[Poet Spotlight] Janine Joseph

Janine Joseph was born and raised in the Philippines and Southern California. Driving without a License (Alice James Books, 2016), is the winner of the 2014 Kundiman Poetry Prize. Her poems and essays about growing up undocumented in America have appeared in Kenyon Review Online, Best New Poets, Best American Experimental Writing, Zócalo Public Square, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and elsewhere.

Her commissioned libretti for the Houston Grand Opera/HGOco include What Wings They Were: The Case of Emeline, “On This Muddy Water”: Voices from the Houston Ship Channel, and From My Mother’s Mother. Janine holds an MFA from New York University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston, where she was a poetry editor for Gulf Coast.

She has taught creative writing with Writers in the Schools, Community~Word Project, and the Starworks Foundation. A recipient of a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, an Inprint/Barthelme Fellowship in Poetry, a Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center Fellowship for Collaboration Among the Arts, a PAWA Manuel G. Flores Prize, a Howard Nemerov Poetry Scholarship, and an Academy of American Poets prize, Janine is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Oklahoma State University.

[Poet Spotlight] Paisley Rekdal

Paisley Rekdal is the author of four books of poetry, a book of personal essays, and a mixed media book of photography, poetry, fiction and non-fiction. She lives in Salt Lake City and teaches at the University of Utah.

[Poet Spotlight] Grace Shuyi Liew

Grace Shuyi Liew is the author of Book of Interludes (Anomalous Press, 2016). Elsewhere, her work has appeared in cream city review, PANK, Bone Bouquet, West Branch, and others. She is an alum of Aspen Summer Words, Squaw Valley Writers Workshop, and the Watering Hole.

She is from Malaysia and used to work as an interpreter. Now, she resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she attends Louisiana State University's MFA program and works as a teaching artist.

2015 was a particularly prolific year for her individual poems finding homes. I found "Publics" in Juked particularly engaging as an introduction to her work as well as "From "Mapping/ A Vanishing or How To," in The Nervous Breakdown. "PROP" won the 2015 Ahsahta Chapbook Contest, judged by Kerri Webster.

You can visit Grace Shuyi Liew at https://graceungrateful.com/ and she IS available to write poems for you. I'd take her up on it.

[Poet Spotlight] Angela Peñaredondo

Born in Iloilo City, Philippines, Angela Peñaredondo is a poet and artist living in southern California. Her first full-length book, All Things Lose Thousands of Times, is the regional winner of the Hillary Gravendyk Poetry Prize.

She is also the author of a chapbook, Maroon (Jamii Publications). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in AAWW's The Margins, Four Way Review, Cream City Review, Southern Humanities Review and elsewhere.

She is a VONA/Voices of our Nations Art fellow as well as a recipient of a University of California Institute for Research in the Arts Grant, Gluck Program of the Arts Fellowship, Naropa University's Zora Neal Hurston Award and Squaw Valley Writers Fellowship.

She has also received scholarships from Tin House, Split This Rock, Dzanc Books International Literary Program among others.

You can visit Angela Peñaredondo at: http://www.apenaredondo.com/ to learn more about her writing and artistry.

[Poet Spotlight] Monica Youn

Monica Youn is the author of Blackacre (Graywolf Press, 2016); Barter (Graywolf Press, 2003); and Ignatz (Four Way Books, 2010), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and the New York Times Magazine, and she has been awarded fellowships from the Library of Congress and Stanford University, among other awards.

A former attorney, she now teaches poetry at Princeton University.

[Poet Spotlight] Neil Aitken

Neil Aitken is the author of two books of poetry, The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga 2008), which won the Philip Levine Prize, and Babbage’s Dream (Sundress 2017), as well as a chapbook of poetry, Leviathan (Hyacinth Girl Press 2016).

He is the founding editor of Boxcar Poetry Review and his own poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Adroit Journal, American Literary Review, The Collagist, Crab Orchard Review, Ninth Letter, Southern Poetry Review, and many other literary journals

[Poet Spotlight] Lo Kwa Mai-En

Lo Kwa Mei-en is the author of Yearling (Alice James Books, 2015), winner of the Kundiman Poetry Prize, and two chapbooks, The Romances (The Lettered Streets Press) and Two Tales (Bloom Books). Her 2016 book was Bees Make Money In The Lion. She lives and works in Cincinnati.

[Poet Spotlight] Hai-Dang Phan

Hai-Dang Phan’s poetry has been published in The New Yorker, POETRY Magazine, Best American Poetry 2016, jubilat, Prelude, and New England Review. A recipient of fellowships and scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the American Literary Translators Association, and the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, Phan holds degrees in creative writing from the University of Florida (MFA) and English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD). Born in Vietnam and raised in Wisconsin, he currently lives in Des Moines and teaches at Grinnell College.

[Poet Spotlight] Rajiv Mohabir

Selected by Brenda Shaughnessy for the 2014 Intro Prize in Poetry by Four Way Books for his book entitled The Taxidermistʻs Cut (Spring 2016), Rajiv Mohabir received fellowships from Voices of Our Nationʻs Artist foundation, Kundiman, The Home School (where he was the Kundiman Fellow), and the American Institute of Indian Studies language program.

His second manuscript The Cowherd’s Son won the 2015 Kundiman Prize. He was also awarded a 2015 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for his translation of Lalbihari Sharma’s Holi Songs of Demerara, published originally in 1916. His translations of this text is forthcoming from Kaya Press in 2018.

His poem "Ancestor" was chosen by Philip Metres for the 2015 AWP Intro Journal Award. His poems also recieved the 2015 Editor's Choice Award from Bamboo Ridge Journaland the 2014 Academy of American Poet’s Prize for the University of Hawai‘i. His poem "Dove" appears in Best American Poetry 2015. Other poems and translations appear in journals such as Quarterly West, Guernica, The Collagist, The Journal, Prairie Schooner, Crab Orchard Review, Drunken Boat, small axe, The Asian American Literary Review, Great River Review, and PANK. He has received several Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations.

Winner of the inaugural chapbook prize by Ghostbird Press for Acoustic Trauma, he is the author of three other multilingual chapbooks: Thunder in the Courtyad: Kajari Poems, A Veil You’ll Cast Aside, na mash me bone, and na bad-eye me.

Rajiv holds a BA from the University of Florida in religious studies, an MSEd in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Long Island University, Brooklyn when he was a New York City Teaching Fellow, and an MFA in poetry and literary translation from Queens College, CUNY where he was Editor in Chief of Ozone Park Literary Journal. While in New York working as a public school teacher, Rajiv also produced the nationally broadcast radio show KAVIhouse on JusPunjabi (2012-2013). Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Hawai’i where he writes about colonial era anti-sodomy laws, plastic, and humpback whales

[Poet Spotlight] Mia You

Mia You was born in Seoul, South Korea, grew up in Northern California, and now lives in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Her first full-length collection, I, Too, Dislike It, was released by 1913 Press.

Her poems also have appeared as a chapbook, Objective Practice (Achiote Press, 2007), and an artist’s book, YOU (created by Thorsten Kiefer, 2004).

She is collaborating on a book of hours and movements with Lyn Hejinian. You was central editor of Poetry International Rotterdam, a partner to the Poetry Foundation, and completing a doctoral dissertation on Gertrude Stein at the University of California, Berkeley. She writes essays and book reviews and has published them with Bookforum, the Boston Review, The Hairpin, Jacket2, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Volta.

[Poet Spotlight] Tony Innouvong

Tony Innouvong is a higher education professional and occasional event planner. By night, he is an emcee (alias is Illaphant), poet, and aspiring fashion designer. His music and poetry have allowed him to perform and collaborate with artists nationally.

He’s currently working on the second installment of his first acclaimed project, “Sticky Rice & Mangos.”

