
I'm celebrating the one-year anniversary of my book On The Other Side Of The Eye at the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative at 4755 Chicago Ave. South in Minneapolis! The free reading is 7-9pm.
On The Other Side Of The Eye is the first full-length book of Laotian American speculative poetry, released in August 2007. My book is now taught in classrooms and read around the world. It's been a really amazing journey!
To help me celebrate, we're featuring door prizes and 3 very special guest readers:
Saymoukda Vongsay, a first-generation Laotian American spoken word artist, writer, and activist and author of No Regrets.

She has performed at universities, clubs, theaters, museums, and festivals around the country as well as in Italian and Japanese classrooms.She has performed alongside such artists as Laura Piece Kelly, Danny Solis, David Mura, and Ed Bok Lee. Her current projects include a chapbook, a novella, and a monthly advice column for Hip Hop-centric, Focus Magazine.
Katie Ka Vang, a Hmong-American Performance artist and writer. She was a 2007 recipient of the Jerome Naked Stages grant where she created a one woman show called 5:1 Meaning of Freedom; 6:2 Use of Sharpening, and is a 2008 recipient of Artist Initiative grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board. She has performed in different theater companies, schools, open mics, etc. She will be releasing her first chapbook in December 2008 and will be in two productions in the fall, Sia(b) by May Lee yang; and Asiamnesia by Sunmee Chomet and ensemble. For more information please check out her website on
www.myspace.com/emptyyks
Brandon Lacy Campos. A 30-year old, queer, Afro-Boricua, African-American, Ojibwe, Euro poet, playwright, blogger, and newbie novelist. He is a former two-time Many Voices/Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights Center, a recipient of a Cultural Community Partnership Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and was a featured performer at the 2004 PeaceOut East International LGBT Hip-Hop Festival in NYC. His writing has appeared in 60 Seconds to Shine by Simon and Schuster Press, Under What Bandera? by Calaca Press, The Liberty Tree Journal, Queer Codex: Chile Love by Evelyn Street Press, and Mariposas: A Modern Queer Poetry Latino Anthology by Floricanto Press.
Currently, Brandon is working on his first creative non-fiction novel "Circus Protest," and is collaborating with artist David Berube on a cartoon series project. For his day job, Brandon is the Grassroots Media Policy Advocate at the Center for Media Justice in Oakland, CA.

I'll also be making a special announcement about 4 very special projects that are coming up for 2009. :) And I'll let you see if you can guess why I chose each of these talented writers for this special occasion. :)
See you there, and thanks, everyone!
And here's a scene from a year ago: