Legacies of War: Our Shared Journey

One of the exciting interactive parts of the Legacies of War Exhibit coming to Minneapolis this month is ‎"Our Shared Journey," an interactive piece in the Legacies' exhibit, captures the journey of our immigration - from Laos, to refugee camp and our new homes in the U.S.

Exhibit goers can add their stories and memories to the map during the MN exhibition. What's your family's story? - Where did you come from? How did you get here? If you don't know, it's time to ask.

Article in Star Tribune: Living in war's shadow

A good article on the upcoming Legacies of War and Refugee Nation events at Intermedia Arts this month came out in the Star Tribune this week. We were also listed as an A-List event by the City Pages, so thanks for that.

There are a few parts that should probably be clarified including: A figure of 25,000 is given for the community estimate of Lao, while Hmong are considered between 60,000 to 70,000+, along with an indeterminate number of Tai Dam, Khmu and Mien, among other possibilities in Minnesota. Laos, as a nation the size of the United Kingdom (or Utah), has over 160 cultures living within its borders and nearby, so this can understandably get confusing sometimes.

Also, the 8 eyed bug I refer to is one of dozens of types of UXO remaining in Laos, particularly The BLU-42/B WAAPM (Wide-Area Anti-Personnel Mine) a spherical anti-personnel fragmentation minelet. This was fitted with several surface and trip-wire sensors for detonation, an anti-tampering device, and a self-destruct system.

You can see an example of this particular cluster bomb at the exhibit, thanks to Jim Harris who helped to provide several examples for us.

Also a clarification has been requested: The refugee camps were located outside of Laos, including Thailand. The biggest waves of refugees arrived in the 1980s, however, there are some who arrived in limited numbers during the 1970s. (including myself).

A big thanks is owed to Channapha Khamvongsa who has been instrumental in raising awareness of UXO in the community through Legacies of War. Please be sure to check them out. 

[MN] Refugee Nation Tickets Now Online!

If you're interested in buying your tickets in advance for Refugee Nation, you can visit:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/16062

Tickets are $10 each. It's taken over three years to finally bring Refugee Nation to Minnesota. They're only here until October 17th! You don't want to miss this! :)

 

Refugee Nation tells the stories of a community created by a U.S. led secret war in Laos. Intricately connected to the Vietnam War, Laotian refugees struggle to create a future as their American descendants struggle to understand their past.

Since 2005, collaborators Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng have been collecting oral histories from family and community members across the country to create an interdisciplinary theater performance that explores a growing part of the Asian American Diaspora that is yet to be included as part of the American experience.

Through theater and movement they re-construct the stories of families trying to rebuild a community that has been spread like ashes across the U.S. and the world.

More than just a telling of Laotian American history, the two-person performance eloquently touches upon issues relating to the refugee experience, assimilation, generation gap, and mental health using drama, film, music, and audience interaction, and personalizes these issues through a genuine Laotian American perspective.

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

Approaching One Year of BARROW!

 
Released in October 7th, 2009 BARROW is my current collection of science fiction poetry exploring language, tradition and myth. It asks where the narrator fits within those words and worlds.

The release was held at the True Colors Bookstore in Minneapolis on the same day as the Twin Cities Book Festival and several other great events.

BARROW includes some of my work that has appeared previously in other journals such as Whistling Shade, Northography and Tales of the Unanticipated. BARROW also debuted some new work as well. Some, such as My Autopsy, Thank You, were written during my first years at Otterbein College. I'd mentioned it last year that it's refreshing to still feel confident about older pieces even after so much time had passed.

Even more so than in On The Other Side Of The Eye, BARROW featured more poems discretely about the people in my life. It continued to traverse a lot of ground as a transcultural adoptee and as a Lao American. It also featured the cover artwork of Vongduane Manivong, who's since taken the plunge as a full-time artist in Texas.

In October, I'm sure we'll be doing lots of special promotions to celebrate. Stay tuned! :)

Chicago: Laura Kina's Sugar

This month, if you're in Chicago, you may want to check out: Laura Kina: Sugar
Set during the 1920’s-1940’s, Laura Kina’s SUGAR paintings recall obake ghost stories and feature Japanese and Okinawan picture brides turned machete-carrying sugar cane plantation field laborers on the Big Island of Hawaii. Drawing on oral history and family photographs from Nisei (2nd generation) and Sansei (3rd generation) from Peepekeo, Pi’ihonua, and Hakalau plantation community members as well as historic images, Kina’s paintings take us into a beautiful yet grueling world of manual labor, cane field fires and flumes.

September 10 - October 28, 2010
Opening Reception: September 10, 2010 6-9pm

Woman Made Gallery
685. N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60642
Tel: 312-738-0400
gallery@womanmade.org
www.womanmade.org
Gallery Hours: Wed., Thurs., Fri. 12-7 p.m.; Sat., Sun. 12-4 p.m.

Refugee Nation coming to Minneapolis!

REFUGEE NATION: Co-presented with Pangea World Theater
October 8-17, 2010, Based on stories of Laotian Refugees
Written and Performed by LEILANI CHAN & OVA SAOPENG
Intermedia Arts

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

Refugee Nation tells the stories of a community created by a U.S. led secret war in Laos. Intricately connected to the Vietnam War, Laotian refugees struggle to create a future as their American descendants struggle to understand their past.

Since 2005, collaborators Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng have been collecting oral histories from family and community members across the country to create an interdisciplinary theater performance that explores a growing part of the Asian American Diaspora that is yet to be included as part of the American experience.

Through theater and movement they re-construct the stories of families trying to rebuild a community that has been spread like ashes across the U.S. and the world.

More than just a telling of Laotian American history, the two-person performance eloquently touches upon issues relating to the refugee experience, assimilation, generation gap, and mental health using drama, film, music, and audience interaction, and personalizes these issues through a genuine Laotian American perspective.

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

Support the Loft at Borders in Minnesota this weekend!

If you visit a Borders Books in Minnesota on the weekend of September 11-12, 2010, you can help the Loft celebrate 35 years. The Loft will receive a percentage of sales that weekend for every purchase made with a Loft voucher. Customers that weekend will also be invited to round up their purchases so the Loft can supply more scholarships for youth to take summer creative writing classes.

On Saturday, September 11, 2010 each of the seven metro-area Borders stores will host a free short writing class at 1 p.m. led by a local author. Learn more about the weekend event and be sure to print out your voucher before visiting your local Borders. Only purchases made with a voucher will benefit the Loft.

You'll also have a chance to win a free class at the Loft!

Issue 5 of Innsmouth Free Press: October 4

Issue 5 of Innsmouth Free Press is scheduled to be online October 4. Suspenseful stories that will be appearing in this issue include:

• Kenneth Yu - The Music of Senor Lorenzo 
• Paul Jessup- The Night We Burned Our Hearts Out 
• Tom Hamilton - The Changeling 
• Martin Hayes - Beneath the Cold Black Sea 
• Jarrid Deaton - Borgan's Deli 
• Julio Toro San Martin - The Green World 
• James Lecky - The Song of Tussagaroth 
• Cheryl McCreary - Nibbling 

As usual, I've been contributing Monster Bytes this season to the Free Press, from a profile on the Prince of Yuggoth, to story on a strange bee attack and anti-graffiti measures in that storied harbor. The editors have been keeping wonderfully active and prompting some fun explorations of H.P. Lovecraft's fictional landscape. I look forward to seeing what emerges with the new issue.