is interesting for this discussion is that in 1620, the first "practical" submarine was developed by a Dutch doctor named Cornelius Van Drebbel, who'd been living in England.

Van Drebbel's concept was a 12-man rowboat encased in greased leather, powered by rowers who pulled on oars that protruded through flexible leather seals connected to the hull. Van Drebbel's submarine crew was able to remain submerged for several hours at a time thanks to the use of snorkel air tubes that remained above the surface with floats. it was only capable of maneuvering approximately 12 to 15 feet below the river. King James I himself was said to have ridden in one. In history, this was repeatedly demonstrated with two other larger boats but considered of no interest to the British Navy. But it was a proven technology.

Van Drebbel was a inventor, physicist, and mechanician from Alkmaar, Holland who reputed to be a sorcerer because of the unusual inventions he developed over his lifetime. Besides the first navigable submarine, he has been credited with the development of a scarlet dye and a thermostat for a self regulating oven. Since the Dutch arrive in Lan Xang in 1641, it is not impossible that notes and details regarding Van Drebbel's concept could have been discussed between members of the king's court and the members of the expedition.

Historically, submarine designs will become very interesting, such as American David Bushnell's 1776 design for the Turtle submarine, which was propelled underwater by hand:

Also of interest was the technology behind Robert Fulton's Nautilus, which had both a hand-crank and a sail for his submersible vessel in 1801 before he turned his attention to the steamboat. His nautilus could remain underwater for up to 5 hours. Fulton had designed the Nautilus for the French against the British Navy, and Napoleon had shown some interest in the matter.

Although the French ultimately turned him down, it was a workable design and it is possible in an alternate history timeline that had the French accepted the design and continued improvements, by the peak period for many steampunk stories, the British navy of the 1800s would be in a naval arms race to counter Fulton's devices.

For those of us addressing a Southeast Asian steampunk setting, this is a very key point where Franco-American technology could plausibly have reached the region. A big question would be, is the Vietnamese emperor Minh Mang's steamboat fleet in action, as well? Or perhaps another power's.

Bear in mind that it would be a significant challenge to make a working steam-powered submarine, given that you're talking about a fire-driven technology on boats made largely of wood and other combustible substances. If a nation has good access and skill at harnessing electricity, the use of a storage battery and electric motors would avoid the problems of carbon monoxide poisoning of the crews that internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels could cause, among other hazards.

But the long and the short of it is, there are several interesting points in history where Southeast Asia could have had access to, and begun working with concepts of submersible boats and begun developing navies that incorporated them into their strategies. Admittedly, for Lan Xang, as a largely land-locked nation, there are some questions about how enthusiastically people would try to develop it.

It's uncertain who else would have found a use for them, except for perhaps explorers who wanted to peek beneath the rivers and lakes, despite fears of traditional creatures such as the nak and phi. Perhaps smugglers, but there seems little use for the devices among merchants and fishers? Or, like several technologies, would it reach the region and be regarded as merely a novelty?

But what other issues should be taken into account with submarine technology in Southeast Asia?

Lao Steampunk: Steaming up historical Southeast Asians

2012-01-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

One of the big responsibilities a writer of steampunk set in Southeast Asia, whether in Lan Xang or elsewehere, is to find a way to make interesting presentations on alternate possibilities of figures who are historically significant to us, but not necessarily widely known or documented by the other major powers of the time.

A significant quandary is that unfortunately the vast majority of history regarding particular figures veers towards hagiography and deification of royal figures and their supporters. This runs counter to many of the counter-culture aesthetics of steampunk. From a more practical standpoint as a writer, this can also lead to considerable controversy, even potential accusations of lese-majesty unless one writes such figures as mary sue/marty stu paragons. And what would the point of that, if one is merely interested in reinforcing the existing narrative of those who have historically been in power?

There is a certain irony in being unable to attribute deeply imaginative qualities, interactions and conversations to those whose biographies already have some significant liberties taken with them.

Conversely, I can also see how many of us might have a reluctance to take on such figures because so much of their biographies have been significantly distorted, or 'enhanced' sometimes to meet the literary and socio-political needs of colonial powers. One might also object to taking on such figures whose stories are told in ways to justify the perpetuation or eradication of different power structures in the region. One nation's heroes are another's insubordinate rebels, another's visionaries are foreign puppets. Freedom fighters might be seen as mercenaries, bandits or merely nuisances.

Bearing all of that in mind, we still need to try and start somewhere, just so we know what our options might be. So who are some of the significant figures in Southeast Asia that might be interesting to address within steampunk and other alternate history literature?

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua also known as Rama IV or King Mongkut: Thailand A fairly obvious choice for the era. I wouldn't focus a steampunk story based on Anna Leonowens historically very limited interaction with him. Because of the way he embraced new ideas, even from the West, Rama IV is regarded as "The Father of Science and Technology" by many Thai today. That all but asks for a deeper examination of how he might have approached retro-futuristic technologies and culture.

I would also take note of his brother, Prince Isaret. The astrologers at the time indicated that Prince Isaret was also capable of being a good monarch. Historically, Rama IV had his brother crowned as King Pinklao, a second king who was known for his command of foreign languages and diplomatic relations. In this, there is certainly interesting wiggle room to explore 'behind-the-scenes' socio-political negotiations.

Chao Anou or Prince Anouvong: Laos. For stories set in the 1800s, Lao would most likely want to address the figure of Chao Anou, and what might have happened if things had gone differently at the beginning of the century. Historically, Chao Anou made a number of military errors and miscalculations that led to the end of Lan Xang and the sacking of Vientiane, among other unfortunate issues. Chao Anou came into conflict with Lady Mo, also known as Thao Suranari and General Sing Singhaseni. There aren't many records of Chao Anou's subordinates during this time.

Chaleunsilp Phia Sing: Laos. Born in the old royal capital of Luang Prabang, around 1898, he was the royal chef and master of ceremonies to the kings of Laos at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang. From what we know of him, he was also a Lao renaissance man, being a physician, architect, choreographer, sculptor, painter and poet. He served as a mentor to the Laotian princes of the early 20th century, and accompanied them when they studied at the University of Hanoi in the 1920s. He literally wrote the book on Lao cooking. While we don't have many notes on what he was like otherwise, and he was born a little later than works well for most steampunk stories, he provides a good model for what someone serving the Lao royal courts could have been like who weren't royalty themselves.

Pa Chay Vue: Hmong. He was prominent from 1918 to 1921, a little later than most steampunk historical figures. Pa Chay Vue is chiefly noted for leading a Hmong revolt against the French. He is potentially a VERY interesting figure to examine in an alternate history story. A charismatic orphan who began in the Vietnamese province of Lao Cai, over the years significant number of legends that have emerged regarding him, many elevating him to a messianic figure, although French colonial forces largely regarded him and those who followed him as lunatics.

Trung Sisters: Vietnam. Although they are figures from the first century (at least up until 43 AD), an interesting alternate history might examine what different directions their legacy might have taken, or what might have happened if they had emerged later in Vietnamese history. That's of course a lot to try and take into consideration. But these two sisters led the first resistance against occupying Chinese following nearly 250 years of domination. As some historians note, between the legend of the Trung sisters and Trieu Thi Trinh, there's evidence that Vietnamese society was very matriarchal and open to women leaders.

Emperor Tự Đức: Vietnam is more contemporaneous to the other figures I've listed here than the Trung sisters. He had to deal with a near-constant spate of internal rebellions which had become routine for the Nguyễn Dynasty. Throughout this era there were hundreds of small rebellions and uprisings against them.

Ultimately fearing a loss of power and potential death at the hands of rebels, Tự Đức opted to sign away the southern Vietnam to be a French colony and accepted the status of a French protectorate. This was an enormously unpopular decision, and encouraged people such as Trương Định to denounce the emperor, refusing to recognize the treaty. Smallpox had left Tự Đức impotent , and despite his large harem, he left no heir when he died in 1883. According to legend he cursed the French with his dying breath. As I mentioned earlier at the beginning of our steampunk inquiries, had Emperor Minh Mạng succeeded in developing and implementing steamboat technology, Tự Đức might have had a very intriguing and impressive navy to work with which would have changed many aspects of the geopolitical landscape.

King Norodom: Cambodia. Regarded by many as the first modern Khmer king, he was credited with saving Cambodia from disappearing altogether, making a decision to have Cambodia become a French protectorate rather than be swallowed up by Vietnamese and Siamese interests of the time. While we might today wonder at the wisdom of the decision, it was a calculated risk to preserve his people's culture. His brother, Prince Si Votha, engaged in open rebellion against the French colonials in Cambodia. Historically, people note this wasn't because of desire for independence from the French but out of jealousy regarding his brother's coronation. Prince Si Votha rebellion wasn't regarded as the act an independence fight but more of a nuisance and an aspiring usurper of the Cambodian throne.

In 1906, a number of Cambodian court dancers of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia inspired the famous French sculptor Rodin so much that he followed the company from Paris to Marseilles in 1906 to sketch them and produced over 150 of his most famous illustrations from their visit as part of King Sisowath's entourage. It's an interesting story with many possibilities to an alternate historian.

Alternate historians working in Southeast Asia will find it significantly challenging but rewarding to recover the names and accounts of figures within the Khmu, Mien, Tai Dam, Lahu, Akha, and other cultures who have primarily oral traditions for preserving their history. This is especially in light of recent discussions over Zomia, which seems well-suited for examination in an alternate history story, especially steampunk.

But who are some of the Southeast Asian historical figures you think might be interesting to examine through an alternate history lens?

2012 Call for submissions: Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

2012-01-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

It's the start of a new year, and we had a great 2011 at the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement. In addition to 19 academic articles and reviews, we had a record number of submissions in our creative works section from established and emerging Southeast Asian American writers. In 2011, we featured:

* Selected Poems of Andre Yang
* You Bring Out the Laos in the House by Catzie Vilayphonh
* Selected Poems of Toon Souksada Phapphayboun
* The p0wer of numbers of Sumeia Williams
* Selected Poems of Samy Elisabeth Yang
* When the Mountain Spirit Spoke by Anchalee P Roberts
* Hmong Daughter; Womyn by Linda Hawj

JSAAEA is an official publication of The National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans (NAFEA), with support from the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual studies and the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

In 2012, we'd like to continue adding more creative voices to the journal. If you or someone you know has work that you'd like to contribute, send them to me at thaoworra@gmail.com or you can go to the website at http://jsaaea.coehd.utsa.edu/index.php/JSAAEA/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions

New York Asian American International Film Festival call for entries

2012-01-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Asian American International Film Festival has announced its recent call for entries for 2012! If you've got something that fits, send it in!

Founded in 1978, the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2012. The AAIFF is organized by Asian CineVision (ACV), a non-profit media arts organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Asian and Asian American media expressions by:
• Helping to develop and support both emerging and experienced Asian American film and video makers and other media artists working in a range of genres and styles; and
• Helping to ensure that the full spectrum of Asian and Asian American media works reach diverse audiences in Asian American communities and beyond.

The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is proudly known as "The First Home to Asian American Cinema." It's the first and longest-running festival dedicated to screening works by media artists of Asian descent from any nationality and about the Asian community. The Festival takes place in New York City, the second-largest Asian American market in the U.S.

Festival highlights include the Emerging Director in Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature competitions; Excellence in Short Filmmaking competition; Q&A sessions with filmmakers; networking events and receptions. The AAIFF draws audiences from all five boroughs of New York City and the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT)

The Festival serves as a kick-off for a year of programs, in which selected filmmakers have the option of participating. Online distribution platform in collaboration with DramaFever.Com. The National Festival Tour enables participating filmmakers to reach broader audiences around North America through a rental service for cultural and educational institutions. In 2007, the Tour made its international debut screening at universities in Hong Kong and Macau. Hundreds of thousands of viewers and readers follow the festival in local, national and international media coverage.

30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival coming!

2012-01-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

SAVE THE DATES

When: March 8-18, 2012

Where: San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose, CA

The SFIAAFF, presented by the Center for Asian American Media, is the nation's largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films, annually presenting over 100 works in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Festival's 30th anniversary program celebrates the past, present, and future - not only honoring pioneers in Asian and Asian American media-making, but also new directions in digital and interactive media, sound and youth culture, and gaming.

So, keep your New Year's resolution - get out into the community and learn more about the richness and diversity of Asian and Asian American experiences (Wait, that wasn't on your list? Well, it should be!).

Recent notable calls for submissions

2012-01-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Some of the interesting calls for submissions at the moment. A little something for everyone, but several of their deadlines are coming up soon:

Humorous Tech Support StoriesSometimes, tech support requires more patience than what’s in the job description. For an anthology of humorous tech support stories, the editors seek quality non-fiction accounts of bizarre requests, inane questions, and pitiful pleas for help untangling technology. Entries should be between 500 and 1500 words. The anthology will be published in e-book format, and authors may appear anonymously if so desired. Preference will be given to stories involving face-to-face tech support rather than support given over the phone. To submit a story for consideration, email your entry as a MS Word, RTF, or Open Office document to usererror(at)nicomachus.net Replace (at) with @ in sending e-mail. Please include your name and contact information (phone number and preferred email address) as well as a brief description of your job responsibilities (e.g. network administration for a large health insurance provider; end-user support for a major research university) in the body of the email. Submission deadline January 31, 2012.

Ghost Town is the literary magazine of the MFA program at Cal State University San Bernardino. They’re looking for fearless and inventive fiction, poetry, and narrative nonfiction. They’re also interested in translations, letters, cryptic found writings, illustrations, and other oddments. They publish annually in the spring. Reading period is from September 1 to February 1. Submit online at: ghosttown.submishmash.com. Website: http://ghosttownlitmag.wordpress.com

LQQK MAGAZINE is a new science fiction magazine currently looking for new writers. We are interested in stories that speculate about the future of contemporary phenomena like social networking, mobile devices, filesharing, hacking, and online lifestyles. We are also interested in far-out, surrealist, or anarchic stories in general, with or without lulz. Full submission guidelines can be found at: www.lqqkzine.com/subm.html

CREATIVE NONFICTION is seeking essays by and about nurses for a new collection, Becoming a Nurse: Real Stories of Nurses, Their Lives and Their Patients. We are looking for writers who can write dramatically and vividly about this profession for a collection of essays, which will be published by Creative Nonfiction. Essays can be from 2,500-5,000 words but should be written in a narrative form, with scenes, description, vivid characters and a distinctive voice. Submissions must be postmarked by January 31, 2012. More information at: http://www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/submittocnf.htm#nurse

PALABRA invites Chicano & Latino writers to submit fresh, engaged work that stretches the boundaries of conventional literary form, content, and context. Small honorarium. Submission period: September 1 to April 30. Guidelines at: www.palabralitmag.com.

PMS poemmemoirstory seeks submissions during our new reading period: January 1–March 31. While PMS is a journal of exclusively women’s writing, the subject field is wide open. For guidelines, see: http://pms-journal.org/submission-guidelines.

SUBMITTED: WOMEN FINDING AND LEAVING EXTREME RELIGION is an anthology to be published by Seal Press in Spring, 2013. The anthology will chronicle the lives of women from a variety of restrictive religious backgrounds who chose a religious path only to eventually reject it or alter it in whole or in part. We are seeking contributions from women of all faiths, as well as all ages and backgrounds. The book explores, through story, the questions of how and why women choose to get involved in rigid religion, what keeps them invested, and then how and why they leave (and what they miss---or don't---once they're gone). Themes might include food, modesty, religious meetings, holidays, work, children, clothing, secrets, converting others, prayer, or marriage/sex. For more information and to submit your work go to www.submittedanthology.com

TAWDRY BAWDRY is accepting submissions of erotic poems and stories, sexy flash fiction, erotic imagery, personal experiences of 500 words or less, and essays on all aspects of sexuality. As usual, our tastes run toward the unexpected. Send us poems and stories that wouldn't fly elsewhere because there is just a little too much honesty in them (and we don't mean the kind of honesty that would get you arrested in real life). Take the time to read what we've published in the past to get a sense of what it is we are looking for: www.tawdrybawdry.com

January news from the Loft

2012-01-19T08:59:00.000-08:00

Some recent news from The Loft Literary Center:

The mission of the Loft is to foster a writing community, the artistic development of individual writers, and an audience for literature.

11 Online Classes Start February 6
Online classes are flexible enough to fit even the busiest of schedules. Classes that start Feb 6 include sci-fi/fantasy, poetry, fiction, memoir, food writing, and many others.

Winter classes start next week (starting January 23). There is still time to sign up for some great classes, including those taught by Kate St. Vincent Vogl, Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, Jude Nutter, and David Schwartz.

Manuscript Reviewer: The Loft is excited to add Ben Barnhardt as an online manuscript reviewer and editor. Ben has worked as an editor at Milkweed Editions on a wide variety of books including adult, young adult, and middle-grade fiction.

If you missed the controversy around New York Times writer Garth Risk Hallberg's "Why Write Novels at All", there is a recap on the Writers' Block.

Mentor Series: John Hildebrand
Friday, February 3, 7 p.m. at the Loft at Open Book.
The Loft Mentor Series continues with nonfiction mentor John Hildebrand (author of three books including Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon) and participants Lynne Maker Kuechle and Ann McKinley. A reception follows.

Playwright Class
The Playwrights' Center is offering an "Introduction to Playwrighting" taugh by Joe Waechter. The class starts March 14.

