[Films] Good Horror Picks of Recent Years

Although I'd love to see lots of you on Halloween for our literary celebration, some of you may be stuck inside at home distributing candy to passing ghosts and ghouls. The following films get my highest recommendations from recent years:

Drag Me To Hell is Sam Raimi at his finest, learning plenty from his Evil Dead series in this tale of the Lamia and what happens when you cross little old ladies from the old country.

Let The Right One In is a sweet coming of age story. With a vampire.
I'm also looking forward to the upcoming Daybreakers.

The Descent is a great, almost Lovecraftian tale with some great female characters and a chilling, claustrophobic atmosphere. You also really can't go wrong with his earlier werewolf film Dog Soldiers or his post-apocalyptic Doomsday.

Dagon remains one of my favorite retellings of an H.P. Lovecraft story, this one inspired by Shadows Over Innsmouth. Right along with Re-Animator and From Beyond they take some liberties, and some may object to the comedy interjected into these films but few can argue with the overall spirit with which they successfully capture Lovecraft's weird vision.

Dawn of the Dead Whether it's the remake or the original, Dawn of the Dead really serves up some great zombie action for you. The other key zombie films that really vindicate the genre are of course Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland, which alas isn't available out on video yet. 28 Days and 28 Days Later also deserve mention.

Versus gets a special nod for when you absolutely positively need some time-hopping zombie yakuza martial arts action.

Other key Asian horror films that stand head and shoulders above the rest include the original Ju-On, Kairo, Dark Water (NOT the remake), The Eye and Shutter. These all really raised the bar on atmospheric, creepy films that will leave you unsettled. Unfortunately, the industry's gone largely downhill with imitators and not enough time spent on developing the stories. But there was a brief golden era of fine Asian horror with diverse plots and innovation in concepts and excellent technical execution. Hopefully it won't be long before we see a resurgence.

Dead (Poe)ts & Writers Halloween Party at Kieran's!

This Halloween, come to the  Dead (Poe)ts & Writers Halloween Party, hosted by the Loft Literary Center and Kieran's Irish Pub! Not limited to poets, this is a night for all literary freaks to rise from the dead!  The evening will include a Costume Contest and an Open Mic.  Guests are encouraged to get creative. Readings of the work of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard and others will be heard! Come one, come all!

When: Saturday, October 31, 8pm
What: Dead (Poe)ts & Writers Halloween Party
Featuring:

• Reading/Open Mic, starts 8 pm
  Read from your favorite poetry, short stories, plays -- any and all work from authors dead or alive (or your own)! Or just sit back and enjoy the show.
• Costume Contest, starts 10 pm
  Enter for your chance at our literary prizes!

Where: Kieran's Irish Pub, 330 Second Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55401. (612) 339-4499
www.kierans.com

Writer's Opportunities: Hmong, Lao and Asian American Journals

Alas, it's been a very rough year for Hmong and Lao magazines with many functionally defunct and out of the running. A few are still in operation and accepting work.

Hmong and Lao Magazines:
www.bakkamagazine.com Accepting fiction/non-fiction short stories, poetry, essays and op-eds, photography, visual art submissions, letters to the editor. Bakka Magazine is a regular magazine for anyone with a connection to Laos. It's been on a slight hiatus but is expected to be back in operation very soon.

www.jsaaea.org The Journal of Southeast Asian Education and Advancement is taking both non-fiction and creative, literary writing. It is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal addressing research interests surrounding the education and community development of Southeast Asian Americans.

www.myspace.com/hmongpassion Hmong Passion Magazine is looking for contributors. They have a strong youth and education focus. It's scheduled to be published quarterly (every 3 months).

http://www.hmong.org/hmoobteen.aspx Hmoob Teen Magazine is still publishing out of Hmong American Partnership and provides great opportunities for many young Hmong writers.

Asian American Magazines
The following Asian American magazines and websites could also always use new writers and contributors:

www.myspace.com/hyphenmagazine Still active, Hyphen Magazine is always looking to give opportunities to freelancers, writers and artists.

www.13minutesmag.com 13 Minutes target audience consists of females, ages 24 to 45. Their focus is to provide bicultural Asian American women with a forum in which issues that are familiar with them can be addressed and explored.

www.asiancha.com CHA: An Asian Literary Journal is the first Hong Kong-based online literary quarterly journal dedicated to publishing quality poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, reviews, photography & art from and about Asia.

www.thememagazine.com Theme Magazine is a quarterly publication that covers global avant-garde Asian culture for an increasingly international readership.

www.myspace.com/altrazine or www.altrazine.com Altra is still going. A quarterly lifestyle magazine that celebrates Asian and Asian American excellence. ALTRA highlights achievements by cosmopolitan, English speaking Asians and Asian Americans, and also informs the public on the diverse trends and issues affecting individuals of Asian descent.

www.colorlines.com Colorlines is a more serious bimonthly magazine, and is billed as the leading national, multi-racial magazine devoted to the creativity and complexity of communities of color. ColorLines features the best writing on the issues that affect these communities.

www.jademagazine.com Jade Magazine endeavors to be THE reference for professional Asian and Asian American women in their 20's and 30's.

www.audreymagazine.com Audrey Magazine is still around. A bimonthly English-language magazine highlighting the stories that interest Asian American women nationwide.

www.eastwestmagazine.com East West, is an Asian American lifestyle magazine covering fashion, politics, food, career, beauty, celebrities and more.

www.kartikareview.com Kartika Review is a well-run, thoughtful Asian American literary journal, and one to keep an eye on over time.

www.asianamericanpoetry.com AsianAmericanPoetry.Com has slowed down a little, but still accepts submissions.

www.asianamericanliteraryreview.org Asian American Literary Review. Their website isn't really up yet, but they have plans to unveil their first issue in 2010. They have some very impressive names in East Asian and South Asian literature connected to their editorial board.

[Introduction To Lao Writers] Souvankham Thammavongsa

In Canada, Souvankham Thammavongsa is the author of Small Arguments (Pedlar Press, 2003) and Found (Pedlar Press, 2007.) She also published at least five chapbooks before Small Arguments, but these are extremely hard to find. She also has a chapbook of one-act plays, Weed Woman, among other works. Years ago, I cited her as an essential author to read among international Lao writers, and I stand by that.

Souvankham was born in the Nongkhai, Thailand refugee camp and grew up in Toronto. If you read her interviews, I think you'll agree with me, she's a poet's poet, and she has quite a sense of humor.

Found has recently emerged as an exceptional movie by the talented Paramita Nath. The director uses impressionistic techniques to show Thammavongsa's journey: Years ago, she discovered her her father's scrapbook that he had kept in the Thai refugee camps. It documents the family's escape from Laos in the 1970s. It was filled with doodles, addresses, postage stamps, maps and measurements. One day, he threw it out.

Her book, Found, was her response. Paramita Nath's film presents the old photos, text, animation and home movies. Although it is a short film, I consider it as important as Nerakhoon in presenting the narrative of Lao refugees. Both of these films possess a high degree of art that transcends conventional expectations of refugee stories. It is very much in line with the way Lao artists around the world have approached our experience.

Small Arguments won the 2004 ReLit Award for excellence in poetry and an Alcuin Society citation for excellence in book design. Souvankham has also been featured at Harbourfront's Premiere Dance Theatre and International Reading Series. She participated in the WIER program in 1997 as a student at York Memorial Collegiate Institute. She was an editor of big boots, a zine for and by women of colour. In 2002, she received the Lina Chartrand Award for poetry.

Thammavongsa's poetry is typically sparse even compared to the work of other Lao poets, and challenging. But she is one of the essential voices of our generation, and I applaud her for her daring. I look forward to seeing more of her work in the future.