In addition to the music, he’s working on a fashion start-up that fuses Lao culture with modern menswear. The line is a combined celebration and testament to the culture, history, and struggle of Lao people. His "music, poetry, and fashion work serve not only as creative canals for self-expression, but tools for continuing a legacy his family started when they immigrated to the US."

[Poet Spotlight] Adrian M. Sayaphet

Adrian M. Sayaphet, better known to many as Buddha LuvJonz, is a poet, a DJ, an actor and  a designer. Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT, he is a graduate of Central Magnet HS and a UCONN graduate with a degree in Communications and Marketing.

 As a DJ, versatility has always been his ability to provide a great level of enjoyment for people searching to escape the norm. He was recognized as one of the top 10 DJ's for Jay-Z's 2009 NYC 40/40 club DJ Competition.

Adrian has "used that experience as a motivational push towards the top, www.luvjonz.com. Thinking outside of the box, finding ways to diversify and unify people through his creative approach, Adrian has been able to remarkably use his talent to help coordinate many great events, being able to cater to any crowd, a true valuable asset to help elevate the meaning of success for any event."

"Life is a musical scale, as we compose a beautiful note, hoping to discover harmony in humanity one day."

[Poet Spotlight] Peuo Tuy

Peuo Tuy is a Cambodian-American spoken word poet, storyteller, motivational speaker, and an artist/educator.

She lives in New York but travels nationwide to share her poetry and stories and help people heal and overcome their personal challenges through writing and self-empowerment. She believes that "words evoke our spirits and that our spirits guide us to personal liberation."

She is the author of the book of poetry, Khmer Girl.

You can visit her online at http://www.peuotuy.com/

[Poet Spotlight] linSUN

linSUN is "a lifelong student at heart, an educator on Purpose, she is an energetic firefly who holds creative space and energetic healing for others and the world. linSUN encourages and inspires people to be who they really are, and is fueled by her love for children, her family, cultures, and the Earth. A lover of creative expression, storytelling, movement explorations, and speaking one’s Truth… she is honored to create, reflect, and share space with you!"

linSUN is the creatress of School of Jai, an education and healing movement.

[Poet Spotlight] Kanya Lai

Kanya Lai is an English teacher at Nashville School of the Arts. She spends her summers traveling to exciting locales, where she usually volunteers in underprivileged schools and/or orphanages. Some of her favorite things are coffee, classical music, fashion, and yoga. Her work has appeared in Little Laos on the Prairie, and Bakka Magazine.

Here's a 2009 performance she gave of some of her poetry in Tennessee as part of the L.A.O. culture night:

[Poet Spotlight] Wang Ping

Wang Ping was born in China and came to the U.S. in 1986. Her publications of poetry and prose include American Visa, Foreign Devil, Of Flesh and Spirit, New Generation: Poetry from China Today, Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China, The Magic Whip, The Dragon Emperor, The Last Communist Virgin, and Flashcards: Poems by Yu Jian.

Her books have been translated in Japanese, German, Danish, and other languages. She’s also a photographer, film maker, public performance and installation artist.

Her multi-media exhibitions include “Behind the Gate: After the Flood of the Three Gorges”, “All Roads to Lhasa: The Qinghai-Tibet Railroad”, “We Are Water: Kinship of Rivers” at schools, colleges, galleries, museums, lock and dams, and confluences along the Mississippi River and Yangtze.

She is professor of English at Macalester College, founder and director of Kinship of Rivers project: kinshipofrivers.org

[Poet Spotlight] Mai Neng Moua

Mai Neng Moua was born in Laos in 1973. Her family immigrated to the U.S. in 1981 when she was 8 years old. She speaks the White Hmong dialect although her father’s family was Blue Hmong. Among her most well-known poems is "My Mother is a Coffee Table," and she is a pivotal figure in the modern Hmong literary movement. If she is not the mother of Hmong literature, she is at least its big sister.