The Loft Literary Center is located at 1011 Washington Avenue S. in Minneapolis, MN 55401, but the online classes can be taken from anywhere in the country and are a great value.

Incorporated in 1975 in a space above a Minneapolis bookstore, The Loft Literary Center has grown to become the nation’s largest and most comprehensive literary center. It is located in the award-winning Open Book literary arts building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the heart of one of the most literate and book-friendly regions in the country.

The Loft Literary Center is a nonprofit arts organization offering services for readers and writers at every level. From novels to children’s literature, from playwriting to poetry, from spoken word to memoir, there’s something for everyone at the Loft.Programs include readings by acclaimed local and national authors, classes, weekend genre conferences, competitions and grants, open groups, writers’ studios, and much more.

The list of acclaimed authors who have appeared at the Loft over the years reads like a Who’s Who of American letters. The Loft is a unique community of people engaged in the reading and writing life.

Quetzalcoatl and the Nak

2012-01-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

One of the interesting legends to examine cross-culturally is the Mexican deity Quetzalcoatl, who is depicted at times as a plumed serpent and other times as a human being. Quetzalcoatl was considered the god of the wind, wisdom and life.

In contrast, the mythical nak of the Lao are often connected to bodies of water, such as the rivers, lakes, and oceans, and they were symbolic of fertility, wisdom and immortality. The nak are capable of also appearing as human beings.

From a speculative literature point of view, it might be interesting to consider the possibilities were the two to ever meet, especially given both cultures' later engagement with colonial powers. But would they find other interesting points of commonality or conflict worth exploring?

Stories of a plumed serpent named Kukulcan emerged around 500 BC to AD 900, and around the end of the 12th century, the king of the Toltecs, Topiltzin conferred upon himself the title of Quetzalcoatl. At some point, the Aztecs incorporated legends of the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl into their pantheon.

According to one legend, after a series of conflicts and the treachery of his nemesis Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl was said to have left the Americas on a raft of entwined serpents, sailing to the east, although the Aztecs predicted one day he would return.

In Lao art, the nak appear on the balustrades of temple causeways and platforms, personifying the rainbow, bridging the earthly and celestial worlds. Increasingly, a number of free-standing nak are appearing at Lao cultural centers such as the wat Lao, many in more dynamic positions than have been previously presented in the past.

Lao Steampunk: A French 'train' in Laos

2012-01-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

Until recently, Laos hasn't had anything close to a rail system. Over at Retire-Asia.Com, they do have a very small picture of a relic that shows an exception:

A little digging around and you find that this was used on a 7km track to connect a number of small islands during the French colonial era in southern Laos near the Cambodian border.

The system was constructed around 1893. It was developed to resolve a challenge of crossing the Khone mountain range separating the Lower from the Middle Mekong during the G. Simon Mission. Mekong Express has a few notes on it, and a picture of the tracks in use:

The result was a 160-meter long bridge and the laying of a 7-kilometer long railway track; This improved transportation between the Cambodia and Laos. Unfortunately it is difficult to find additional details online about the G. Simon mission of the late 1890s.

If you have additional information on this train system, it would be interesting to hear about it. In the meantime, for those of us examining alternate histories, we could consider what might have happened if the decision was made to expand the track system and encourage travel to other parts of southern Laos and the region. What if it eventually had been possible to connect to the Khmer rail system, for example? And what would life be like for people who lived near the tracks?

Laos News of the Week

2012-01-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

Some fun stories from Laos this week:

From the Omaha World Herald: If you get a chance to stop by the Common Grounds Cafe in Laos, you can meet a chef from Nebraska, and they make the only English muffins in the country in Vientiane Laos. They also have Mexican food. They're open Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM on Rue Chao Anou. info.commongrounds@gmail.com

Laos is apparently stepping up its game in producing counterfeit high-tech knock-offs, the Nextweb editor Jon Russell discovered as he found an iPad 5 4G, iPhone clamshell and other Apple rip-offs for sale in Laos. I'm sure the folks in Cuppertino just love that.

Amy Senser 'will be cleared' her attorney insists as she entered her plea in court and faces a new charge over her fatal hit-and-run of Anousone Phanthavong last year.

A memorandum of understanding was signed recently by the Viet Nam Records Book Centre (Vietkings) and the Laos State Publishing and Book Distribution House to establish Lao's Records Book Centre (Laokings).Laokings, based in Vientiane, will find and recognise national records in different fields including culture, science, society and economy.

Free Malaysia Today has an article on the ongoing challenge of fighting bear farms in Southeast Asia, especially Laos.

Benno Tuchschmid, a Swiss intern at the Vientiane Times, recently wrote about his sense of the Lao Alps, and travel in Xieng Khouang. It seems every season, someone discovers the beauty of the region anew.

The Jakarta Post reports another giant catfish has been caught in Laos, but it won't be long before they're completely extinct.

Dawn Starin wrote an article for the Epoch Post about a unique library that offers young Laotians the chance to read, learn, and grow.

The Business Times reports that Laos has raised the maximum foreign investors can own of a company in Laos. Effective January 16th, foreign investors can own up to 20% of a company now. Because increased foreign ownership always benefits a company and its host country, you know.

Major, a dog specialized in finding UXO died after a distinguished career of over 15 years.
When his handler was reassigned to Laos, "Major joined many other retired westerners where he met a young “local girl” and settled down to start a family. His greatest love was always water, despite its short supply in Somaliland. But in Laos, he enjoyed cooling off during long swims in the Mekong River with his oldest son and companion, Obelix."

According the Malaysian news agency Bernama, a Japanese-made UXO clearance vehicle worth 8 billion kip has arrived in Vientiane to begin service to assist UXO clearance in Xieng Khouang, thanks to the Japan Mine Action Service. A Komatsu demining machine, these vehicles have also seen service in Cambodia.

What are some news items from Laos that have caught your attention recently?

Evaluating Non-profits and Lao American community development

2012-01-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

Early in 2011, Public/Private Ventures released a report that called for a more nuanced approach to evaluating the effectiveness of nonprofit initiatives. They urged funders and stakeholders to reject rigid models based on a narrow determination of success or failure.

There are interesting conclusions of the report Lao American non-profit organizations could benefit from. A legitimate question is, do our organizations have the ability to advocate effectively with funders to design evaluation models that align with these recommendations?

The 12-page report, Priorities for a New Decade: Making (More) Social Programs Work (Better) recommends fully engaging nonprofit practitioners as partners in the evaluation efforts. Public/Private Ventures advocates approaches that reflect a deep understanding of local circumstances and constraints. The report offers guidelines for evaluation and scaling that support program quality and performance.

In many cities where there are still functioning non-profits addressing Lao American needs, we see the non-profits are serving as subordinates, implementing contracts and sub-contracts, rather than being brought to the table as partners and allies. We rarely see effective partnerships with a shared vision for constructive, holistic community development. We can often spot conflicts between transparency and transformation, and challenges of developing genuine intercultural sensitivity and cross-cultural exchange.

The Public/Private Ventures report comes about because of a belief that the current methods to evaluate the effectiveness of non-profit programs often fail to provide enough information on how to improve the performance of a program or how to scale-up an effective program.

Several projects we've seen within the Lao American community across the country could definitely have benefited from these recommendations. It might have led to better results and even widespread adoption of the successful elements of their efforts. But as it is, it's hard to point to many examples from 2010-2011 where we see other communities moving to adopt similar initiatives in their states and cities effectively.

Among recommendations the Public/Private Ventures report suggested: the establishment of clearer guidelines on how evaluation can meet the particular needs and contexts of different kinds of programs. It was important to forge closer working partnerships among program practitioners, researchers, and funders; There is a need to involve practitioners in the design of evaluation and data collections systems; We also need to emphasize collaboration among practitioners, evaluators, and funders to develop program assessment models and evaluate organizational capacity; and significantly, we need to push funders to make a greater effort to translate specific evaluation findings into practical lessons.

But what are some ways you think we need to consider to improve our evaluation and implementation process?

Dinosaurs of Laos

2012-01-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

To date, the most extensive collection of dinosaurs native to Laos are found near Savannakhet, which is of course, home to the famous Dinosaur Museum, which opened in 2000, the Year of the Dragon.

As it is now 2012, or the return of the Year of the Dragon, I think it would be wonderful to see more donations and support given to them this year. But more on that later in the year.

Hopefully, we'll see more scholarship done in the years ahead, but in the meantime we know there are at least 4 main types of dinosaurs you'll find in Laos: Sauropods, Theropods, including relatives of Tyrannosaurus Rex, Iguanodons, and Psittacosaurus.

Hopefully this knowledge will come in handy later on down the line.

You can visit the Savannakhet Dinosaur Museum at Thanon Khanthaburi, Ban Sayaphoum, Muang Khanthaburi, Khoueng, Savannakhet, Laos.

Lao Buddha of the Day: 18th Century

2012-01-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

This example of a Lao Buddha features lacquer work still in good condition from the 1700s, which would place it during the three kingdoms period of Laos/Lan Xang.

There isn't a significant amount of information available about this particular example or its current whereabouts, but as you can see, it continues the Lao traditional techniques, featuring a distinctive face with a noteworthy smile one rarely finds in other Buddhas from other traditions.

Three Lao proverbs regarding trees

2012-01-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

When you have money, you can speak; When you have wood, you can build your home.

You get nothing watering a stump.

You can bend a young twig, but it is hard to bend an old tree.

You may also want to check out Danny Khotsombath's recent post on Lao proverbs at Little Laos On the Prairie. But what are some of your favorites?

Urban-Development Legends and the arts

2012-01-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

Mario Polese recently took on Urban-Development Legends in The City Journal. Polese is a professor at the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société at Montreal’s Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique.

At the heart of his argument is the idea that cities should avoid academic fads and quick fix solutions to bring about a resurgence in a city. For Polese, the answer lies in creating good policies that are supported by good governance, although he admits this, too, isn't a particular guarantee.

There are any number of cities I would look at in the world where they struggle with such questions. Polese noted a study by the Boston Fed, whose conclusions amounted to the importance of :"strong public and private leadership, collaboration among various constituencies, innovation, and long-term commitment."

From an artist's perspective, a big question Polese raises is:

"Economic-development experts also have turned their attention of late to so-called soft factors: quality of life, the arts, creativity. The reason is the rise of the service-based knowledge economy, which has made human capital, not physical capital, the most precious commodity. Smokestack-chasing is passé; “factory” has almost become a dirty word. Chasing people (that is, certain types of people) is now the name of the game. Before, investments in strategic industries supposedly generated employment, which then attracted people. Now, it’s the other way around. Attract the right people—the young, educated, and talented, the drivers of today’s knowledge economy—and jobs will follow."

Reasonably, Polese challenges this notion. It comes down to a question of does a vibrant arts scene bring prosperity or is it a reflection?

The state of Minnesota among others have done a lot to examine the benefits an investment in the arts has on the community, and the kind of economic activity it generates and attracts. We see a lot of hopes being placed on the creative class, but in doing so, we need to remember that artists and other culture workers need to have the resources to be able to take risks. Without that capacity for risk resilience, we handicap their efforts to help bring transformation to their cities.

As we look at the ideas behind the Creative Cities Network that UNESCO proposes, or other initiatives that seek to create a flourishing, expressive urban center, do we need to do more to make a positive case to justify the investment in these efforts?

I'm inclined to believe positive outcomes almost invariably emerge from making outlets for creative expression and community gathering and exchange available. To create spaces that move beyond the merely commercial and back towards the civic. Those experiences that remind us why we want to be part of a particular society in a particular place, the opportunities within those spaces rather than a sense of confinement.

But what do you see as key intersections between urban development and the arts?

Building thriving arts communities?

2012-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

New York-based public-arts org Creative Time was at one point tasked to evaluate the state of the arts in Dallas -- "to identify strengths and potential areas for growth." Their findings were released as an 11-page report.

Their recommendations were interesting, but already people are finding among the most applicable items for discussion not just in Dallas but other cities are their sense of 13 key factors for an art community to thrive.

Looking them over, I think they are worth consideration not just for cities, but cultures.

They "believe there are certain key elements that are necessary for any art community to thrive." Paraphrasing them in no particular order:

1. A sustainable artist community and opportunities for live/ work space

2. Cultural institutions with international reach, innovative programs, and historically relevant collections

3. Great patrons who support the creation, presentation, and acquisition of art

4. Mid-sized and small art spaces that support the creation of new and experimental work by local and international artists

5. Skilled and visionary arts leaders in institutions big and small

6. Excellent contemporary art galleries with international reach

7. Residency programs for national and international artists to create in their city

8. Master of Fine Arts programs to train and attract artists

9. Arts education in public schools

10. Public art to engage broad audiences and activate public spaces

11. Engaged audiences

12. Experienced art writers featured daily in primary news media

13. Civic championing of the arts through policies and urban planning

For Lao American arts and the current state of things, many of these recommendations would be of significant benefit. Which ones do we need to prioritize, and what do we need to add to this list? Given our interest in the aims of the UNESCO creative cities network, what kind of social infrastructure do we need to build to make this happen in the US and in Lao expatriate communities abroad?

Antique Burmese Naga / Nak

2012-01-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

This is a rare example from Burma of a naga, or what Lao would consider a nak, in a part-human form.

He's fashioned from terra-cotta. Some distinctive features include the trident and the overall pose. The arm bands, bracelets, and the tie of the belt are also significant in identifying the region he's from. He was sold by an antique dealer to a private collector for an unknown sum and his location is currently unknown. He was 17 1/2 inches high. Given the amount of detail, and the rarity of such images, I think he's rather amazing and sure to inspire a great many stories.

We would consider the position unusual because it's very casual, yet serious. One might typically expect it standing in a sentinel pose or a fierce state of readiness. It would have been very interesting to have known who sculpted him and who purchased him over the years and where he was displayed.

Lao Steampunk: Tattoo research

2012-01-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

Over at Vanishing Tattoo, Lars Krutak has a well-researched article on traditional tattoos and customs of Southeast Asia, including Laos, with a number of illustrations and photos of tattoo examples from the early 20th century.

As Krutak points out, tattoos in Southeast Asia were not sought for strictly aesthetic reasons but for spiritual protection. He writes: "Largely administered by holy monks, sagacious tribal elders, and layman tattooists, the esoteric art was not only believed to provide its wearers with indelible protection from a variety of misfortunes, but also the mystical power to influence other peoples’ behavior, carry the deceased safely into the afterlife, or simply increase a person’s “luck.”

There's a lot that can be said about the power of ink and the written word and art and its connection to the supernatural, but for the time being, I'll let Krutak's article speak for itself. It's excellent as inspiration for writers seeking to understand the many different customs and beliefs one might encounter in Laos and Southeast Asia.

Hemet Public Library: The Aeneid

2012-01-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 14th, I'll be conducting a discussion of the classic, The Aeneid starting at 10 AM at the Hemet Public Library. This is the classical story of Aeneas, who, over 10,000 lines of poetry wanders from Troy to what will one day become Italy and becomes the ancestor of the Romans.

Written by Virgil, Aeneas was a character from The Iliad. This work manages to connect Roman roots to legendary Troy. The Julio-Claudian dynasty were able to claim legitimacy as descendants of the founders of Rome connected to Troy thanks to the Aeneid. It's a work that amplified many Romans understanding of their national virtues and values. But why might it resonate with us today? We'll consider it more at the discussion on Saturday!

The discussion is free and open to the public at 300 E. Latham Avenue, in Hemet, California.

Sheryl St. Germain on The Stars,the Snow, the Fire

2012-01-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

A director of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Chatham University, Sheryl St. Germain had a recent article in The Writers Chronicle speaking of John Haines memoir. An interesting passage was that she felt she was "reading a poem disguised as an essay, a poem that changed into comfortable clothes, invited me in for a drink, a poem whose language promised me the depth and nuance and metaphor and music of poetry..."

The poet in me naturally considers the intriguing inverse as a nifty gauntlet to hurl at ourselves. Who would be considered the great poets among us who compose an "essay disguised as a poem?"

I think Khalil Gibran's "The Two Cages" is one of the great classics in this area. There, within 46 words we have an immensely profound essay on the human and cosmic experience.

Because Asian poetics tend to go either excruciatingly epic or striking in their brevity such as the haiku, ca dao, kanshi, sijo or ci, for example, it provides a distinct challenge.

One might well argue that the majority of Basho's haikus could be considered such,or perhaps Li Po's "A Farewell To Secretary Shuyun At The Xietiao Villa In Xuanzhou." Saymoukda Vongsay is reaching towards it in her poem "When Everything Was Everything."

Now, we could also take St. Germain's passage to the full inverse and ask what would an Asian American essay disguised as a poem be like, especially one that "changed into formal wear, snubbed you for happy hour during New Year's, whose language promised you shallowness and breadth and literalness and unimaginative atonality..." but here it would be improper for me to suggest candidates.

I tend to advocate that a form should be its form. A poem is a poem for a reason and not merely a short story with punctuation and layout problems. A movie should be something that would translate poorly into a book. A book should do what movies cannot. Still, all forms of art do well to learn from each other, and now, I'm off to consider how Lao Americans might truly push this concept in our poetics.

Rexroth on the Odyssey

2012-01-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Kenneth Rexroth in Classics Revisited makes an apt note of the contrast between The Ililad and The Odyssey:

"The Iliad says: "This is life. It is tragic, and if it has meaning, that meaning is an incommunicable mystery; it can be presented, but never explained." The Odyssey says: "This is life. It is comic and it is full of meanings. These meanings are all the multiform techniques for living; they can be learned by work, intelligence, and a canny conscience."

