ARTIST STATEMENT

My experience as a Hmong American has deeply influenced my approach to art. I came of age in the nineties, a time when most text about the Hmong were written by non-Hmong people. This was simply because the Hmong were an orally-based culture and literacy was still new. I grew up under the mentorship of Mai Neng Moua who has been hailed by The New York Times as “midwife of the literary arts movement.” She created spaces for Hmong people to write their own stories. Therefore, I never take it for granted that I have the capacity to write in my own voice.

For a time, it was trendy for artists to say they wanted to be “a voice for the voiceless”. I hate this idea because it assumes that someone like who have all the trappings of marginalization—woman, Person of Color, former refugee who grew up in a low-income background—should have my voice mediated by someone else. Instead, this has transformed the way I do work: I assume that everyone has capacity to create art, if only give the chance, the platform, the tools, and the guidance.

THEATER PRODUCTIONS

• The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity. Playwright. Theater Mu (2018)

• The Bad Hmong Girl Theater Project. Playwright. Short radio plays airing monthly on Hmong FM/KFAI Radio (2017)

• Poj Laib Laus (Old Gangster Ladies). Devisor, Director, and Ensemble Member. Presented by the Hmong Museum Hmong Chronicles Program (2016).

• Hmong-Lao Friendship Play or Lao-Hmong Friendship Play. Co-writer. Performer. Presented by Lazy Hmong Woman Productions, Intermedia Arts, MPR Art Hounds Live, and other tour sites. (2015)

• Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman. Playwright and Performer. Presented by Out North Theater, Intermedia Arts, the MN Fringe Festival, and other tour sites. (2010)

• Ten Reasons Why I’d Be a Bad Porn Star. Playwright and Performer. Presented by Illusion Theater, The National Asian American Theater Festival in L.A., and the MN Fringe Festival. (2010)

• Sia(b). Playwright. Mu Performing Arts (2008)

PUBLICATIONS (PARTIAL LISTING)

• “The Ethics of Writing About Throwaway Women”, MN Artists (2018)

• Nimrod Journal (2017)

• Water~Stone Literary Review, Hamline University (2016, 2008)

• How I Lost My Name Finalist for the 2015 Finishing Line Press Chapbook Competition (2015)

• The Imaginary Day (full-length children’s book from MN Humanities Center, 2012)

• How Do I Begin? An Anthology of Hmong American Writing (Heyday Press, 2011)

• Sia(b) featured in Asian American Plays for a New Generation (Temple University Press, 2011)

• The Saint Paul Almanac, Arcata Press (2007, 2006)

• Cheers to Muses: Contemporary Works by Asian American Women, (2007)

• Sounds In This House: An Anthology, (National Book Foundation, 2007)

• To Sing Along the Way: Minnesota Women Poets From Pre-Territorial Days to the Present (New Rivers Press, 2006)

• Paj Ntaub Voice, the Hmong American Institute for Learning. Featured in the following issues: “War” (2004), “Visions for the Future” (2001), “Silence” (2001), “Dating, Sex, and Marriage” (2000)

• Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans, Borealis Books (2002)

readings and speaking venues

GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

• Scribe for Human Rights, The University of MN-Twin Cities (2019)

• Gesell Award for Poetry, The University of MN – Twin Cities (2019)

• Audrey Christensen Library Acquisition Prize, The University of MN – Twin Cities (2019)

• Gesell Award for Fiction, The University of MN – Twin Cities (2018)

• Marcela de Bourg Fellowship, The University of MN – Twin Cities (2018)

• Academy of American James Wright Prize in Poetry, The University of MN – Twin Cities (2017)

• Playwright Center McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting (2018)

• The Loft Literary Center’s Spoken Word Immersion Grant (2018)

• Ordway Sally Award Winner for Art Access (2016)

• Knight Arts Challenge Winner for F.A.W.K. (2016)

• Kundiman Retreat Fellowship for Poetry (2016)

• Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Next Steps Grant (2015)

• Intermedia Arts’ Beyond the Pure Writing Fellowships (2015)

• Center for Urban Regional Arts Artist and Neighborhood Partnership Initiative Grant (2015)

• MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant for Theater (2015,2009) and Literature (2005)

• Finalist for Playwright Center McKnight Advancement Grant (2014)

• Jerome Foundation Travel Grant (2013)

• Bush Leadership Fellowship (2011)

• MN State Arts Board Cultural Community Partnership Grant for Theater (2011)

• Midwestern Voices and Vision Artist Residency (2010)

• National Performance Network Creation Fund Grant for Theater (2008)

• Playwright Center Many Voices Fellowship (2008, 2002)

• Loft Literary Center’s Mentorship Program in Creative Non-Fiction (2005)