Choose one Hmong writer from the anthology and rewrite their profile in two or three sentences. Add a photo of your selected writer to your post. by Quynh Vo

Choose one Hmong writer from the anthology and rewrite their profile in two or three sentences. Add a photo of your selected writer to your post. by Quynh Vo https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj How do they represent themselves and their writings? en-us 2021-05-05 02:32:34 UTC 2022-03-31 18:06:53 UTC hello@padlet.com May Lee-Yang - Emma Celaj https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117713467 May Lee-Yang is deeply connected to her Hmong identity and uses it to not only influence and inform her writing/art but also to connect to other Hmong individuals and make them heard. When she is asked who she is writing for, she says "Hmong Americans who are bilingual." This is important to understanding her art because although anyone can read it, her audience informs her purpose, which is to make the Hmong people seen, heard, and understood.
Her poetry includes "Endings" and "Things a Hmong Woman Loves". Endings is about the Hmong Language, its beauty and versatility, which connects to her desire to write to and for Hmong speakers. It also may be somewhat of a metaphor for the versatility of the Hmong people as a whole and their endurance and perseverance in the face of oppression. "Things a Hmong Woman Loves" outlines the culture and traditions for Hmong Women. It is connected to her identity as a Hmong woman, which is what she pulls from to write the poem. She could be writing it for other Hmong Women as well in order to validate/affirm them.]]> 2022-03-28 17:49:00 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117713467 May Lee-Yang: Sebastian Winter sw3898a https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723422 May Lee-Yang is a Hmong American author who's target audience is Hmong people who are bilingual. She wants to write for someone like her and invite others into the world that she has created through her writing. She believes that re-contextualizing her work for non-Hmong people shows that people might want to change power dynamics. She represents herself in her writings because she writes about her culture being a Hmong woman and about how to speak the language. Her work speaks to her own appreciation for her culture and how she thinks about the world through the lens of her Hmong background.]]> 2022-03-28 17:54:05 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723422 Mai Der Vung - Sam Blodgett https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723779 Mai Der Vung

She is Hmong- American and she had a hard time coming to terms with what she called a paradox between being Hmong and American at the same time. She at points becomes disillusioned with her own sense of self something that she states is common among Hmong people living in the United States. However she states that has she continues to grow older she has sen a type of beauty in the her paradox that she did not see before. She sees that she is able to survive many things because her ancestors did. She writes about a father being a janitor in the United States

]]> 2022-03-28 17:54:17 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723779 Andre Yang is a writer and poet who focuses on social justice issues specifically around his Hmong heritage. He uses his writing to understand his place in the world as part of the Hmong culture and the discrimination that has been put upon them. In his poem "Photograph of the Fire at Nam Yao Refugee Camp, 1980," he wonders why people seem so calm. The destruction of nature is a motif used a lot by Yang as he feels it is a way to show the difficulties of constantly having to move because of your culture. https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723820 2022-03-28 17:54:19 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723820 Boon Ma Yang by Ben Bennett https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723867 Yang is a Hmong artist. According to Yang, art has always been his passion. He decided that he wanted to tie his culture to his art, so every piece Yang creates is related to Hmong culture in some way. He says that Hmong culture inspires most of the art he creates. If you look at his art you will see many inspirations of Hmong culture. I think that it is really cool that Yang is trying to spread Hmong culture, as it is something that not many people know about.]]> 2022-03-28 17:54:20 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723867 Burlee Vang (Evan Padilla) https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723900 Vang does not write just because he is Hmong. He writes because he wants to transcend boundaries, and give insights on existential topics. Vang writes on topics that breaks down abstract barriers like country, or language. Writing " If I sing of these things who would listen to me, who knows nothing of picket fences, the sanctuary of apple orchards or learn the lesson of tornadoes? I will relearn". Here Vang illustrates his willingness to not just relearn what he knows but take his disadvantages and transform them into content for readers.]]> 2022-03-28 17:54:21 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117723900 Ying Thao jmdemarest3jd https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117724348 Ying Thao was raised among the tradition Hmong people, following their traditions and language. He chooses to use his stories from when he was young to help his readers understand what it is like to be Hmong and also a gay man. He is proud of his traditions and culture and wants to bring that to the rest of the world. This author did not have a poem featured in our reading. ]]> 2022-03-28 17:54:37 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117724348 May Lee-Yang - Micah Levanos https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117724669 May Lee-Yang writes to connect with the Hmong-American community. She recognizes that this may be a very niche community, but does not believe in conforming to the mainstream. Her writing takes up many different themes including culture, childhood, and stereotypes as a Hmong-American. Overall, her writing is a tribute to people involved in her own culture who may be struggling to find their voice in America. Her work is powerful because she does not conform to what may cause her writing to be more popular, and chooses to do what is most beneficial for the Hmong people.]]> 2022-03-28 17:54:47 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117724669 Andre Yang - Laura Dudek https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117725745 Andre finds freedom in expressing his thoughts and feelings through writing. His literature is an outlet to express himself and his beliefs. Although he acknowledges his identity, it is not something that defines him as a person. He talks about how rather than his identity as a writer and a Hmong person coming in conflict with one another, they coexist and define Andre.