Rexroth asserts that "Tragedy is a posture; comedy is an activity. If one reads enough comedies, they might change one's life fundamentally. " Rexroth addressed the Mahabharata, which I'll examine later, but I wonder how he would have considered the Ramayana or the Lao variation Phra Lak Phra Lam or other examples of Ramakien.

But ultimately, I find myself intrigued by the choices of tragedy or comedy that Rexroth believes these two Greek classics present to us. Somehow, there are moments where I feel much of our modern literature is stuck, and we can attain neither well in our latest works. This doesn't mean we shouldn't still aspire to such, but I would be hard pressed to hold many contemporary works alongside the world classics at the moment. I would certainly be fascinated how Rexroth would read Harry Potter or Cujo.

Naturally, I find myself lamenting this even as a certain college whose football team is the Titans has opted to eviscerate its humanities department without an inkling of the irony.

Lao Steampunk Sundays: Found objects.

2012-01-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Found in the basement of a dealer trafficking in unusual objets d'art, I'm sure there's a fascinating story of how this was obtained originally, and what it really does...

It does lead to mind the dharmacakra, which typically has the following meanings attributed to it depending on the number of spokes in the wheel:

8 spokes representing the Noble Eightfold Path.

12 spokes representing the Twelve Laws of Dependent Origination.

24 spokes representing the Twelve Laws of Dependent Origination and the Twelve Laws of Dependent Termination.

31 spokes representing 31 realms of existence (11 realms of desire, 16 realms of form and 4 realms of formlessness).

In Buddhism, parts of the Dharmacakra also representative of the following concepts:
Its overall shape is that of a circle, representing the perfection of the dharma teaching.
The hub stands for discipline, which is the essential core of meditation practice.
The rim, which holds the spokes, refers to mindfulness which holds everything together.

So, given the role and relationships of cogs, gears and wheels within steampunk literature, I wonder how it might change the ideas and perceptions of different concepts within buddhism, if it all. But that's a point of consideration for another time...

Lao Poetics: Form vs. Ideas?

2012-01-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Carol J. Compton's Lao Poetics: Internal Rhyme in the Text of a Lam Sithandon Performance is a short but interesting document for Lao American poets to consider.

I would definitely say that the oral character of a poem is a strong consideration within my own work. She is intrigued at the possibility that Lao aesthetics may be similar to Thai aesthetics, where we are to be more interested in the 'manipulation of language within the constraints imposed by the various verse patterns," if Gedney is correct. Value would come from 'the form, as opposed to the semantic content' according to Gedney.

Burnshaw asserts that "The words are the poem. Ideas can often be carried across, but poems are not made of ideas...they are made of words...An English translation is always a different thing; it is always an English poem."

I find this a contentious line of thinking for us as Lao American poets because it creates a mindset that in its extreme means a poem can be any pile of random gibberish as long as it is constructed of word 'elements.' Coherence is not an issue so long as the form is followed?

Is the role of poetry to enforce and show rules of grammar? Argue not always, I would. To challenge, in fact, a valid core of poetry, rather, to raise words back up from the sludge of the quotidian.

Nationwide, I've seen Lao American poets are frequently taking on formal forms, but rarely stay with them for long, with the possible exception of the haiku.

Poetry has often been on the edge of chaos and the mysterious: What makes a word work, or not, a phrase, then a stanza, then an epic? Do we document the mundane of the great mysteries or the mysteries within the mundane? Or just crank out ephemeral hallmark cards about bugs and red roses?

[Poetry] Calls for Submissions

2012-01-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent calls for submissions of note:

Crashtest, the new online literary magazine for high school writers, would like to hear from you! Crashtest publishes poetry, stories and creative non-fiction in the form of personal essays, imaginative investigation, experimental interviews, or whatever else you would like to call it from high school students between grades 9 to 12. They’re looking for writing that has both a perspective and a personality. They’re looking for authors who have something to say. Check them out at www.crashtestmag.com. Crashtest only accepts email submissions. Send submissions, .doc or .rtf attachment only, and any queries to editor@crashtestmag.com.

The Monarch Review is accepting submissions year-round via their Web site www.themonarchreview.org. They publish a variety of poetry, fiction, essays, music and visual art 3-5 times per week. They also release a print edition every six months they call Monarch. Submitting is free. The Monarch Review is a magazine created in the spirit of the Monarch Apartments: a Seattle home to generations of poets, writers, musicians, visual artists, pranksters, cranks and the curious. The publication aims to sustain the Monarch’s vibrant, vagabond culture by creating a forum for emerging and established artists and thinkers.

Rufous Salon is a literary salon/journal situated in Uppsala, Sweden. They welcome submissions on a rolling schedule and consider flash fiction and poetry. See www.rufoussalon.net/#!submissions for submission guidelines. L'art pour l'art! www.rufoussalon.net

Wordrunner eChapbooks. Online submission deadline: February 21, 2012Wordrunner eChapbooks publishes four online collections annually of fiction, poetry or memoir, each featuring one author, and the occasional anthology. Submissions are open for the mid-March 2012 fiction e-chapbook (short stories or novel excerpt) from January 1 through February 21, 2012. At least 1/4 of the collection should be previously unpublished. No fee to submit. Payment: $65. Detailed guidelines are posted at www.echapbook.com/submissions.htm.

Passages North is looking for Hybrid Essays and Spoken-Word Poetry. In addition to standard (whatever that means) submissions in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, send them your hybrid essays—your orphans, your bastards, your bumpings, and your grindings, whether whimsical, grave, or neither. They're also looking for video and audio poems for our website that shock us, that grab us by our shirt collars, that take us on a ride and leave us somewhere we've never been before. They want that dirty secret, that gasp for air, that pulse of you that can't just be written down. Submit here: passagesnorth.submishmash.com/submit.

StepAway Magazine. Online submission deadline: March 14, 2012StepAway Magazine is holding its 5th call for submissions. Their magazine is hungry for literature that evokes the sensory experience of walking in specific neighborhoods, districts or zones within a city. They accept poetry and prose under 1000 words. This is flânerie for the twenty-first century. Please submit your work and a press-ready biography to: submissions@stepawaymagazine.com

Buddhist Poetry Review. Online submission deadline: February 29, 2012Buddhist Poetry Review is a quarterly online magazine dedicated to publishing fresh and insightful Buddhist poetry. BPR is accepting submissions for Issue Four through February 29th, 2012. Please visit their site for submission guidelines: www.buddhistpoetryreview.com/submit

The First Line. Postmark/Online deadline: February 1, 2012Submissions for the Spring 2012 issue are due Feb 1. The first Line: “There are a few things you need to know before we start.” (quotes required) www.thefirstline.com/submission.htm

Gemini Magazine has no rules. Send your very best fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction or anything else you think might capture their interest. They read work year-round: www.gemini-magazine.com

Fried Chicken and Coffee is now considering and desperately needs: poems, non-fiction and fiction on topics related to Appalachian or rural concerns. They are also considering poetry chapbooks for 2012 (to be published in 2013).

Hippocampus Magazine. Online submission deadline: Ongoing. Looking for true stories: Hippocampus Magazine, an exclusively online publication dedicated to creative nonfiction is seeking essay and memoir excerpt submissions of up to 3,500 words. Submission guidelines available online at www.hippocampusmagazine.com.

Ashland Creek Press is currently accepting submissions of novels, memoirs, short story collections, and essay collections on the themes of travel, the environment, ecology, and wildlife — above all, we’re looking for exceptional, well-written, engaging stories. We are open to many genres (young adult, mystery, literary fiction) as long as the stories are relevant to the themes listed above. Please visit our website for complete guidelines: www.ashlandcreekpress.com.

Mandala Journal. Online submission deadline: February 15, 2012Mandala Journal, an online student-run multicultural journal, announces the 2012 issue, Exodus. Words and works from emerging and established poets, writers, artists, and thinkers including Sonya Sanchez, Betye Saar, Kara Walker, LeAnne Howe, Lois Marie Harrod, and Charlayne Hunter-Gault. Please visit mandala.uga.edu for submission guidelines.

Lao arts and the speculative

2012-01-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Why speculative literature for Laotians?

I had a conversation recently where I distilled the point to this: If our communities, especially those in diaspora, don't learn to explore ways to express a sense of the future or the many other possibilities within a life, we will remain trapped fixated on the past, without direction, struggling to heal and rebuild.

A healthy Lao futurism would enable us to unlock futures, the present, lessons learned, and dreams discovered for all.

Lao culture and Lao American culture already deals with what many would consider speculative literary themes. Modern examples include a Lao love for ghost stories or poems about meeting ghosts (Lao, American or otherwise), phi or other helpful spirits, organizations such as the kinnaly dance troupe invoking the memory of the half-human, half-bird women and men as metaphysical embodiments of the arts.

People in Laos still insist there's a nak in the Mekong and celebrate the nak fireball festival. Lao just won an award for robotics in Laos this year.

In Lao America, images of the nak continue to be popular subjects for tattoos as well as a guardians of the temples. When Lao culture adapts the Ramayana as Phra Lak Phra Lam, and then turns it into a Jataka, that says something about the culture.

In the US we find ourselves so flooded with the myths and science fiction visions of other cultures: Manga, anime, Star Wars and Star Trek, the Matrix, any number of video games and Harry Potter. Many of us have a love for this, and we are adding to the pre-existing, but where are we innovating, and where are we continuing our own traditions?

Where do the Lao want to go within these literary genres? How do we use our imagination? So much of Lao literary culture is currently fixated on memoir and children's stories, but not necessarily continued expression of what we want as a future.

And without that expression of a future, just documentary work, we lose a part of art, and we also head ourselves towards a cultural dead end, and we fail the dreams and visions of our elders who worked so hard to hold Lao culture together for over 600 years.

As poets? When we look at the Odyssey, the Ramayana, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Canterbury Tales, the Lais of Marie de France, Le Morte de Arthur, Beowulf, the Raven, even the Bible, these are speculative poems of the highest order that transformed entire cultures and affected the world.

Modern Laos is a culture the size of Great Britain, and while it seems unlikely we'll ever rule almost the entire world the way Great Britain once did physically, how do we write and create ideas within our culture that the entire world would want to passionately embrace?

Horror, fantasy, science fiction, mythology, folklore. It's all around us, and it's within our culture.

I'm curious how other Lao writers are writing to get us to the stars and to worlds yet to be.

I hope this helps serve as a spark for what you think a Lao American science fiction poem or story might look like. Good luck!

Lao Buddhas: 18th-19th Century

2012-01-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

There's often a stereotype that if you've seen one Buddha statue, especially in Southeast Asia, you've seen them all, and that there's a rigid uniformity to their construction and how to properly depict the Buddha.

Because they're so rarely seen, or else seen among Buddha statues from other cultures, many Lao and non-Lao have trouble seeing the distinctive styles characteristic of authentic Lao / Lan Xang representations of the Buddha. Hopefully, this will help provide a reference point.

Above, we have an excellent example of an 18-19th century Lao Buddha. This is notable for the significant dynamic energy in the position and stylized motifs, typified by the use of spiky, curling points and the expression on the Buddha's face. He was 15 inches high and had a very elaborate base and finial. He was sold for $2,000 and is currently believed to be in the hands of a private collector. It is uncertain if and when he will ever be seen in public again.

There is unfortunately little public documentation of the history of this piece, such as its original owners, its creator or where it had originally been displayed, what it was made of, and how much it cost, for example. This was one of many hazards of the war and colonization.

Free Lao American E-Books for 2012

2012-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

Just to start out the year right, I'm posting a reminder that I have a number of free e-books scattered around the web. But to make things easier, here are the locations for several of them:

Between Souls: http://bit.ly/betweensouls11

This is my most recent short collection of poems connected to the Lao experience around the world, along with a bibliography and some biographical information.

Tanon Sai Jai: http://bit.ly/TanonSaiJai is a full-length, 2009 collection of poems including a photopoetic essay on Laomerica. It is also available in a signed printed edition.

On The Other Side Of The Eye: http://bit.ly/otosote was my first full-length collection in 2007, with a foreword by Barbara Jane Reyes. It is a book of speculative poetry from a Laotian American experience, drawing on both the history of Laos and the themes and techniques of science fiction, horror and fantasy. Currently out of print, this e-book version was a pre-publication version stored at archive.org for scholarly purposes. There are a few differences between this version and the print edition.

Touching Detonations: http://bit.ly/TouchingDetonations was the first e-book to emerge from my first trip to Laos in 30 years in 2003. It also collects many of my initial poems written in response to the continuing challenge of UXO still leftover in Laos after nearly 40 years.

They should be compatible with any e-reader that can read pdfs.

Later, in 2012, I hope to upload my short collection Japonisme, Laoisme, connected to the influence of Japanese culture and particularly zen buddhism, iaido and ukiyo-e art on my writing and what lessons the Lao might learn as we begin sharing our work more widely with the world on our own terms.

I'll also be posting RETRAVIEWS. This is part Lao American adoptee memoir, part puzzle, part classic science fiction film review, composed using a modified haiku form.

The Soryu Ham: Document Box collection and Monstro are also planned for later release in 2012. Monstro will most likely include the rare The Kaiju and I in a new edition, along with a revised edition of my first chapbook from my college years in the 1990s, The Leaves.

Thanks to support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and their Artist Initiative Grant, the majority of these will also become available in other e-book formats for e-book readers such as the Kindle and Nook later this year, hopefully with some added bonus features.

Call for Submissions: Lao American Speculative Arts Anthology

2012-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Approaching 40 years in the US, we know Lao Americans love science fiction, fantasy, horror, myths and legends. Now we're looking your stories and art for the first full-length anthology of Lao American speculative art and literature.

Whether it's a story of Lao astronauts in a distant future, nak or phi in ancient Lan Xang, the missing adventures of Sithong or Xieng Mieng, or wild weretigers and kinnali in Laotown, we want to hear about it!

Tales of time-traveling silapin, Lao cyborgs and superheroes, or visitors to haunted villages are all encouraged and welcomed.

Send us your best original stories between 250 to 5,555 words in length. We also accept up to 10 poems, up to 255 words per poem. For longer or shorter works, please inquire.

We are also looking for examples of visual art: painting, illustrations, textiles, mixed media, photography. Visual artists can submit between 5 to 10 pieces.

All genres and sub-genres such as steampunk are welcomed, but no "fan fiction" or use of characters and settings you do not have the rights to.

Work should have a reasonably clear Lao connection.

This anthology is requesting one-time electronic and print rights, after which further publication rights revert to the creator. A physical contributor's copy and e-book copy are provided.

To Submit:
We accept RTF files by e-mail only. Put the words: LAO ANTHOLOGY in the subject line with your name. Double spaced manuscript in Times New Roman. Use italics, not underlines when necessary. Use of Laoglish is fine and encouraged, but absolutely NO italicizing Lao words. Good grammar and spelling appreciated. No simultaneous submissions.

Have your contact information of the first page of the manuscript including e-mail address. Visual art submissions should be able to be reproduced well in black and white and sent as a digital file at 600 dpi or higher. Portrait orientation preferred, but landscape orientation accepted.

Deadline Extended to: January 31st, 2012

Send submissions or additional questions to: Thaoworra@gmail.com

Poetics and Iaido

2012-01-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Among the myriad martial arts forms one might consider, I often consider several principles within Iaido, or the art of drawing the sword, of significant interest to poets. During college, one of my theater teachers felt it was important for artists in particular to develop a unity between mind, body, thought and action, and over time, that, among other things, brought me into contact with the iaido form from Japan.

I feel both poetry and iaido should be a form of waking meditation, focused on your being fully in the present.

In a single stroke within iaido you draw the blade, cut the target (possibly even multiple targets), clean the blade and return it to its scabbard. This motion should be fluid and elegant, without hesitation, perfectly expending energy without waste: No more, no less than required. One maintains clarity of mind and ideally, action is not clouded by emotion, such as rage or despair, greed or ambition.

Herrigel proposed in Zen and the Art of Archery that you come to an understanding that you do not take the shot. The shot takes the shot. The cut makes the cut. And so, finally, I would propose, the poem makes the poem.

Ideally, the poem that appears on your paper is written in one sitting and needs no edits or revision. This may, in many cases, extend towards the live performance of such a poem as well.

American poetics are often fixated on the self and the I, obscure arcana and detritus, binary expressions of I-Thou, Either-Or, Yes-No, Heaven-Hell, Good-Evil.

In my approach, the ego is ideally submerged within a poem, even as it is already in a state of unity with the words. The way I talk about everything except myself is still a way of talking about myself, and yet not. There are schools of poetry that disagree with this approach. But every poet finds their own path and preferred forms.

Of course, this is the ideal, and in actual practice most of my poems are tweaked constantly over time as I learn new techniques, gain new perspective, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

But even as there is a gulf between the ideal and the reality, you understand the mountain you approach. Once in a while, you will succeed and those moments will be deeply satisfying. And if you are mindful of your process, even if you don't 'succeed', you still grow from it, ready for the next moment.

Welcoming 2012: Year of the Dragon

2012-01-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

So, here we are. Tempus fugit, as they say. Thanks to everyone who's joined us so far and here's my first official post for the new year. This upcoming year, my plan is to continue taking on any number of interesting topics that are useful for readers of Lao American literature and community, particularly for those writing within speculative literature.

