Bryan Thao Worra: A timeline

From time to time, I get requests from students asking to interview me or who've been assigned to do a research project about a poet or some other project of interest. While my wikipedia entry has been kept reasonably up to date, it can seem like a lot to plow through, or researchers can be uncertain how everything all fits together. So, to be of some assistance, here's a "streamlined" version of my timeline that can hopefully serve as a starting point for various inquiries.

• January 1, 1973: Born in Vientiane, Laos.
• July, 1973: Emigrate to the United States.
• June 14, 1976: Naturalized as a US citizen, Missoula, Montana.
• 1977: Move to Anchorage, Alaska.
• 1981: Move to Ypsilanti, Michigan.
• 1985-1987: Attends Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor, receives a Waldorf-style education.
• 1986: Move to Saline, Michigan. Attends Saline High School from 1987-1991.

• 1991-1997: Attends Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. Joins Sigma Delta Phi.
• 1997: Organizes Hmong Community Leadership Conference with Doua Thor, Sao Thao and Fue Kue in Westerville, Ohio at Otterbein College.
• 1997-1998: Goes to Washington D.C. for Hmong National Development.
• 1998-2007: Moves to St. Paul, Minnesota, begins career in non-profit sector, including Hmong Tribune; Asian Media Access; Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly; National Youth Leadership Council.
• 2001: Attends SatJaDham Lao Literary Project conference in Minneapolis. Meets the Kouanchao family.
• 2002: Bamboo Among the Oaks released by MN Historical Society Press.
• April, 2002: Convenes 5 Senses Show of Hmong & Lao Art at Babylon Gallery.
• 2003: Travels overseas, reunited with long-lost family after 30 years in Modesto.
• 2003: Chapbook The Tuk-Tuk Diaries: Our Dinner With Clusterbombs released.
• Spring, 2004: First meeting with Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay.
• July 24th, 2004: Lao'd And Clear reading at the Loft Literary Center
• 2005: Works as interim executive director of Hmong American Institute for Learning.
• 2006: Special guest at Diversicon 14.
• 2006: First meeting with Catzie Vilayphonh.
• October, 2006: Death of adoptive father, John Worra in Michigan.
• 2007-2011: Moves to North Minneapolis, Hawthorne Neighborhood.
• August, 2007: First full-length book, On the Other Side of the Eye.
• August, 2008: Second full-length book, BARROW.
• September, 2008: Begins work with Lao Assistance Center, Minneapolis, MN.
• November, 2008: Third full-length book, Winter Ink. 
• 2009: Awarded National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Literature.
• April, 2009: Fourth full-length book, Tanon Sai Jai, following meeting with Noi Sengsourigna.
• August, 2010: Convenes 1st National Lao American Writers Summit in Minneapolis, MN with Chanida Phaengdara Potter, Saymoukda Vongsay, and Catzie Vilayphonh.
• October, 2010: Organizes Legacies of War: Refugee Nation Twin Cities interdisciplinary exhibit on UXO in Laos at Intermedia Arts with Lao Assistance Center, Legacies of War, and TeAda Productions.
• 2011-2012: Begins to split time between Minnesota and California.
• November, 2011: Accepted into the international professional Horror Writers Association.
• 2012: Represents Laos during London Summer Games Poetry Parnassus.
• 2013: Fifth full-length book, DEMONSTRA with artist Vongduane Manivong.
• 2014: Elgin Book of the Year Award from Science Fiction Poetry Association.
• July, 2014: Begins to split time between Hemet, Ukiah, and Dublin, CA.
• February, 2015: Lifetime member of H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
• April, 2015: 2nd National Lao American Writers Summit convened in MN.
• July, 2015: Guest of Honor at CONVergence convention, Bloomington, MN.
• December, 2015: Southeast Asian American Legacies symposium, presenting with Mai Der Vang.
• February, 2016: Enters Modesto Lao Theravada Buddhist temple as a novice monk.
• March, 2016: Presents at UC Davis on Refugee Memories and Imagination in Disaspora.
• April, 2016: Teaches first classes at Kearny Street Workshop, San Francisco, CA.
• April, 2016: Featured poet, Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets.
• May, 2016: Keynote speaker, 3rd National Lao American Writers Summit.
• July, 2016: Begins to split time between Pasadena, Hemet, and Dublin, CA.
• August, 2016: Elected president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association.
• November, 2016: Presents at Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center CTRL+ALT: A Culture Lab on Imagined Futures.

As with any life, there's a lot more in between all of this, but these are some key points one can begin with. If you have any specific questions, you can always ask me.