Andre's work talks about the history and memories lost from war. Questions still remain about the Hmong people during that time in Laos because much of their history has been lost or forgotten with time. A rare picture is all that remains of that time, which reveals only a small bit of evidence of the destruction and chaos that his great-uncle and his people experienced. ]]> 2022-03-28 17:55:22 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117725745 Pos L. Moua - Jeffrey Fernandez https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117728132 Moua has deep roots connecting to his Hmong identity, however, he wants to be recognized first as a human being. The fact that he has Hmong roots shapes the way he views and sees things and it is also how he is defined as an artist. He would like to look ahead of this fact because he wants to create art without any categorization, or. definition. ]]> 2022-03-28 17:56:39 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117728132 Bryan Thao Worra (emma wyler) https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117731046 Describes that he doesn't mind as much how he is described ("ethnic writer" or "artist") because categorization and the ways people identify him may come and go but his "work remains, and that is my true body."

Poem excerpt:
Minute mouths mocking
The word EXTINCT,
Pronouncing it fraud.

]]> 2022-03-28 17:58:14 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117731046 Yia Lee--Yuxuan Mao https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117731204 Yia Lee's work is closely related to her own childhood experiences. She doesn't like the fixed way of writing, Lee likes the freewheeling form of literary creation. Gary Yia Lee is a Hmong anthropologist and writer living in Australia. Lee was born in Ban Houei Kouang, Muong Mok, Xieng Khouang, Laos. In 1961, after his family was displaced by the civil war, she came to Australia and achieved some academic success.]]> 2022-03-28 17:58:19 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117731204 Yia Lee - Michayla Harris-Tate https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117731714 Lee chooses not to focus her writing on her ethnicity and her identity as a Hmong women. Her experiences as a Hmong woman contributed to the person she is, but these experiences do not ultimately restrict and define her artistry and individual personhood. She writes about anything that she chooses, knowing that her Hmong identity will influence her work.]]> 2022-03-28 17:58:36 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117731714 https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117736100 Mai Der Vang is a Hmong American Poet she writes about how in her writing she finds herself writing the “ roadmap to navigate the paradoxes of life” She writes for self-discovery and recognition of her past life. One of her poems “ I Understand This Light to Be My Home” talks about how language has become a source of light. She recognizes the long history of war, oppression, exile, and suffering.

Jelina ]]> 2022-03-28 18:00:49 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117736100 Soul Choj Vang--Zehao Zhu https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117750973 Soul Choj Vang is one of the authors of How Do I Begin?: A Hmong American Literary. He only started writing after a few years in the U.S. Army. He wants to express his Hmong identity through writing and make more people understand the unique culture of the Hmong people.]]> 2022-03-28 18:08:49 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117750973 Pos L. Moua - Kat Linsdau https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117895725 Pos L. Moua's perspective is centered primarily on the condition of being human, with his Hmong identity acting as large force on his life and his work. Moua writes on universal themes of "love, life, and desire", but his unique experiences shape his art. Much of his inspiration is drawn from nature, particularly mountains. He feels as though these things connect him to his ancestors who lived surrounded by nature. ]]> 2022-03-28 19:30:14 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2117895725 Yia Lee - Meliha Ural https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2119645357 Yia Lee doesn't like labels and believes that she doesn't have to name an identity she already knows she is. Rather than being acknowledged as a "Hmong writer", Yia wants to be seen as an "artist". She believes her experiences and perspective on life due to her identity as Hmong already reflects on her stories.]]> 2022-03-29 15:43:12 UTC https://padlet.com/quynhvo/myprrw1ozz4a5rbj/wish/2119645357