As we approach the year of the dragon, or nak, this will also figure heavily into many of my posts including what I hope are regular weekly reviews. 2012 will be a year of many changes, although most likely not the end of the world on 12-12-12. It's also the fifth anniversary of my first full-length book of speculative poetry, so that will be something I'll be reflecting on, particularly as we get closer to August.

This year, the plan is to get some significant travel back and forth between Minnesota, California and Wisconsin, and possibly Laos, but we'll see where else the year takes me. Best laid plans, after all.

At this point, I quote Winston Churchill: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of a beginning."

Keep creative, and together, let us transform not just lives, but worlds yet to be.

Challenges in teaching Lao arts

2011-12-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

Dr. Lynette Henderson in her 2005 article "Teaching Cultural Traditions: Art of Laos" from the May issue of Art Education discussed a 2003 project of interest to our community.

The projec involved Children's Art Workshop, the Program for Southeast Asian Studies and Hayden Library at Arizona State University and the Arizona Lao Association. They sought to teach Lao art traditions to 25 students from diverse communities in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

"Our problem became, then, how to give students necessary skills, maintain a sense of individual vision and remain true to the form and function of Lao art and design as we understood it." Henderson noted.

"Teachers should ask students to define and identify primary tenets of the tradition in their own work and then contrast those with familiar tenets as a learning tool, such as symmetry and symmetry, for example, which are common principles in Western art," she noted as a recommended practice.

In her concluding remarks we can find some interesting recommendations. I will be interested to see how many of these are applied and incorporated into existing efforts over the next twelve years in particular. She writes:

"Due to the differing nature of traditional Lao craftsmanship and the Western emphasis on self-expression, issues arose both during the planning stages and in the classroom on exactly what and how to teach Lao weaving and design. Context also played an important role regarding potential conflicts in terms of the flexible nature of a Saturday art program, regarded more as entertainment than education by some parents and students, and demographics of the student body. Teacher and staff awareness of those factors and possible ensuing issues, however, will help preparations of future classes for issues that need resolution, and to remain focused on both the material and conceptual aspects of art production. In addition, the notion of pushing into deeper content in student artworks is one that can be built up through a series of activities moving from simpler lessons to a more complicated mixture of form and function. Over time and with focused attention, the presentation of a multitude of art traditions will become more commonplace within art education, particularly within teacher preparation programs. The issues will seem less contentious as appropriate language and viable solutions become easier to access through repeated practice, leaving the way open for both techers and students to successfully navigate and enjoy the complex mysteries of art and culture."

But what are some approaches and challenges you see with teaching Lao art?

Kenneth Rexroth's Classics Revisited

2011-12-31T00:07:00.000-08:00

Rummaging about this weekend, I found my old copy of Kenneth Rexroth's Classics Revisted, which I would always strongly advise both emerging and experienced writers. I encourage you to look at for an intriguing approach to viewing what Rexroth refers to as the "basic documents in history of the human imagination." He provides a series of short, typically 5-page essays on classic texts that provide an excellent starting point for an alternate but still interesting consideration.

Particularly as we look at the work of current writers who are in the process of creating mashups, alternate histories, authorized sequels for books by other people, etcetera, I found myself even more appreciative of Rexroth's quest. A great problem with many of these modern 'texts' is that they are not being written with the intention of providing a very deep and interesting experience for all of their transmutations and literary alchemy. Most are mere stunts, which are not necessarily bad things, but their transformative effect on readers can often be dubious.

I am not necessarily saying the solutions will be found strictly within the pages of Rexroth's work, but I think a great many of us, especially within speculative literature, would do well to refamiliarize ourselves fully with the classics and why they resonate across the centuries.

For Lao steampunk writers, even as we talk of the future that never was, are we also addressing the universal human issues in ways that allow us to see past, present and future in innovative ways with a deep literary core firmly fastened to it? What will it mean to do so?

Over recent centuries, Lao literature has become increasingly clipped and known for its brevity, compared to the epic forms of old that used to take several nights to recite. This brevity does not necessarily constitute a handicap, but it would if we do not maintain a firm sight on the aims of literature over chatter.

But take a look at Classics Revisited if you get the opportunity and let me know what you think, and what resonates with you.

5 years of On The Other Side Of The Eye in 2012

2011-12-30T23:51:00.000-08:00

In an interesting turn of fate, my first full-length book of Laotian American speculative poetry will be turning 5 in 2012, the Year of the Dragon. So, needless to say, expect a number of fun things and events to celebrate the occasion, especially around August.

Although it is currently out of print, I am happy that it has touched as many lives as it has up to this point, and I am thankful to all of my readers who've been there with me along the journey!

W. Somerset Maugham on Freedom.

2011-12-30T23:46:00.000-08:00

"If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too."

-W. Somerset Maugham, "Strictly Personal," 1941

Lao Steampunk: States of Power

2011-12-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

So, for the 300th post this year, I'm taking note of a quote that has lingered with me by Jean Luc-Godard, who said "It is the dream of the state to be one. It is the dream of the individual to be two." in Film Socialisme.

Within Lao steampunk, there are several questions that must be addressed for would-be writers creating alternative history.

Lan Xang and the three kingdoms, prior to their consolidation as Laos, and a French protectorate, before gaining their full independence, was likely not Camelot, but neither was it necessarily a dystopian kleptocracy posing as a plutocracy. With the dearth of material available regarding much of the 1600s and 1700s, we can only guess at many elements.

Alternate history can certainly suggest what if it had been able to live up to its ideal, but that route of excessive romanticizing holds little interest for me. Perhaps other writers will prefer that approach, but I wouldn't consider it terribly sophisticated.

We might take a better cue from the old Japanese manga, Lone Wolf and Cub, which presented a gritty counterpoint to Don Quixote, a samurai who propped up the emperor as the chief executioner, who still lives by samurai ideals of bushido, even to his detriment, even after abandoning his station and becoming a ronin, in a world that has already abandoned most of those principles anyway.

But what does a Lao steampunk hero look like, if they're keeping true to the anarchic punk principles of independence and self-determination. These are already largely Lao values for a long time anyway, so the question might become: How far is too far, then?

Good Lao steampunk is most likely going to have to go into a controversial position of supporting neither the state nor predatory colonial powers. So how does that play out, and how does one create an effective, interesting protagonist? One might look to the example of the traditional folk hero Xieng Mieng if this is the approach. One who is in the state, but not wholly of the state, but isn't going to throw the state under the bus to sell out to another power.

Here, I would look at the words of James Joyce in Portrait of the Artist of a Young Man for what a Lao steampunk 'hero' might embody: "I said that I had lost the faith, but not that I had lost self-respect. What kind of liberation would that be to forsake an absurdity which is logical and coherent and to embrace one which is illogical and incoherent?"

Or, as Joyce's protagonist continues: "I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use— Silence, exile and cunning."

Debora Kuan's 'Pastoral"

2011-12-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

Asian American poet Debora Kuan has a poem, "Pastoral" featured at the Poetry Society of America. The Poetry Society of America has featured a number of Asian American writers in the past including Barbara Jane Reyes. Helpfully, Kuan writes about her poem, and why she opted to use surrealism and ekphrasis within her work.

She writes: "They are not so much full-blown characters as they are gestures at ethnicity. I wanted the poem to be about exile and migration—my parents' and grandparents' stories, and consequently, mine—but without the attendant burdens of history or time, or the strict parameters of a specific nationality. This openness is very important to me. As a writer steeped in the Western canon, I know very little about Chinese poetry and literature, classical or otherwise, but I want to speak to this schism, as well as the loss and frustration I feel in the face of a tradition I have only the most superficial access to."

There are questions within here that could apply to the challenges for Lao American and other Southeast Asian American poets as well. Does this make it good poetry? Is it readable? Would we return to it? When we employ these techniques, what lingers?

Kuan is "the recipient of a Fulbright creative writing scholarship (Taiwan), University of Iowa Graduate Merit Fellowship, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference scholarship, Santa Fe Art Institute writer's residency, and two Pushcart Prize nominations. She has taught creative writing at The College of New Jersey and the University of Iowa, and has written about contemporary art for Artforum, Art in America, Modern Painters, Paper Monument, and other publications. She also writes fiction and was a fellow in the CUNY Writers' Institute's program last year."

"Has Asian American Studies Failed?"

2011-12-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

Timothy Yu asks this interesting question, "Has Asian American Studies Failed?" on his blog. It's an important question, and one that others are asking in many other sectors, such as Hyphen Magazine's provocative post on "Jean Quan and the Death of Asian America."

I addressed the Hyphen post over at Little Laos On the Prairie and what it could mean for many Lao, but many of the issues also apply to Asian American Studies. Failure and death are pretty final words to be using.

Optimistically, I would consider them only setbacks, rather than defeats and the death of certain dreams. But we cannot be complacent, either. Or take each other for granted. I think leadership at the Association for Asian American Studies and others do need to consider Tim's proposals, especially in regards to bringing the field truly back to the people. We need to connect it more concretely to our abilities to succeed and thrive not only within academia but beyond it. To survive, it cannot be a liability to our youth or their families. To survive, we must see not only what has been, but what can be.

A thought from Walt Whitman

2011-12-27T09:31:00.000-08:00

"And I will show that there is no imperfection in the present, and can be none in the future, And I will show that whatever happens to anybody it may be turn'd to beautiful results, And I will show that nothing can happen more beautiful than death, And I will thread a thread through my poems that time and events are compact, And that all the things of the universe are perfect miracles, each as profound as any." -Walt Whitman

A thought from Bertrand Russell

2011-12-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision" - Bertrand Russell.

Mulling a critique of Bag of Bones

2011-12-19T01:42:00.000-08:00

I found myself a little underwhelmed by the recent mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's Bag of Bones, but I did find one critique from Entertainment Weekly particularly interesting. It was a good warning of how not to write or film a horror story: 'Bag of Bones' attempts to say something about care-giving and leave-taking. But, much of the time ... it’s busy trying to scare the pants off you and failing in the attempt."

Now I'm left wondering how one might do such a story about care-giving and leave-taking well. And also scare the bejeezus out of you without resorting to dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream sequences and cheap thrills.

But for those of you who've read Bag of Bones, where do you think it went right, and what might have been done better?

Lao Steampunk: Sounds of SEAsian Steampunk?

2011-12-19T00:10:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, one of the topics that came up was what the sounds of Southeast Asian steampunk would sound like. Thanks to Silver Goggles and the others for raising these thought-provoking questions.

So, now I'm left considering what would happen if we give the traditional instruments a steam-powered or electric enhancement.

Bear in mind that a traditional Lao orchestra has at least 13 players: One ranat thum, a metallophone with steel keys. 1 ranat ek, a wooden xylophone and a ranat thum lek, complement the ranat thum. Two kim hammer dulcimers are considered ideal. Among wind instruments, at least one gla jub pe, known as a long-neck flute. The key stringed instruments include 1 saw sam sai, or 3-string fiddle and 1 saw ou, or 2-string fiddle, as well as 1 saw duang, which is a high-pitched 2-string fiddle. Finally, you also need a larng gong, an 18 piece gong, and glong tuk, a drum, a ta phon mon, which is a royal drum, 1 cymbal set and 1 bell set. Obviously, people have worked with more or less depending on the occasion.

Among contemporary Lao musicians you can frequently hear good examples of what Lao steampunk music might sound like in the music of Ketsana. She frequently incorporates the traditional with new technology and modern musical aesthetics and a love of science fiction to explore what is possible:

In other occasions, a khaen would be a key instrument in a steampunk environment. An electric khaen would most likely be like other instruments where electricity is used to amplify and manipulate the sound using a filter. We might turn to the work with electric flutes to get a sense of what pioneers of the electric khaen would be attempting during this time.

I imagine if we were to keep it steam-centered, the steam-enhanced khaen would instead be closer to a pipe organ, a regal, or a portative, rather than played the traditional way. Might we see something of a John Henry scenario where musicians try to demonstrate that more interesting work can be performed using a non-enhanced instrument?

But the other question is what would the bands then be playing and what would be the aim of concerts using such technology? Would these instruments be luxury items only in the hands of state-approved orchestras housed in the capital and major cities, or found among traveling musicians who reinforce the ideals of the state? Or would some be found in the hands of others who wanted to show other possibilities?

How might such instruments transform a presentation of a Lao epic like Phra Lak Phra Lam? Would there be greater or lesser theater to these presentations. Would such marvelous instruments overshadow the presentation on stage that the performers insist on even more elaborate stylization in order to attract the audience attention back to the stage?

Perhaps some would go to great lengths to create instruments particular to their aesthetics. In this scenario, there might be great pride in individually-crafted instruments, something similar to Charles Mingus who invented instruments to produce particular sounds for particular songs. What an interesting proposition it would be, to see a society less focused on creating individual, personal weapons imbued with the crafter's energy and self, but on objects for the creation of art.

Just some thoughts to consider. There are many more possibilities to explore.

A quote on science and poetry by Paul Dirac

2011-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite"-Paul Dirac.

The precision and truth within this statement is amazingly insightful and a poet can spend a lifetime exploring this. Amusingly, this statement is sometimes attributed to Kafka, and it would certainly be appropriate of him.

Imagining the Imaginary Audience...

2011-12-15T18:06:00.000-08:00

In a 2003 review of Yi by Yang Lian for Rain Taxi, Lucas Klein opened with this interesting paragraph that has since lingered with me as a poet:

"Over a decade ago Harvard Sinologist Stephen Owen took on contemporary Chinese literature with his article "The Anxiety of Global Influence-What is World Poetry?," wherein he succeeded, through astonishingly sensible and even-tempered writing, in laying out a pretty bullet-headed point. Now required reading for Chinese poetry courses in English-speaking universities, the article faults Bei Dao and his fellow Misty Poets-poets who were raised on clandestine translations of experimentalist writing from outside China-for not being Chinese enough. The main point of Owen's review is simple: "Poems are made only for audiences," and the audience Misty Poetry is written for is international, not Chinese. He asks, "is this Chinese literature, or literature that began in the Chinese language? For what imaginary audience has this poetry been written?"

It's an interesting question as I imagine what might happen if we applied it within Lao American poetics: Is it Lao literature, or literature that began in the Lao language, or a Lao consciousness? Who are our imaginary audiences for whom we have been writing?

At the moment, the good majority of Lao poets abroad are writing in languages other than Lao, although many engage in Laoglish. This becomes increasingly interesting as Lao adapt and adjust to our new transnational mandala. Wrestling with the question of what it means to be a people. Do we truly hearken back to Lan Xang, or should we embrace Lao as a new identity entirely, one only recently come into being in the early 20th century? Of course, Tai Dam, Khmu, Hmong, Mien, Lisu, Lahu and others who lived within Lao borders must also ask similar questions.

Over time, I usually find it's best not to let one's self get to tripped up over questions like this. Create first, sort later. Strive for readability, although as I told one student of mine: "As a poet, if I'm doing it right, and if as a reader, you're doing it right, we won't read a poem right in the very first try."

To Read: Alternative Alamat

2011-12-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

One of the interesting books I'm looking forward to reading over the next few months is Alternative Alamat.

As the editors describe it:
"Philippine mythology is full of images that ignite the imagination: gods of calamity and baldness, of cosmic time and lost things; the many-layered Skyworld, and weapons that fight their own battles; a ship that is pulled to paradise by a chain, and a giant crab that controls the tides… Yet too few of these tales are known and read today. “Alternative Alamat” gathers stories, by contemporary authors of Philippine fantasy, which make innovative use of elements of Philippine mythology. None of these stories are straight re-tellings of the old tales: they build on those stories, or question underlying assumptions; use ancient names as catalysts, or play within the spaces where the myths are silent. What you will find in common in these eleven stories is a love for the myths, epics, and legends which reflect us, contain us, call to us–and it is our hope that, in reading our stories, you may catch a glimpse of, and develop a hunger for, those venerable tales."

“Alternative Alamat” also features a cover and interior illustrations by Mervin Malonzo, a short list of notable Philippine deities, tips for online and offline research, and in-depth interviews with two people who have devoted much of their careers to the study of Philippine folklore and anthropology, Professors Herminia Meñez Coben ("Explorations in Philippine Folklore" and "Verbal Arts in Philippine Indigenous Communities: Poetics, Society, and History") and Fernando N. Zialcita ("The Soul Book" and “Authentic but Not Exotic”).

This looks like it will be an exceptional addition to Southeast Asian speculative literature. A big congratulations to all of those who were involved in bringing this collection forward!

Lao Buddhist Temple Fire in Colorado

2011-12-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

This year, on December 5th, the Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado caught fire and burned to the ground. Wat Lao Sida Ounnaram has played a vital role to the Lao community resettled in Colorado for almost three decades.

The Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado was established in 1988 and served over 200 Lao households in Colorado. Like many wat Lao across the US, they also offered many different services and educational programs that were available for everyone.

In addition, they served as the primary festival grounds for traditional Lao celebrations such as the Lao New Year, and also as a meditation space and a space for community forums and outreach.

The founders viewed Wat Lao Sida Onnaram as a public place for everyone to come and enjoy Lao culture and to grow as a community.

It is located at 10685 Dover Street in Broomfield, Colorado. The lead monk is the Venerable Ounkham Veunnasack Thammavaro, who has been with the wat for 23 years. Their website is currently undergoing maintenance, but they do offer ways to support and help the reconstruction efforts.