Her tireless activism and advocacy for Hmong art and writing paved the way for many of the prominent figures in Hmong literature today, creating an international network of many of the first Hmong writers in the world, publishing many of them for the very first time. I strongly believe her example, particularly in overcoming resistance to culture shift has important implications for those interested in best practices for refugee resettlement and civic engagement.

She graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, completed her Master’s degree, and at the time of the interview was working in public affairs. Mai Neng Moua founded and published a journal of Hmong writing titled Paj Ntaub Voice since 1994, and she published Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong-Americans in 2002. Her first memoir The Bride Price came out on March 1st, 2017.

[Poet Spotlight] Sokunthary Svay

Sokunthary Svay is a breathtaking writer and musician from New York, and she has been a Willow Arts Alliance Fellow. Her very first book is coming in Fall, 2017, and she is pursuing her MA in Language and Literacy at City College in Harlem. Considering that as of 2010, only 14.4% of Khmer women had a bachelor's degree or higher, that she's taking steps to reach for higher education is admirable and extraordinary.

I'm exceptionally fond of her work, which has examines intersections between the traditional culture of both Cambodia and Europe, history, and our shared journeys. She is bringing a wonderful perspective and needed approach to Khmer American literature, one you easily fall in love with for the elegant and evocative imagery in both her prose and poetry. At various turns I've found her verse fierce, dark, unflinching and precise, and lingers with you long after you've read it. I'm looking forward to seeing much more of her enchanting body of work over the coming decades ahead, and she has my whole-hearted and unconditional support.

I'm delighted to see that she is already making tremendous inroads to expand the space and reach of Khmer American literature, and that she has been organizing many other writers to appreciate the opportunities to be found in writing. Among the places you can find her writing already: Lontar, Blue Lyra Review Mekong Review, Hyphen Magazine, and Flesh: A Southeast Asian Urban Anthology, Homelands: Women’s Journeys Across Race, Place, and Time, Prairie Schooner, Women's Studies Quarterly,

She is one of the first Pushcart-nominated writers of the Khmer community in both poetry and nonfiction and a musician. She is also a recipient of the First Friday Residency at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning,  Her recent collaborations include two different settings of her poem “Morning Song” by the award-winning composers David Schober and Liliya Ugay.

Her family fled Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime and relocated as refugees to the Bronx where she was raised. She lives in Queens, New York with her husband and daughter. She is the poetry editor for Newtown Review. She's one to watch.

[Poet Spotlight] Anchalee Joy Panigabutra-Roberts

Anchalee Panigabutra-Roberts ~ อัญชลี ปาณิกบุตร-โรเบิร์ตส์ (Joy ~ จอย) has her roots in Thailand. The U.S., mostly the Midwest, ended up being her home, after she came to the U.S. as an exchange student in 1984, with a three-year stint in Canada (2002–2005).

 It is still a mystery why she is drawn to this vast heartland with the extreme heat of the summer and the deep freeze of the winter. Perhaps it has to do with the beauty of the four seasons, the open space, and the fabulous sky.

For a time, she was a librarian at a university in the Midwest, and then Egypt, but who knows what she will become. One thing she knows for certain is that she is very passionate about social justice and human rights. She believes that peace is easier than wars, and love is easier than hatred. Poetry and dance, especially Thai dance, have been her main creative forms.

She lives with her husband and her daughter.

[Poet Spotlight] Jai Arune Ravine

Jai Arun Ravine is a writer, dancer and dance writer currently based in Philadelphia. As a mixed race, mixed gender and mixed genre artist, their work arises from the simultaneity of text and body and takes the form of video, performance, comics and handmade books. I've enjoyed interviewing Jai Arun in the past and always look forward to what they've written next.

Their second book THE ROMANCE OF SIAM (Timeless, Infinite Light 2016) is a subverted travel guide that consumes and regurgitates Orientalism, the tourist archive and white desire.

Jai Arun Ravine can be found at http://jaiarunravine.com/