I was fortunate to have the chance to visit Wat Lao Sida Ounnaram in June this year while traveling and I was deeply impressed by the beauty there and the hospitality of the monks. For many reasons, much of the art at this wat Lao was very unique even among other wat Lao across the United States, and it is a significant and considerable loss.

I would strongly encourage anyone to assist to donate to them as the community comes together to rebuild.

Lao Buddha of the Day: 15th Century

2011-12-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

While I often hear people talking about preserving our culture and heritage, we see very few of those same people who can recognize and talk at length about what makes that culture distinctive. A notable and egregious example of this comes to the traditional Lao approach to Buddhist statues.

While over 60% of the Lao are nominally Buddhist, in the US many of the younger and even some of the older generation can correctly identify an example of a Lao Buddha compared to a Thai, Burmese or Khmer-style Buddha, although it is easier to distinguish them from Japanese, Chinese, and Tibetan statues of the Buddha.

Above is an example from the 15th century (1400-1499). This is from the earliest days of Lan Xang, although there aren't too many details about this particular piece except that it was sold by a foreign antiques dealer to a private collector.

Lao Buddha statues are extremely rare and arguably extremely valuable because Lao sculptors tended to take a more individual approach to carving and casting each statue.

There's a widespread opinion that Lao Buddhism tends to be more rigid and orthodox because of its adherence to Theravada principles, but if you really look at it closely, the Lao eschew uniformity and are more often than not drawn to the beauty of diversity of individual expression. This, of course, has its ups and downs, and as we've seen, can come into conflict with people who are used to living in a society focused on mass production and conformity rather than celebrating the hand-crafted and individual journeys of one another.

You might hear it said that Laos is a land of a thousand smiles, and that's because no two Lao smiles are exactly alike. This is reflected in many other aspects of our lives. There are some who might argue this can hold us back, but I'd always see it as a strength.

Journal of the Day: Kartika Review

2011-12-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

Due to the holidays I let this feature of the blog get behind, but let's get back on track. Today's journal we're focusing on is: Kartika Review.

Now on its tenth issue since 2007, the Kartika Review is still going strong, especially as an avenue for Asian American writers. It's one of the few left in the US that has remained committed to providing an interesting voice for Asian American literary work. You'd be surprised how many have folded in recent years or never really got past the starting gate.

The Kartika Review is still actively taking submissions in short story, poetry, as well as interviews, or frankly, anything interesting.

Formally, Kartika Review is "a national Asian/Pacific Islander American literary arts journal. Kartika publishes fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, author interviews, and art/photography. The journal launched in 2007 and as of 2011, is fiscally sponsored as a 501(c)(3) non-profit by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) in San Francisco."

Their mission is to serve the Asian American community and "those involved with Diasporic Asian-inspired literature. We scout for compelling Asian American creative writing and artwork to present to the public at large. Our editors actively solicit contributions from established virtuosos in our community in hopes their works here will inspire the next generation of virtuosos. We also want to promote emerging writers and artists we foresee to be the future powerhouses of their craft. Ultimately, Kartika strives to create a literary forum that caters to and celebrates the wordsmiths of the Asian Diaspora."

I had a pair of poems appear in the Spring 2010 issue addressing themes of "Home," a topic that can be surprisingly nebulous for Asian Americans if there ever was one. In that issue I presented: "Home Is To Box As To Leave Is To Free" and "Projections Through A Glass Eye", which have not yet appeared in any of my other collections.

The Kartika Review draws its name from the Buddhist kartika, "a crescent-shaped knife, symbolizes the cutting away of ignorance and superficiality, with the hopes that it will lead to enlightenment. The kartika is kept close during deep meditation or prayer. It serves mainly as a metaphorical reminder of our self-determined life missions and never is it actually wielded in the offensive against others." It's a good metaphor for what good literature does.

Be sure to check them out, and even better, submit some work to them!

Lao Steampunk: Getting around on the Iron Buffalo, aka the Tak-Tak

2011-12-12T13:43:00.001-08:00

There a lot of ways to get around Laos that are very much in line with steampunk's do it yourself aesthetics, and among these is the tak-tak (not to be confused with the tuk-tuk), a two-wheel tractor often modified and retrofitted for a wide variety of purposes in Laos and other parts of Southeast Asia.

One common configuration is a long-handled version for easier turning in wet rice fields. Early editions of the tak-tak ran on kerosene but newer versions now employ diesel. The Kubota company is a popular manufacturer but there are several in Southeast Asia. China, India, Vietnam and Thailand each manufacture tak-taks to varying degrees of popularity in Laos.

In Thailand, the tak-tak were first constructed at numerous local workshops - with everyone copying from each other, and thus competing for sales to the point that a tractor without the engine was very cheap- one third to one half the cost of the engine. In Laos, parts shortages and individual needs often leads to extensive customization. As you might expect, occasional racing and recreational purposes are enjoyed.

While not always elegant in their design, attachments range from trailed rotary puddlers and disc plows to flatbed trailers. With the use of v-belts, engines are sometimes detached and used for water pumps, mills, or other purposes.

Transport on tak-taks can be hazardous. Almost 5% of accidents on the roads in Laos can be attributed to a tak-tak, especially when traveling at night and relying on its single headlight. Health of the operators is often a concern among NGO workers, because the tak-taks generate some extreme vibrations.

The tak-taks really came into use towards the later 20th century, although the technology has been available in Asia since the end of World War I when a number of Swiss garden tractors were being demonstrated, especially in Japan, although they were not considered suitable for the soil conditions there until the engines received substantial modification.

This is really more of a dieselpunk technology than steampunk, but it leads to some interesting questions of what could have been developed if the technology had been more widely available.

Lao Buddha of the Day: 18th Century Lao/Lanna

2011-12-09T09:32:00.001-08:00

This interesting example was found in a market in Bangkok.

For many Lao, even those living within Laos, there has often been little discussion regarding the historic art traditions of our community and what has made examples of Lao buddha statues unique and distinctive.

In the last century, many key examples of buddhas from the 15th to 19th century were trafficked to foreign private collectors abroad. Many more were damaged or melted down, and we are left only with hints of which buddhas might still be out there, let alone the actual stories behind who they originally belonged to and the histories and memories connected to them, from their construction to their final fate.

According to those who've described it, this Buddha has a face that is typically Laotian in its style for the era. This one has a particularly fascinating finial that is rare to see. He stands 10 1.2 inches high, with a smooth brown patina. There is a casting flaw to the left hand, but otherwise in excellent condition. He was sold to a private collector for an undisclosed sum.

3 French science fiction films of note

2011-12-08T21:09:00.001-08:00

Thinking a little bit more of Fritz Lang's work this week in light of his 120th birthday, brought me to thinking of my other favorite dystopian films in black and white. 3 particularly distinctive films from the French that film students and foreign film enthusiasts should always see at least once:

The 28-minute "La Jetee" by Chris Marker from 1962, which was remade into the nearly 2-hour 12 Monkeys in 1995. 12 Monkeys was a big jump from the source material. La Jetee was told almost entirely in still photos and narrative, without expensive sets or excessive special effects, but it is a distinctively haunting work. Here's a sample:

In 1983, Le Dernier Combat was a stark, post-apocalyptic film played out between two apartment buildings between the last remnants of humanity. It is notable for it's long use of silence. It has virtually no dialog. Again, special effects are minimal but the black and white cinematography is very effective in its modern usage.

And finally: Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film Alphaville: A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution is one that is frequently watched and cited as an influence on Blade Runner. I would say that this is probably the hardest of the three to really get into. These days I would strongly recommend reading a plot summary of it before tackling it. However, it's something when you have an artificial intelligence wrestling with the poetry of Jorge Luis Borges, and I would say give it a chance, especially if you want to build an understanding of what early 20th century dystopias were expected to look like.

For an added bonus, I'd throw in Orson Welle's take on the Kafka story, The Trial. It's not French, but it fits in nicely with a weekend of stark black and white dystopias:

Phi of the Day: Phi Pret, Phi Phret or Phi Braed

2011-12-07T22:34:00.001-08:00

The Phi Pret in Southeast Asia is frequently considered a giant ghost which can be either male or female, and is said to have a very small mouth, like a sucker. It is generally considered the same as the pretas of Buddhist cosmology.

It is feared because in Southeast Asia, they kill or harm parents. It is generally believed that if someone hurts and swears at their father and mother, when the ungrateful person dies, they will become a Phi Pret. Another way to become a Phi Pret is to kill an animal without any guilt.

The Phi Pret reaches the same heights as coconut tree, but are thin with tiny mouths that barely a grain of rice can fit into, because they used to swear at their parents. They also have large hands the size of palm leaves symbolic of the way they used to hurt their parents with those hands. These hands are still capable of snapping a person's neck, given sufficient cause.

Phi Pret will often appear because they want to ask the living to do an offering for them.

In other countries, the Phi Pret is constantly hungry and have huge bellies to fill, but small mouths to eat with.

Outside of Southeast Asia, the Phi Pret are described as being "human-like, but with sunken, mummified skin, narrow limbs, enormously distended bellies and long, thin necks". This appearance is a metaphor for their mental situation of having been jealous or greedy people in a prior incarnations. As a consequence of their karmic offenses they are typically afflicted with an insatiable hunger, especially a craving for something very specific. The traditional stories of Phi Pret maintain that it is something repugnant or humiliating. A human corpse or feces, for example. In recent years, the legends have changed to a hunger for just about anything, but typically something strange and hard to come by.

There are stories of Phi Pret who prevent others from satisfying their own desires, using magic, illusions, or disguises to accomplish this. In these stories, the Phi Pret have the ability to turn invisible, and change their faces to instill fear.

Outside of Southeast Asia, Phi Pret are generally seen as little more than nuisances to mortals unless the Phi Pret has a craving for something like blood.

It should be noted that most people simply pity the Phi Pret. In a few Buddhist wat, monks will provide offerings of food, money, or flowers to them before meals. Sometimes you can find images of the Phi Pret licking up spilled water in temples or shown as balls of smoke or fire.

A Phi Pret's additional punishments and conditions may actually vary on who they were and what they did in a prior life. For example, some are said to have no problems finding the food they eat, but it will burst into flames while they swallow it, or it will dry up and wither before they can bring it to their mouths. Sunlight freezes them and moonlight burns them, or else they might be accompanied by additional demons who torture them for specific grievances, among other metaphysical inconveniences.

But what are the stories you've encountered regarding this spirit?

Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts

2011-12-07T22:01:00.001-08:00

For both established and emerging writers working with Laos, the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts is an exceptional resource. Over the course of ten years, manuscript holdings of over 800 monasteries were surveyed, and approximately 86,000 texts (368,000 fascicles) preserved and a central data pool created. Microfilms taken of about 12,000 selected texts are now incorporated in the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts Collection.

In their gallery they have fascinating photographic documentation of their journey, such as this image of a classic ho tai, or manuscript repository:

Considering how many palm leaf manuscripts were deliberately destroyed and permanently lost over the centuries, these texts are an essential and important body of work to preserve. Over time, they will be critical towards reconstruction efforts and understanding our journey as a people.

Be sure to check it out.

Phi of the Day: Phi Lok

2011-12-05T17:04:00.001-08:00

Today we're taking a look at the Phi Lok, which is considered a wandering spirit who haunts different locations.

Most accounts consider it to be a spirit whose primary intention is to instill fear and mislead its victims. This is a spirit that is not only seen but can be felt. It is considered to be one of the more common spirits of Southeast Asia, especially in Laos and Thailand. Among behaviors attributed to it are the slamming of doors, objects falling seemingly of their own accord, light bulbs breaking or other out of the ordinary things. It sounds similar to a poltergeist in some ways.

But what are some of your memories or stories you've heard about the Phi Lok?

Lao Steampunk: Decolonizing Time II

2011-12-05T16:39:00.001-08:00

We were talking about the importance of decolonizing time a few weeks ago in steampunk, and that not everyone uses the same time system.

At the present moment, Lao astrological animals correspond with those of the Chinese Zodiac, so if you're writing a story set between 1900-1999 this list may be helpful for you: http://bit.ly/19001999ChineseNewYears.

You can also of extrapolate even further with a good spreadsheet program to identify years and dates all the way back to the years before the formation of Lan Xang, and their corresponding animals.

But I'd take note of this with some degree of caution. It is not thoroughly documented that all of the cities or kingdoms recognized the same year or observed the new years on the same dates (although it is highly likely). In another post I will address some research that suggests some older Lao also have a secondary set of animals, referred to as star animals, integrated into their cosmology. (However, I'm looking to find more corroboration of this.)

But back to the New Years, which can be useful milestones in a story using decolonized time. Remember that Lao New Years were mostly celebrated in the 4th month, approximately around the 15th, but this is NOT exact.

It should also be apparent, but for emerging writers, don't have characters go running around saying things like "It's May 24th, The Year of the Metal Rat." There several problems with this, but suffice it to say that its biggest problem would be disruption to the suspension of disbelief. Try to be more organic with references that ground the story in a specific time.

I would argue that for alternative history stories, you have a little more leeway with the dates between 1700-1800 on the Western calendar because there's so little documentation that survived in that era, so you could take some creative license.

If you really wanted to be a little more exacting in your stories, you'll want to check a list of the full moons: http://bit.ly/19002100fullmoons for example, gives you a sense of which days the full moons took place in the 20th century. Also handy, I imagine, for those doing lycanthrope stories.

This does not specifically guarantee that a particular city in Laos or Lao America celebrated their Pi Mai Lao festival on that week. As we've seen in recent years in the US, some communities wait for different weekends in order not to conflict with another city's celebration, or because they couldn't reserve certain spaces to hold a celebration. In the US, student groups and other community groups have often held celebrations at different dates in order to avoid conflict with spring break, finals, Easter, and the official celebrations at their local wat lao.

To complicate matters, the first month of the Lao New Year is actually considered to be in December but festivities are delayed until April when days are longer than nights. Also, during April, it is more enjoyable for the Lao to douse each other in water during the Pi Mai Lao celebration because the temperatures are higher. It also makes more sense to invite the rain during this time. Lao will douse statues of the Buddha standing in the 'calling for rain' position for good luck.

These celebrations last for three days typically. There are many beauty pageants in Laos, during this time, but many paid attention to the observances in Luang Prabang - which was widely known for its Nangsoukhane or Nang Songkran pageant. In each city's pageant, there are seven contestants, each one symbolizing one of King Kabinlaphom's seven daughters.

When you're using decolonized times for stories set in Laos, remember that as of 2011, the year is 2554, and it's the same year in Thailand. But Cambodia recognizes the year 2555. In China, if you're going old school, it's 4708 or 4648, but apparently few people use that calculation today. In Burma, it's the year 1373.

Interestingly, in Thailand, it is believed that for good fortune, at least once in your lifetime you should make a pilgrimage to the specific wat associated the astrological sign of your birth year.

This doesn't even begin to take into account the calendars of many of the 82+ other cultures of Southeast Asia, particularly the Hmong, Mien, Khmu, Lahu, Tai Dam and others. Some follow the majority calendar system of the region they're in, others do not, so it is not advised to make assumptions.

As a side note: if you find yourself working with Vietnamese characters in story, you may want to consider that in the Vietnamese zodiac, the cat replaces the "rabbit" of the Chinese zodiac. So, for example, a child born in the Chinese year of the rabbit is considered to be born in the Vietnamese year of the cat (mèo/mão). Almost every other animal in the Vietnamese zodiac corresponds to the same animals as the Chinese zodiac for the remaining 11 years. It should be noted that the "ox" of the Chinese zodiac is usually considered to be a water buffalo (sửu/trâu) in the Vietnamese zodiac.

Future Lovecraft officially released!

2011-12-05T15:03:00.001-08:00

The Innsmouth Free Press announced the official release of Future Lovecraft. The publishers write:

"It has landed. Future Lovecraft is officially on sale today! Purchase the paperback or go for the e-book.

Decades, centuries and even thousands of years in the future: The horrors inspired by Lovecraft do not know the limits of time … or space.

Journey through this anthology of science fiction stories and poems inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

Listen to the stars that whisper and drive a crew mad. Worship the Tloque Nahuaque as he overtakes Mexico City. Slip into the court of the King in Yellow. Walk through the streets of a very altered Venice. Stop to admire the beauty of the flesh-dolls in the window. Fly through space in the shape of a hungry, malicious comet.

Swim in the drug-induced haze of a jellyfish. Struggle to survive in a Martian gulag whose landscape isn’t quite dead. But, most of all, fear the future.

Featured authors include: Nick Mamatas, Ann K. Schwader, Don Webb, Paul Jessup, E. Catherine Tobler, A.C. Wise, and many more."

In this anthology, you'll find my poem 'The Deep Ones' included in here, in addition to many other great stories. I've had a chance to look at the e-book version, and it's really got some fun stories in there. The editors have made a big effort to gather work from non-traditional perspectives as well, and I appreciate that.

Of course, I also have to recommend picking up a copy of Historical Lovecraft, which features a short story of mine, as well as stories by many others set in the distant and recent past of the Lovecraftian mythos. And of course, stop by the Innsmouth Free Press at www.innsmouthfreepress.com for daily articles, reviews, interviews and fiction regarding the latest happenings in Lovecraftian horror.

Happy reading!

Happy birthday, Fritz Lang

2011-12-05T11:50:00.001-08:00

Today marks the 121st birthday of master film-maker Fritz Lang, who was born in Vienna.

Among the best known of his works today is the silent film Metropolis, which enjoys a resurgence of late for its imagery that appeals to steampunk and dystopian science fiction, and given its message on industrialization, speaks volumes to the issues of today.

I personally enjoy his film, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, but really, there are many fine works within his oeuvre worth viewing in your lifetime. He demonstrated how much you could tell with silent images in black and white.

I often wonder how Lao artists might have responded to his work had they seen it in the early 20th century. The possibility of such massive industrialization must have seemed so distant, yet would we see it as an aim in a quest for modernity, or a warning, as Lang thought?

I would definitely recommend taking a look at the British Film Institute's pages dedicated to him on his life's work.

Lokapâla: génies, totems et sorciers du Nord Laos

2011-12-03T14:36:00.001-08:00

This is a book with a bit of an unusual history to it. Published around 1954, by Henri Deydier, it has been described as "An important and entertaining work on the beliefs and superstitions of North Laos, the record of Deydier's trip by foot and horse through the jungles; Deydier died in a plane crash in Laos (at age 32) shortly after publication of this book. Lokapala was published in French in 1954 and in German in 1957; no edition in English has been published." It is believed to be approximately 126 pages if you find a copy.

Lao Steampunk: A cue from Khmer rail?

2011-12-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

Laos doesn't have a rail infrastructure the way Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam do, although new ventures are in the works recently to construct a rail system between China, Laos, and Thailand, with talks of connecting to Vietnam as well. The map above is from Radio Free Asia, who discuss the impacts of the modern plan on Lao citizens and the wariness of who exactly will benefit from such a railway.

According to the public version of the agreements from 2010, the railroad is to initially stretch from Xishuangbanna in China’s southern Yunnan province to the Thai border with Laos, connecting the Lao cities of Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane.

There will ultimately be a rail link between Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, and Singapore. Later, links will connect Vientiane to Vietnam through Khammouane province.

From an alternate history perspective, how might things have developed if Laos had a rail infrastructure in the 1800s or early 1900s? How might it have been financed, and who would have been the lead builders? And, as with any construction and development project, who would be the losers, or displaced, and which families would see their fortunes rise or fall because of it? What would have been done to address crime and corruption, especially given the Golden Triangle issues of old.

If history then went on its conventional course, and Laos still became the most heavily bombed nation of the 20th century, we would see UXO covering over 30% of the countryside, and in an alternate history, likely more, in efforts to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In the course of the conflict and especially the bombing, the Lao rail system would likely be in shambles and in the aftermath likely very much resemble the situation in Cambodia.

In January, 2011, the Smithsonian Magazine ran an article, Catching the Bamboo Train describing the experience on the norries, makeshift vehicles for using the abandoned train tracks of Cambodia.

They're described as: "basically a breadbox-size motor on top of a bed-size bamboo platform on top of two independent sets of metal wheels—all held together by gravity. It’s built from bamboo, old tank parts and motors ripped from broken motorbikes, rice harvesters and tractors. To accelerate, the driver slides the motor backward, using a stick as a lever, to create enough tension in the rubber belt to rotate the rear axle. Though no two norries are identical, a failing part can be swapped with a replacement in a few seconds. Norries are technically illegal but nonetheless vital and, if you know where to look, ubiquitous."

Lao Steampunk: Culinary arts in the retrofuture

2011-11-28T12:45:00.001-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I found myself discussing the UNESCO Creative Cities Network that is designating various cities as model examples of different art forms, and also had a fun twitter conversation on what Southeast Asian Steampunk cuisine would look like.

Addressing the UNESCO Creative Cities network concept, what we saw were the usual forms you'd expect: Literature, film, music, crafts and folk art, design, media arts, and what I thought was particularly interesting, gastronomy.

Before we go too much further, I should note that I'm also a fan of cryptogastronomy: the consideration of hypothetical recipes for mythic, theoretical and extinct species of flora and fauna. How might you pair a good wine with a 18th century Triceratops filet in the Lost World, for example?

But back to our subject.

I can find people showing me what theoretical steampunk ray guns and artificial wings look like, no sweat. We can now also find several Steampunk musical bands such as Steam Powered Giraffe:

But what's the Steampunk response to cooking?

A UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy celebrates a city that finds a way to preserve local know-how, traditional culinary practices and methods of cooking that have survived industrial/technological advancement.

If you have a retrofuture, those guidelines become a very interesting question. But this is a subject that most novels and stories in a steampunk world give only passing consideration to before we rush off to battle air pirates and mad scientists.

It often feels we're in a rush to finish the meal, and the conversations are more important than what's being served, the where and the how, in a steampunk story. But these can matter. (Or anti-matter, depending on the science employed in the setting.)

When you've got so much heat being given off by steam engines and other technology, surely this creates both challenges and opportunity with cooking and dining practices.

There are a few exceptions to the artistic exploration of steampunk cooking, such as Fuel for the Boiler: A Steampunk Cookbook, and of course the steampunk cakes that suggest in the retrofuture, people would employ motifs that reflect what's surrounding them such as gears and cogs.

We see many dining scenes in classic steampunk films such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Steamboy, just to name a few, but little consideration for what's practical and possible in a steam-powered diet, and how that would affect characters' health, habits and societies.

Most of the dishes we've seen proposed in the genre have explored it from a distinctly European-American perspective, but I think there's a good deal to be learned from examining how Asian nations would embrace cooking in a steampunk world.

For Asian nations in a steampunk world, there's a wide range of dishes that they would enthusiastically adapt to take advantage of high-powered, high-temperature steam technology. Rice steaming, dumplings and other dim sum staples immediately come to mind. So do steamboats and hot pots.

Would certain cultures gain advantages in being able to produce large amounts of food for their crews and entourages quickly? How might they view something like a slow-cooked barbecue?

When you have the ability to steam something within seconds rather than hours or minutes, you've reduced cooking time and you might get more time to talk with your guests at the dinner table if you're the cook. But it might work the other way: You face conversations that are very rushed because you're not waiting long together for the food to finish cooking after you've placed your order.

Will ingredients be chosen for their ability to be steamed quickly, or those that take longer to steam well? Will those that don't lend themselves well to steaming gradually fall by the wayside? Which substances will be stored aboard ships for their versatility, or despised for being excessively soluble in water?

Might we see flash-banquets emerge as an art-form, where chefs are challenged to create the most intriguing repasts that can be prepared with a set of steamers? Steam Iron Chef, if you will...

But for an underclass, this could lead to shorter meal-times and longer workdays. "What do you need a half-hour for? It takes a minute to make your soup and sandwich. You get five minutes, then back to the machines."

Especially in the industrial dystopias of steampunk, where life is nasty, brutish, short and hot, meals and how we take them have a way of sending messages within a culture and across cultures. Hopefully, some authors will take those into deeper consideration during their world-building process.

Call for Submissions: Lao American Speculative Arts Anthology

2011-11-24T13:13:00.001-08:00

Deadline: January 13, 2012

Approaching 40 years in the US, we know Lao Americans love science fiction, fantasy, horror, myths and legends. Now we're looking your stories and art for the first full-length anthology of Lao American speculative art and literature.

Whether it's a story of Lao astronauts in a distant future, nak or phi in ancient Lan Xang, the missing adventures of Sithong or Xieng Mieng, or wild weretigers and kinnali in Laotown, we want to hear about it! Tales of time-traveling silapin, Lao cyborgs and superheroes, or visitors to haunted villages are all encouraged and welcomed.

Send us your best original stories between 250 to 5,555 words in length. We also accept up to 10 poems, up to 255 words per poem. For longer or shorter works, please inquire. We are also looking for examples of visual art: painting, illustrations, textiles, mixed media, photography. Visual artists can submit between 5 to 10 pieces.

All genres and sub-genres such as steampunk are welcomed, but no "fan fiction" or use of characters and settings you do not have the rights to. No glittering vampires. Work should have a reasonably clear Lao connection.

This anthology is requesting one-time electronic and print rights, after which further publication rights revert to the creator. A physical contributor's copy and e-book copy are provided.

To Submit:
We accept RTF files by e-mail only. Put the words: LAO ANTHOLOGY in the subject line with your name. Double spaced manuscript in Times New Roman. Use italics, not underlines when necessary. Use of Laoglish is fine and encouraged, but absolutely NO italicizing Lao words. Have your contact information of the first page of the manuscript including e-mail address. Good grammar and spelling appreciated. No simultaneous submissions.

Visual art submissions should be able to be reproduced well in black and white and sent as a digital file at 600 dpi or higher. Portrait orientation preferred, but landscape orientation accepted.

Deadline: January 13, 2012
Send submissions or additional questions to: Thaoworra@gmail.com

Lao American Steampunk: Wan Hu

2011-11-20T20:27:00.001-08:00

So, the other day my attention was called to the legend of Wan Hu, whose tale seems a particularly fine jump off point for an alternate history story.

One account by Herbert Zim in 1945 claims that "Early in the sixteenth century, Wan decided to take advantage of China's advanced rocket and fireworks technology to launch himself into outer space. He supposedly had a chair built with forty-seven rockets attached. On the day of lift-off, Wan, splendidly attired, climbed into his rocket chair and forty seven servants lit the fuses and then hastily ran for cover. There was a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Wan and the chair were gone, and was said never to have been seen again."

Wan Hu was a minor official of the Ming Dynasty believed to have died around 1500 CE or what would have been the Lao year 2043. It would be interesting to examine how different history would have been if he had succeeded.

Depending on who you turn to in China, Wan Hu possibly managed to lift himself a foot using rockets. In most Chinese accounts though, he is considered just an unfortunate pioneer of space travel who burned to death or was blown to pieces because of the explosion caused by the rockets, and didn't really succeed in becoming the first astronaut in history.

Still, he gets credit for having the nerve to try.

From a Lao point of view, if 1500 is accurate, In Lan Xang, this is the transition period between Somphou, who reigned between 1495-1500 and Visunarath who reigned between 1500-1520.

Lan Xang is approximately 150 years old, and 141 years away from first contact with the Dutch.

A few years earlier, Wan Hu would have been alive as Laasaenthai, the sixth son of King Sai Tia Kaphut, ruled. Crowned in 1491, Laasaenthai enjoyed peaceful relations with his neighbours in Annam and cultivated good relations with Ayudhya, "spending much of his time contemplating religious and legal matters, furthering the spread of Buddhism and building monuments." Sompou, who succeeds Laasaenthai, is his only son, according to historic records.

I imagine they all would have been very interested in the inquiries of Wan Hu. Even today, Lao celebrate our rocket festivals with great enthusiasm. What support might they have given him, what ventures might they have taken up on their own? And to be fair to Wan Hu's own experience, what misadventures?

For reference sake, this was also the era of the Hongzhi Emperor, Zhu Youcheng, who reigned between 1470-1505, and just a few years after Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, while Henry VII rules England. Ramathibodhi II rules Autthaya and Sukhothai. In Cambodia, they are ruled by Thommareachea I in the Charktomok era.

It will be 21 years before Magellan reaches the Philippines and 11 years before Malacca is conquered by Portugal, ending almost 100 years of the Malacca sultanate, which at the time was led by the sultan Mahmud Shah. Mahmud Shah is connected with the Malay legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang, which is about his failed courtship of a fairy princess.

In the century before, movable type printing has also been developed in Asia. Under the rule of Yongle Emperor, the Ming Dynasty territory reaches its pinnacle, the Forbidden City is built and Zhenghe has been commanded to explore the world overseas. Tamerlane established a major empire in the Middle East and Central Asia, in order to revive the Mongolian Empire. Also, the Inca Empire has risen to prominence in South America.

Possible steampunk or alternate history directions could be: What if Wan Hu didn't make it to the moon, but made it to Lan Xang. (Or made it to the moon and found a way back to earth, landing in Lan Xang?) Or perhaps, what happens if Wan Hu's experiment is still a failure but news of it inspires others to try, and perhaps someone in Lan Xang figures it out. Or thinks of something more interesting to do than try to go to the moon.

As the old saying goes, "Aim for the moon, hit the cow."

4th Anniversary Issue of Cha

2011-11-20T17:49:00.001-08:00

The fourth anniversary issues of CHA has arrived.

It's hard to believe it's been four years already, but a big congratulations to all of them in Hong Kong. This issue was guest edited by Robert E. Wood (poetry) and Royston Tester (prose).

This issue, they have poetry from Christopher Barnes, Robert Masterson, John McKernan, Tristan Coleshaw, Chris Santiago, Sonia Saikaley, DeWitt Clinton, Kenneth Alewine, Dena Rash Guzman, Samuel Arizpe, Judith Toler, Rheea Mukherjee, David W. Landrum, W.F. Lantry, Mia Ayumi Malhotra, Anuradha Vijayakrishnan, Nicholas Y.B. Wong, Bernard Henrie, Mike Ladd, and Louis Marvin.

In Fiction, they have pieces from Alzo David-West, Gun G. Ayurzana, Matthew Davis, John David Harding, Sharon Hashimoto, Shivani Sivagurunathan, and Genevieve Yim.

They are accepting submissions for Issue #16, which is scheduled for February 2012. Ankur Agarwal (poetry) and Mag Tan (prose) will act as guest editors and read the submissions with them. Deadline is set at 15 December.

Lao Civet Coffee?

2011-11-18T22:02:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we talked about the growing range of Lao coffees being offered to the market. Lao forests are facing significant reduction by a wide range of development projects and illegal lumber harvesting reducing the habitat for any number of creatures, including civets.

We often associate civet coffee with islands such as the Phillipines, or Sumatra and Vietnam where a pound can cost as much as $600. But these little guys are certainly plentiful in Laos, too, and maybe we should pay a little more attention to its choice in Lao coffee berries.

Personally, I'm not in that much of a hurry to drink civet coffee, but there are certainly many others in the world who are, and this approach might be more ecologically sound than, say, making a massive hydroelectric dam without taking anyone else's opinion into consideration. But it's just a thought.

Lao theater: Court Forms

2011-11-18T18:22:00.001-08:00

In 1993, James R. Brandon's The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre discussed the different forms of Lao theater, noting that there were three key forms: proto-theatrical indigenous forms, court forms that emulated Khmer-Thai models, and modern popular genres from the 20th century combining folk forms and popular Thai theatre elements such as the likay. Lao American theater is taking some different directions and inspiration. It will be interesting to see what the next forms will be when these communities get an opportunity to connect for an extended period of time with adequate resources to create a meaningful exchange.

According to Brandon:

"Court forms of dance theatre were established as Lao kings copied customs of powerful neighboring monarchs. Tradition holds that Cambodian (Khmer) court dance, along with the Ramayana and Jataka repertoire were introduced to Laos by Prince Fa Nguan in 1353. During the 14th century the Lao kingdom of Lan Sang ('Million Elephants') was established and in this time the Khmer monarchs with their troupe of female wives-dancers were the epitome of potent kingship in the region. Keeping up with the Khmer meant establishing female court dance with movement and repertoire modeled on Khmer practice. The Lao kings were never as rich as the rulers of Angkor. Nor could the Lao compete later in the 15th century with Thai rulers who, first at Ayutthaya and later in Bangkok, emulated Khmer practice... Just as Lan Sang in the early period aped Angkor, the small courts established by partition in 1700- Luang Prabang, Wiangjun and Chapassak - imitated Thai models: Thai female court dance LAKON FAI NAI, male masked dance drama KHON and shadow play NANG yai were taught and performed at court. The Lao chose not to alter the forms: the Royal Lao Ballet of the 1960s in Luang Prabang included only female dancers, the best of whom had trained in Bangkok. Rather than staging full dance dramas like the Thai and Cambodians, this smaller court favoured solo and small group dances" (Brandon, 191)

This entry is obviously approaching 20 years old, but it's an interesting start to consider how we discuss the journey of Lao theater and where we might see it go in the years ahead.

Lao American Steampunk: Decolonizing Space and Time

2011-11-18T15:11:00.001-08:00

Silver Goggles recently posted a great commentary on the need to decolonize geography within Steampunk literature, and I would argue we should do so within both historical fiction and speculative literature as well.

As an applied example, when I wrote my Lovecraftian historical horror story "What Hides and What Returns," there were questions I had to address as a writer in order to bring a reader into Laos, minimizing confusion with a minimum of compromise.

To that end, I set the story just after 1893 when Vientiane and Champassak had been bundled together with Luang Prabang to create a state that was a French protectorate called Laos, and a Lao narrator who worked often enough with the falang that he might reasonably refer to it as Laos. For stories set earlier than 1893, we have to be even more aware of anachronisms that take us out of a story, that suspension of disbelief.

In fiction, when we write place names, do we employ French or US/English romanization to keep it authentic? It's not always cut and dry. For a historical example, many Americans secretly stationed in Laos during the civil war in the 1960s commonly referred to the Plain of Jars as the PDJ, an abbreviation of Plaines des Jarres.

When we're using an ethnic Lao narrator, one might argue, it may not matter and you could even use a non-standard romanization instead of Long Tieng (Long Cheng), or Luang Prabang (Luang Phrabang).

Radically, there could be great power in this: Lao names and geography written by Lao the way Lao themselves feel it should be spelled, and not just the way some falang missionary or policy wonk decided we should write the names of our cities and landmarks. That would be significant step towards decolonization.

But we also need to decolonize time. Not everyone uses the solar calendar, after all.

For Lao, the year 2011 is mostly 2554, at least since April (Deuane Si or Mesa), depending on the system we're using. These days, we're following a system that figures 543 BC as Year 1.

The Lao calendar has elements of Sino-Vietnamese and Thai-Khmer calendars, and are based on a solar-lunar mix.

Lao years are reckoned by solar phases, but our months are determined by lunar phases. This is different from European and American calendars where the months are also determined by the sun. There is also reportedly an earlier Lao system in which year one would correspond with the year 638 BC, just to complicate things.

It's not just a case of calibrating a time machine by simply setting a dial + or - 534 years.

As a further example of the complicated nature of Time, especially in a decolonized Steampunk setting, bear in mind the traditional Chinese time-keeping system. Here we see the hours associated with different creatures of the zodiac. Chinese hours are actually about two Western hours:

23:00 – 01:00: 子 Rat
01:00 – 03:00: 丑 Ox
03:00 – 05:00: 寅 Tiger
05:00 – 07:00: 卯 Rabbit
07:00 – 09:00: 辰 Dragon
09:00 – 11:00: 巳 Snake
11:00 – 13:00: 午 Horse
13:00 – 15:00: 未 Goat
15:00 – 17:00: 申 Monkey
17:00 – 19:00: 酉 Rooster
19:00 – 21:00: 戌 Dog
21:00 – 23:00: 亥 Pig

Talking about time in a truly multicultural Steampunk world should take this into account. Time travel a la H.G. Wells' classic 'The Time Machine' now becomes interestingly complicated when we consider whose sense of time applies. The visitor, or the visited?

But let's look at an additional challenge for the role of time in Lao fiction: In Laos, we can run into big headaches because time is not homogeneous among the 100+ cultures who live within its frequently shifting borders.

To elaborate on the importance of this question, consider that in the mountains and jungles of Laos, highlanders such as the Hmong used time as the measure of distance. "It's two days of walking to the next village." Miles, kilometers, etc. are very abstract concepts to them in the old days, let alone 20,000 leagues under a sea to people born in a landlocked nation.

This is, of course, just the tip of the temporal iceberg, but I think it opens up some very intriguing questions for better Steampunk set among Southeast Asian cultures. And I hope it raises the bar for anyone who decides to use a English protagonist using a modified Mayan time travel device to visit ancient Mayao in the highlands of Annam to discover the secret to immortality or some other fantastic scenario.

Phi of the Day: Phi Kra-hang or Kra-Hung

2011-11-18T12:17:00.001-08:00

Today we're taking a quick look at the phi known as the phi kra-hang, which is a nocturnal spirit.

According to most accounts, the phi kra-hang has the appearance of a flying man with two rice trays for wings with a pestle for tail. Some less common accounts say it is a feathered flying man with a bird-like tail who should NOT be confused with the kinnali or kinnon.

Some believe it to be someone who has become skilled in the use of magic and can now grow wings and fly. Others think it is someone who wronged a teacher, especially by breaking a promise to one. Another possible method is from eating certain gourds or walking under a bridge, but this isn't considered a very common way to become a phi kra-hang.

Upon finishing his transformation, according to the more common accounts, he now uses two circular, normally used for sifting rice, as his wings, and a small pestle as his tail held between his legs. You can see one depicted in the classic Thai light bulb commercial:

The preferred diet of the phi kra-hang is filth, but other than that, little is know of its ecology and habits. Some say it's touchy about people touching his behind, for fear of his true nature being discovered if you see his stump of a tail. There are some accounts that connect him to the krasue, but this may be a stretch. A few claim these beings are restricted to central Thailand for the most part.

There is some dispute as to whether he hurts people, or is merely ambivalent towards them. Most consider it a phi to avoid in any case. There are accounts that at night, he gives off a glowing aura. But of course, it might be a different phi in the shape of a phi kra-hang. You never can be too certain with this sort of thing.

What stories do you know about the phi kra-hang?

Phi of the Day: Phi Kee

2011-11-16T15:28:00.001-08:00

On a lighter note, today we look at the Phi Kee of Southeast Asia, especially Laos and Thailand.

This one is arguably one of the more helpful of the spirits, or at least ambivalent towards humans. It is encountered when you go to the toilet, following a nightmare.

Folklore suggests you should politely ask your excrement to go peacefully before flushing so that the Phi Kee will also take away any bad luck with it on its way out. No one seems to have any accounts of the consequences if you're rude or demanding about it, although given its domain, it seems something you really shouldn't push.

But what are some of the stories and advice you've heard regarding this spirit?

Lao American Steampunk: Geopolitics of 1764

2011-11-15T19:21:00.001-08:00

A big thanks to Silver Goggles for pointing out a new example of Filipino Steampunk, High Society, and its write-up at Tinamats.

So, their framing setup is a big what-if regarding the Spanish being repelled from the walled city of Manila in 1764. It's not a bad proposal, and I find myself wondering what a Lao experience and perspective would be in 1764. Would it be an interesting year to start from?

For the Lao, historically, this is the year 2307. (But for simplicity sake, we'll use the Western calendar for the rest of this post.) What is the world like for them?

It has been 123 years since the Dutch first came to visit Laos in 1641, but they have never really had much contact with Europe since. It is approaching 60 years since Lan Xang splintered into three kingdoms. Ong Long is nearing the end of his reign in Vientiane, which is a vassal state to Burma, and will be succeeded by Ong Bun. In Champassak, Sayakumane is in the middle of his reign (1737-1791). In Luang Prabang, Sotika-Kuomane is the ruler, and also approaching the end of his 19-year reign (1749-1768) but by 1765 they will also be a vassal state to Burma.

Because of this, we should make note of Hsinbyushin, the Burmese monarch, who has just started his reign in 1763. He will go on to be recognized as the most militaristic king of his dynasty, and will successfully repel 4 Chinese invasions and end the Ayutthaya Dynasty, at the time led by Somdet Phra Chao Ekkathat, who would die in 1767.

With the end of the Ayutthaya Dynasty, their kingdom descends into chaos as provinces proclaimed independence under generals, rogue monks, and various members of the royal family. King Taksin would eventually rise from this to try and reunite the kingdom.

Cambodia is in the middle of its Dark Ages, while the Nguyen Lords are in charge of what we would today consider South Vietnam, notably Nguyen Phuc Koat, who is approaching the last year of his reign, and will be succeeded by Nguyen Phuc Thuan VERY briefly. Trinh Doanh of the Trinh Lords is nearing the end of his reign (1767).

Malacca, or what we know as Malaysia, is under Dutch control, with a recent transition in power from David Boelen to Thomas Schippers. The Dutch have ruled for 123 years now, after ousting the Portuguese in 1641.

To the north, in China, we see the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, Hongli, who ruled between 1735–1796, during the height of the Qing Dynasty's power as they ruled over 13 million square kilometers of territory. In 1755, or nine years earlier, the tallest wodden Bodhisattva statue in the world has been erected at the Puning Temple in Chengde.

Historically, in 1764, the new Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III has just risen to power. Over the course of his reign he would not be considered very good at selecting his councilors and commanders. History regarded him as a headstrong and hasty man, which further compounded the effects of his poor decisions. However, historians consider him very industrious and talented, and that he was dedicated to promoting the interests of the Ottoman Empire. Recognizing he was not very good at war, he did what he could to avoid it.

Catherine the II of Russia has been on the throne just 2 years, and will eventually annex the Crimea from the Ottoman Empire. Interestingly, in 1765, she will also authorize a new way to prepare vodka. Notably, in 1766, Ivan Polzunov will invent a two-cylinder engine. Might an earlier version emerge elsewhere in Asia?

In Japan, the 117th emperor is the Empress Go-Sakuramachi. She is two years into her reign as regent after her brother, the Emperor Momozono abdicated in 1762 and died later that year at the age of 21.

Korea is known at the time as Joseon and, the ruler of this era is Jeongjo of Joseon who will become widely regarded as one of the most visionary of the rulers of Joseon.

Meanwhile in 1764, historically, we see the Battle of Buxar, where the British East India Company defeats the combined armies of Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Bengal, the Nawab of Awadh, and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. King George the III rules Britain and is dealing with some rascal colonists abroad talking about liberty and other notions. Among European nations, muzzle-loaded flintlock muskets are the primary firearms used in conflicts at this time (and will be until approximately 1840.)

Louis XV is the king of France and currently paving the road to the French Revolution with awful financial policies, unpopular wars and disgraceful debauchery.

Clement XIII has been the pope for 6 years at the Vatican, notably getting embroiled in issues with the Jesuits.

I would also take into account that the Spanish, under the rule of Charles III, have just ended the 7 Years War that resulted in them losing significant territory.

If steampunk technologies and social philosophies were prominent in this era, what would be the technologies people want, and what about the lives of the regular people living within each of these nations? Some very interesting questions indeed, and I can see why one might opt for 1764 as an interesting start off point for an alternate history story.

Phi of the Day: Phi Hai or Phi Tay Hong

2011-11-15T17:05:00.001-08:00

So, in our ongoing research and expansion of our understanding of the supernatural traditions in Southeast Asia, for a few weeks we'll look at different phi and other creatures connected or likely to be connected to the region.

In Thailand, one of the many Phi is the Phi Hai, also known as a Phi Tay Hong. The same term is used in Laos.

This type of spirit inhabits places or areas where someone has died an unanutural or violent death. You'll be able to identify them because they're easily offended and like to possess a victim for any reason, if they're given the excuse and opportunity. They are usually hungry and amoral according to the more common accounts.

Most folklore suggests they can be tempted to give up the host they're possessing in exchange for an offering of some sort. If the Phi Hai is being stubborn, an exorcism with incantations and lustral water can be used, and in more extreme cases, whipping apparently is enough to set things back to normal.

Although you had best be prepared to explain to everyone why you were whipping someone if it goes that far.

What are stories you've heard or remember about phi hai?

Burning with a Vision: Speculative Poetry Anthology

2011-11-15T14:54:00.001-08:00

In the 1984, Burning With A Vision was released, edited by Robert Frazier. It's a little hard to find today but it's a definite classic of speculative poetry.

Some of the pieces, to me, push the limit of what we should rightfully consider speculative poetry, while in other cases, it's very exciting to see the poetry from writers we might otherwise connect with novels and short story forms, such as Gene Wolfe, Roger Zelazny and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Diane Ackerman has some of her early work featured here, and Minnesota is well represented with the work of Terry A. Garey and Ruth Berman.

Alan Lightman, who wrote one of my favorite books, Einstein's Dreams, has a piece. Bruce Boston, who's won numerous Stoker Awards and Rhyslings for his poetry is of course also in this anthology.

I would definitely have liked to have seen more biographical notes on these writers, but fortunately we have the internet so it's not too difficult to track most of them down to see where they went in the last 27 years.

The backtext of Burning with a Vision goes as:

"poetry that launches you into the future, into the fantastic. Here you will find the current state of the art in speculative poetry. Robert Frazier has gathered together the best work by such reknown writers as Loren Eisley, John Ciardi, Ursula Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Thomas M. Disch, Phillip Jose Farmer, Brian Aldiss, and many more. Their poems range from metaphysical speculations to light verse, in fixed forms and free. Together they point out an entirely new direction for twentieth century poetry.

'We live in a scientific age, an age of discoveries. Daily, mankind's knowledge expands, as we touch upon new ideas and images: computers, robots, spacewalks, artificial hearts, probes to the planets. Only speculative writing can keep up, as things which used to be science fiction have become everyday realities; and we continue to peer into the strange and exciting future that awaits us. It is only natural that modern poetry responds to this stimulus, use these new images, metaphors, words, and concepts. If poetry is to be about life, about the poet's world, then a significant poetry of the twentieth century must be scientifically inspired, speculative and often fanastic.

'Let the poets in the anthology travel with you as guides into your imagination. Faster than light?...faster than time?...All you will know is that you too are Burning with a Vision."

It's a little ambitious and long-winded, I admit, and I can't read it without hearing the voice of the fellow who does those early 20th century newsreels. Still, I wonder how we'd write such an introduction today.

This particular anthology doesn't reflect the voices of Asian Americans who were writing during this time, as far as I can tell. So, one of these days I'll have to check back through my collection of Asian American poetry books and see how many from the 1970s and 80s have pieces that would have been interesting additions to Burning with a Vision.

If we were going to make such an anthology today that included Asian American voices, I'd definitely include work from Cathy Park Hong, for example, Mark Rich, Anthem Selgado, Barbara Jane Reyes, and Burlee Vang.

Burning with a Vision arguably suffers from occasionally presenting some of the poets' works in a very cramped format rather than allowing it to breath fully. But given the 1980s and the proposition of an entire anthology of speculative poetry, I can see how decisions might be made like this. In contrast, Time Frames really let the poets have enough space to show us a wider range of their work, although the result is a shorter list of poets represented. Perhaps every anthology is a compromise in some area.

As a starting point, Frazier's work definitely gives us something meaty to respond to and to draw inspiration from. I'd consider it an essential text to understanding how we got to where we are today in contemporary speculative poetry.

Fungi Horror Anthology coming

2011-11-15T10:56:00.001-08:00

The Innsmouth Free Press has announced plans for a horror anthology centered on fungi!

Naturally, for a Lovecraftian anthology, there's all manner of potential angles you can approach with this one. William Hope Hodgson’s “The Voice in the Night”, and its Japanese film adaptation, Matango have already been cited as inspirations, and naturally, "The Fungi from Yuggoth". But let's see some stories and works that really go beyond with this one.

I would add the advice that the editors really appreciate non-traditional perspectives and settings. Take them places we've never been as readers. They're also interested in steampunk entries involving fungi if you have them. Good luck! They want to release it by October 2012, so keep an eye out for more details!

Laos News of the Week

2011-11-15T08:11:00.001-08:00

Laos is proceeding with the potentially environmentally disastrous Xayaburi Dam. Studies calculate it will "block fish migration on the Mekong, threaten between 23 and 200 fish species, have damaging effects on sediment flows and put unpredictable pressures on ecosystems around the river. More than 60 million people live in the river basin of the lower Mekong and about two-thirds of those depend on fishing for all or part of their livelihood." What's not to love?

Laos and the World Bank celebrated 50 years of "partnership". Said one official, "Today we can take pride in the achievements of our enduring partnership. Laos has seen remarkable success in lifting millions of people out of poverty and improving their lives. In less than a generation, the incidence of poverty in Laos has dropped from about 50 per cent to just a little over 25 per cent."

Laos faces challenges in creating productive jobs, said an expert from the International Labour Organization at a national workshop in Vientiane to discuss the Rural Employment Strategy for Poverty Reduction. With a population of 6.3 million, and 60 percent of the population is under 25 years old, Laos has opportunities but also challenges.

Meanwhile, Lao officials have been urged to actively lead local people in undertaking commercial ventures, so they can find their way out of poverty, saying "the growing of crops and livestock rearing should tie in with local needs."

Air America veteran Richard O'Hara of Northville, Michigan and his service in Laos were discussed in the Observer & Eccentric.

In West Virginia, the story of Master Sergeant Edward Ziobron's bravery in Laos was discussed.

In the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Lee Hines shared his experiences in Laos in "Lessons we must learn again."

The mayor of Frisco, Bill Pelham shared his story as a Forward Air Controller near the Laotian border in the Summit Daily.

The Gilroy Patch has an article on Joe Kline, who served in Vietnam and a mission in Laos to fly South Vietnamese troops in to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Bill Flittie was profiled in the Shoreview Press. Flittie was in the navy and later joined International Volunteer Services, stationed in Savannakhet.

Newsweek has a story on "What Made the Spooks Disappear," covering CIA operatives like Tony Poe who served in Laos with the Hmong.

USAID has a press release on 80-year old Hal Freeman, who was an education Foreign Service Officer with service around the world including Laos with the Hmong.

Thailand and Laos have officially opened a new Friendship Bridge.

And, Justin Bieber is auctioning off his snake to help a charity that builds schools in Laos, Nicaragua and Guatemala. His baby boa constrictor, Johnson.

The Last War Poem: Annotated

2011-11-11T17:58:00.001-08:00

"The Last War Poem" originally appeared in the 2002 anthology, Bamboo Among the Oaks from the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

The Last War Poem

I tell you, this is the last word for this war.
This little side war we were the center of.
There is no justice from poetry-
Any veteran can tell you that.

They want their land, their lives
Their livestock back.

Grenade fishing in the aftermath of Phou Pha Thi
Has lost its novelty
To the man with a bullet fragment rattling
In his body, slowly tearing him apart.

Write, they tell me. Write what?

We lost, we were forgotten, we are ghosts.
We are victims of fat tigers and foreign policy.

There is no Valhalla, only memories of Spectre gunships
There is no Elysium, only pleas for asylum.

This jungle was filthy.

There was shit. There was blood.
There were refugees
Who to this day can not explain why they were the enemy
When the war came.

Their sons fought. Their brothers died.

Their uncles, maimed, were hauled screaming into the shadows of the PDJ.

Write, they tell me, so people won’t forget.
So someone will know.

Lift the broken bodies with my words, bring them out
And say ‘we did not die in vain’.

For every bullet hole, let there be a word to stand as a monument.

For every lost limb let there be a sonnet to stitch the truth back together.

For every eye gone blind, let there be something to take its place.
Something. Anything.

How can you not have words for the war of whispers?

How can you not shout, now that the whispering is done?

And I swear, each time I break this promise, that the next time
Will be the last word I write about this damn war.

Future Lovecraft Arrives In December

2011-11-10T18:38:00.001-08:00

This December, the Innsmouth Free Press is launching their new anthology, Future Lovecraft, which will feature my poem, "The Deep Ones", making it the first time it is anthologized in a Lovecraftian anthology, although it appeared previously in my first full-length collection, On the Other Side of the Eye.

When the original call went out, they were seeking Lovecraftian science fiction stories. ‘Lovecraftian’ could include Mythos elements, but they have a broader view of what Lovecraftian means. Stories could be set in the near future or distant future. They could be cyberpunk, biopunk, space opera, dystopic, post-apocalyptic, or any other flavour of science fiction.

They wanted to be surprised by the contributors' visions of the future. They wanted work that thought beyond the borders of the usual settings (The United States seemed to be the only place where spaceships land). Future Hong Kong. Post-apocalyptic Africa. The drowned coastlines of Australia in a warmer world. A city beneath the waves near Easter Island. India five thousand years from now. The distant spaceport of New Port-au-Prince. The Martian and Lunar colonies.

They wanted protagonists with diverse and interesting backgrounds. They were interested in women who can battle Nyarlathotep’s deadly soldiers with wit and bravado, not sacrificial space-maidens, or the story of the little folk that are often forgotten, like the cook aboard the space vessel who discovers a terrible secret.

We'll see in a few weeks what everyone came up with! Some of the standout stories I'm watching for include "Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nyarlathotep", "A Comet Called Ithaqua", and "Concerning the Last Days of the Colony at New Roanoke". Look forward to this one!

Saymoukda Vongsay a 2011 Changemaker

2011-11-10T18:19:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Lao American writer Saymoukda Vongsay who has been selected as a 2011 Changemaker by the acclaimed Intermedia Arts in Minnesota.

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay is the Lao American author of No Regrets, a collection of poetry and haikus published by Baby Rabbit Publishing.

Her work has been published by Altra Magazine, the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, and Bakka Literary Journal, to name a few. A Minnesota-based spoken word poet, she has performed and taught creative writing workshops nationally across the United States and internationally in Italy and Japan.

She has worked with the Anchorage Urban League of Young Professionals lecturing and performing at the university-level and local high schools to urge voter registration and civic engagement and also served as liaison between local government and the Southeast Asian community regarding public policy.

Vongsay is a co-founding member of The Unit, a collective of emerging playwrights of color. Her short plays are staged at The Playwrights Center. Her piece, Yellowtail Sashimi, was part of the 2010 MN Fringe Festival. She was a co-chair of the first Lao American Writers Summit in Minnesota and has worked actively to support the work of Lao women writers and artists across the country to celebrate heritage, diversity and community development.

A multidisciplinary, multicultural arts center, Intermedia Arts supports a broad spectrum of artists, with a particular focus on voices you are unlikely to hear anywhere else. They were gracious hosts to the groundbreaking Legacies of War: Refugee Nation exhibit we held in Minnesota in 2010.

Their Queer Voices reading series is the longest running GLBT literary series in the nation. Their multimedia festival, B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop, is the first of its kind worldwide, showcasing and celebrating the contributions of women to a revolutionary art form. Their annual performance series, Indigenous Voices, (co-presented with Pangea World Theater), explores First Nation issues of identity and human rights; and their youth media programs allow at-risk youth to create films and TV shows about issues in their lives and communities.

Intermedia Arts is a nationally recognized leader in empowering artists and community leaders to use arts-based approaches to solve community issues. Their leadership program, The Creative Community Leadership Institute, is one of only a few programs in the country to provide comprehensive, professional-level training and support for local community-engaged artists and community developers. Led by a core faculty of four of the leading thinkers in the field of community cultural development, Intermedia Arts’ Creative Community Leadership Institute has trained over 62 of the Twin Cities’ most active community artists, organizers and developers.

Again, a big congratulations to Saymoukda Vongsay for her much deserved recognition, and here's to many more great things ahead from both her and Intermedia Arts!

Salon: If Tolkien were Black

2011-11-10T17:18:00.001-08:00

This week at Salon, the work of prose writers of color in speculative literature has gotten some attention. It's worth checking out, but I would also give a shout out to the Carl Brandon Society and a nod to recent World Fantasy Award winner, Dr. Nnedi Okorafor who are all doing significant work to contribute meaningfully to this discussion.

I appreciated the section where "Jemisin finds deeper problems in “certain expectations of the genre that are rooted in Western cultural assumptions that are not necessarily true. For example: the whole good-versus-evil focus, the binary. You see that in so much of epic fantasy. The Dark Lord is really bad, we know this. Because he’s dark. Well, did you do something to him? Doesn’t matter, he’s dark. That’s why he’s bad and that’s why you’ve got to go kill him. That kind of thinking I inherently do not trust.”

Hopefully, through the course of NaNoWriMo this month, we'll see the creation of work that will really keep the momentum going on tackling the monotony that's always lurked at the worst edges of the field.

The Iliad in the New Yorker and Lao Epics

2011-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

The New Yorker has new piece by Daniel Mendelsohn contemplating a slimmer, faster Iliad, based on Stephen Mitchell's new translation, which, among other things, completely cuts out Chapter 10, or the Doloneia. The abstract is extremely truncated, but the actual article is filled with some very interesting observations that would also apply for Lao American writers as we wrestle with our own literary traditions, for epics such as that of Sinxay.

We can spend so much time focused on the preservation and historicity of the classical Lao texts that we forget to make them living, breathing texts for ourselves. But that's for a larger discussion in the years ahead, I suppose.

"Indochina's Vicious Swamp Demons"

2011-11-08T21:42:00.000-08:00

Author Brad Steiger, in his 1999 work, The Werewolf Book, notes a curious 1940 account in Ed Bodin's Scare Me! A Symposium on Ghosts and Black Magic.

In Steiger's entry "Indochina's Vicious Swamp Demons," he retells Bodin's story of a Colonel Marchand supposedly sent in 1923 to a French military colony. It isn't clear which part of Indochina, but he brought his daughter Yvonne Marchand with him.

A native thief, faced between the choice of turning himself in to the authorities or crossing a haunted swamp, chose to surrender to the French.

Colonel Marchand, amused by the superstition, ordered the thief cast into the middle of the swamp. The thief begged for lenience and threw himself at the feet of Yvonne Marchand, but to no avail. He was marched into the swamp at bayonet point.

However, later that evening, he came back to the French camp and carried off the colonel's daughter to the swamp.

A search party was organized and they found the thief bleeding to death, covered in severe bites and scratches, his jugular torn open. With his dying breath, the thief claimed Yvonne did this horrible thing to him.

Pressing further into the swamp, the men found Yvonne, "naked except for a strip of cloth about her thighs. The searchlights caught the streaks of blood on her body, but her father was more horrified by the fiendish grin that parted her lips. Yvonne stood there before them, her teeth flashing as if she were some wild thing waiting for prey to fall within reach of her claws and fangs. To the astonishment of the entire search party, the girl rushed the nearest soldier, ready to gouge and bite."

They subdue her, but when Yvonne comes to her senses, she describes her capture. When they stopped in the swamp, hideous, fanged demonic faces bobbed all around the pair.

She described the strange sensations that came over her that drove her to kill the thief, remarking "I gloried in tearing away his flesh, in hearing him scream, in seeing him drop to the ground and crawl away. Then the faces summoned me on into the swamp. I tore off my clothes and began to bite myself. The faces laughed at me, and I laughed too."

Bodin's account is difficult to corroborate.

I haven't found any resources highlighting the service of a Colonel Marchand being stationed in Indochina around this time, but that does not wholly rule out the possibility. Proper, serious research of Southeast Asian metaphysics and the supernatural was not extensive among Europeans at the time, so we can only speculate what exactly they had encountered.

The floating fanged faces could have been any number of phi, including krasue, but there may be other possibilities. What do you think?

Little Laos on the Prairie: 1 Year Anniversary of the First Meeting of State Parties

2011-11-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

Little Laos on the Prairie has an article reflecting on the first anniversary of the Convention on Cluster Munitions' first Meeting of State Parties in Laos. It's worth checking out.

Lao American Adoptees: "Oddjob"

2011-11-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

In Christopher Robbins' 1987 book, The Ravens, there is a brief passage in Chapter 10:

"Oddjob-the original Raven orphan, was long gone-officially adopted by an Air Force mechanic and taken back to the States..."

If anyone happens to know what happened to him, I'd be very interested in finding out.

Valentine's Day, 1971 in Laos

2011-11-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

40 years ago in 1971, the secret airbase of Long Tieng in Laos was attacked on Valentine's Day. Christopher Robbins' wrote about the incident in his 1987 book The Ravens, Chapter 10, "Valentine". Here is an excerpt that illustrates many of the lingering issues we've been discussing over the years:

"The F-4 went in, but instead of returning to make multiple passes the pilot took the lazy course and pickled off his entire load of six CBU [Cluster Bomb Unit] canisters at once. Shep, his leg hastily bandaged, was outside with Burr Smith and a platoon of Meo [sic] guerrillas when the plane screamed over. Shep looked up and saw the CBU pods come off the aircraft and then watched in horrified fascination as the clamshells flew apart and the bomblets were spewed out. He yelled to his companions and hit the gorund. When he raised his head, after the CBU had passed beyond him, Burr Smith, himself, and a single Meo survived.

The exploding CBU tore through the village like a hurricane. Huts, trees, and telephone poles disintegrated before the Ravens' eyes. "You're dropping on the friendlies! Swedberg yelled into his radio. "You're dropping on the friendlies!"

A wall of destructive flame raced toward the Raven hootch. "You sorry-assed son of a bitch," Duehring shouted, and dived for the floor.

It was even worse than Swedberg feared. The pilot had misunderstood his instructions regarding the tracer and exactly reversed them-he had not dropped the deadly load where the tracers were ricocheting, but on the friendly machine gun itself.

Those in the hootch had hit the floor and were squirming on their bellies to get under the bed or behind some sort of cover. The CBU broke over building, peeling back the roof. It set the operations shack on fire, along with the Company sleeping quarters, the Air America hostel, and the Raven dining room, blasting the pool table into fragments. The CIA bar took a direct hit and burned to the ground. But the wily bears survived the holocaust by pressing themselves against the rock wall at the rear of their cage, which was built out from a cave.

It was obvious that the F-4 had dropped CBU, and from a great enough height for it to have a large pattern, (Clamshell CBU explodes in a doughnut patter, creating a circle of fire around a hollow. What looked to the Ravens like a solid wall of fire approaching them was actually a circle surrounding them-and the .50 caliber machine gun was directly in the center of it.)

With the building burning down around their ears, the Americans prepared to move back to the bunker, where a series of sporadic explosions made them think they were under renewed attack. It then dawned on them that the continuing explosions were their own ordnance. "Christ," somebody groaned, "some of that shit is time delayed."

"Confirm CBU-24," Swedberg radioed Cricket.

"CBU-24 confirmed," Cricket responded. There was a pause. "Also CBU-49 mixed in there."

CBU-49 was a canister of time-delayed, baseball-sized bomblets that, according to the book, went off randomly over a thirty minute period, each one blasting out 250 white-hot ball bearings. In reality, they often continued to explode for as long as two hours, and now they were littered throughout the compound."

Magic Kingdoms and Lang Xang: The Dumbo Connection

2011-11-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

From The Night They Burned The Mountain, by Dr. Thomas A. Dooley (1960) in the village of Muong Sing in Northwest Laos:

"Frequently at night we show a movie on the wall of our house. Some 1,000 people sit on the grass and watch in wonder. Little Guntar loves the movies. I think movies have just as much therapeutic value as antibiotics. Walt Disney gave me a 16 mm. version of Dumbo. Dumbo has enchanted North Laos, and the children watch for him every time we show this movie. They never seem to tire of it. "What a wonderful land America must be," they say. "They have huge elephants and the elephants are pink and green and blue and purple. And some of these elephants have ears so big that they can fly through the air." Dumbo is winning friends in the ten-year-old bracket for sure."

Journal of the Day: Poetry Midwest

2011-11-07T22:22:00.000-08:00

On November 7th we have the anniversary of the 1967 formation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by Lyndon B. Johnson, and the day Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were reportedly killed in 1908.

And in the year 2000, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration discovers one of the country's largest LSD labs inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas.

Which brings us in a roundabout way to today's journal of the day, the Kansas-based Poetry Midwest, which announced on October 27th that it was taking a hiatus to regroup and figure out what they really wanted to do as a journal. Which is understandable. Sometimes we need to take stock and assess what it takes to really do better and live up to our potential.

Merlin Mann wrote an essay to that effect encouraging all of us to figure out not only to create, but to create better work and to really push ourselves. It was interesting food for thought.

My poem "The Daughters of Barabbas" appeared in Poetry Midwest in September, 2006 in issue #16 on page 21. It was a short speculative poem taking on the final fate of a Biblical figure, the rebel Barabbas.

Poetry Midwest was established in 1995 and was to be published 3 times a year, although in actual practice it was a little off and on, such as a gap between 1997 and 2001. But it came back.

A little backstory for "The Daughters of Barabbas" is that certain schools of thought note that for a time, Jesus of Nazareth's life is unaccounted for until he returns in his thirties. Some speculate he may have traveled towards the East and spent some time learning about the world there.

Written in the summer of 2006, this poem was an abstract speculation on what might have happened to Barabbas. He disappears from canonical records after he is released. if he ever existed at all, according to some scholars. My poem takes a radically different direction than Par Lagerkvist's 1950 Nobel Prize winning novel, but does explore what kind of faith this man might have found for himself in the end for all of his travels. "The Daughters of Barabbas" has not appeared in any other collections of mine so far.

Here's hoping that Poetry Midwest has a successful transfer between servers and makes a comeback when the time is right.

Toys Are Us and Wight in Apex

2011-11-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

A few months back I supported Zac Shavrick's kickstarter project, the awesome Toys Are Us: a Crowd Driven Art Project. The results were great and to me really exemplify the best of what kinds of projects Kickstarter can support:

And it arrived just in time following my recent admission to the Horror Writers Association and the publication of my poem 'Wight' in Apex Magazine thanks to their new editor Lynne M. Thomas. It's rare that such moments of greater poetry occur in life, I think.

He's not accepting commissions until after mid-December, but I'd definitely recommend him and give my thanks to Kickstarter for connecting us as artists. Here's to his continued success. And here's a video of his traveling exhibition visiting the kickstarter founders. Watch closely, and you might see someone holding a familiar sculpture:

Toys Are Us- Pickup Truck Exhibition from Kickstarter on Vimeo.

Laos News of the Week

2011-11-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

Laos gets its first airbus after Libya cancels their order. They have had a bit of a windfall after Libya's order fell through. These 142-seat planes will be used for the Vientiane, Bangkok, Hanoi and Kunming routes, just in time for 2012: Visit Laos Year (and Year of the Nak!)

5NPlus is taking over the last remaining shares of Lao Industrial Resources in Vientiane. The plant specialized in tellurium refining. Tellurium is used in solar panels, semiconductors, coloring ceramics, cds, Blu-Ray discs, and phase change chips, among other purposes.

Lao farmers need an alternative to opium according to Irin News. Antinarcotics efforts slashed opium production from 26,800 hectares to 1,500 hectares between 1998 and 2006. Since 2007 opium farming has doubled to 3,000 hectares and the upward trend is still continuing, according to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Sychan Vakongxiong, a Hmong opium farmer is interviewed, as is Edna Legaspi and Khamen Phomally, deputy district governor of Xay District in Oudomxay and chairman of the local committee on drug control.

Over 3,500 mail order brides were rescued from China, including women from Laos who were victims of human trafficking.

Bombs to Bracelets: Jewelry that Aids Vietnam War Stricken Laos looks at the work of Article 22, a company that has been making efforts to raise awareness of unexploded ordnance left over from the war for Laos.

In a stranger turn, Lao are apparently involved in smuggling exotic animal parts. Members of an international syndicate allegedly use Thai prostitutes to 'hunt' and export South African rhino horn and also lion bones to supply the "Vichai Company" which it turns out is actually Xaysavang Trading Export/Import and its owner in Laos is said to be a man known as Vixay Keosavang. It's stuff like this that seriously makes me want to start rumors that other things besides animal parts are effective "natural viagra."

Lydia Laube's Lost in Laos just got panned in New Zealand as a crappy travelogue. It's an encouraging sign that people now are expecting a lot more out of stories by falang trampling all over Muang Lao.

On the other hand, a Mexican employee of Aeroplan was able to travel to Laos to work with Veterinarians Without Borders to teach villagers healthy and effective ways to raise poultry.

And finally, back in September, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran an interesting article on the notion of the anarchy-prone Zomia, which is essentially most of Laos and Southeast Asia. While there are many points of contention, it's definitely an important read to consider.

Poet to Poet: An Interview with John Rezmerski

2011-11-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Usually when we see interviews of poets it's done in a conventional journalism format. Question and response. And rarely do we see journalists ask questions that reflect a real familiarity with poetry and poets. Or else, they're so academic, they're unreadable.

Ezra Pound is famous for his quip, "poetry is news that stays news." When poets interview poets, I've begun to question why we aren't interviewing each other truly as poets.

So, for the last few months, I've been interviewing Minnesota poets through the format of poetry to see what would happen. John C. Rezmerski, an amazing Minnesota poet, particularly in the field of speculative poetry, graciously agreed to be interviewed using this method, and the result is now up at the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

Enjoy!