Saturday, December 29, 2012

Book Discussions: 2013 | Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads

This looks cool: Two trainings regarding leading difficult discussions around race and racism will be offered January 12 and 13th 4:00 pm at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Book Discussions: 2013 | Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads

Friday, December 28, 2012

Can Instilling Racial Pride In Black Teens Lead To Better Educational Outcomes?

African American adolescents tend to have more success in school if their parents instill in them a sense of racial pride, reducing their vulnerability to the effects of racial discrimination from teachers and peers. 
This is the conclusion of a University of Pittsburgh study published this fall in the journal Child Development. Titled "Parental Racial Socialization as a Moderator of the Effects of Racial Discrimination on Educational Success Among African American Adolescents," the research article shows that when African American parents use racial socialization - talking to their children or engaging in activities that promote feelings of racial knowledge, pride, and connection - it offsets racial discrimination's potentially negative impact on students' academic development. 
Preparing the adolescents for possible bias was also a protective factor, though a combination of this preparation and racial socialization was found to be ideal in moderating the possible damaging effects of racial discrimination by teachers or fellow students. The Pitt study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 
"Our findings challenge the notion that 'race blindness' is a universally ideal parenting approach, especially since previous research has shown that racially conscious parenting strategies at either extreme - either 'race blindness' or promoting mistrust of other races - are associated with negative outcomes for African American youth," said lead author Ming-Te Wang, Pitt assistant professor of psychology in education, who coauthored the study with Harvard's James P. Huguley. 
"When African American parents instill a proud, informed, and sober perspective of race in their sons and daughters, these children are more likely to experience increased academic success," said Wang. 

Yes! obviously! And not just African American teens, but all children of color. So pleased to see that studies prove what I've been saying forever. Invite me to come speak for your parents', school, or community group on Raising our Children with Culture(s) and Pride--Practical Strategies, Preparing our Children for Racism, APA Girl Power! Let's start the new year proactively! http://www.multiculturaltoolbox.com/Speaking/foradults.html

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Miso for Life Received! A Melting Pot of Thoughts | 13 Minutes Books



So pleased to receive my copy of Miso for Life first thing in this morning's mail! Here with the star of my love story in "The Musician's Granddaughter," chapter 3. Shout out to fellow writers Kate Agathon May-lee Chai. Thanks to Ahn Mai Xuan Bui and 13 Minutes Books - "Pho for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts." for putting together A Melting Pot of Thoughts series. ♥ A great Christmas present!

Photo courtesy of M.

A Melting Pot of Thoughts | 13 Minutes Books

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

Funeral Ceremony for Sen. Inouye | C-SPAN

This morning's memorial service for Senator Daniel Inouye. Speakers include Erik Shinseki, Pres Clinton, VP Biden, Pres. Obama...plus the Aloha Boys singing Bradda Iz...

Funeral Ceremony for Sen. Inouye | C-SPAN


Virtually attending Senator Daniel K. Inouye's memorial service right now. Remembering.

Washington National Cathedral : Live Webcast

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Send me your University of Michigan students

Send me your University of Michigan students. I'll be team-teaching AMCULT 301: "Asian/Pacific Islander American History and the Law" Thursdays 6-9 with the lawyers and activists who were there during the Vincent Chin case. Only place in the country you can take a course re Vincent Chin case with the folks who were there at the time. historical and current civil rights issues.

Wolverine Access - Gateway to Administrative Systems at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

ACA Detroit High School Scholarship Awards Dinner Keynote EXCERPT

from last week's keynote (to be published in ACA Detroit Newsletter)
Association of Chinese Americans Detroit (OCA chapter) High School Scholarship Awards Dinner Keynote EXCERPT
Chinese Community Center, Madison Heights, MI
December 9, 2012
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

“This is an interesting moment to be coming of age as an Asian American. We are post-Tiger Mother, post-Jeremy Lin, post-Gangnam Style. We are supposed to be post-racial too by now, but the news coming in from college campuses around the country clearly suggest otherwise. We are still struggling with issues of bullying, violence, stereotypes, and media representation. At the same time, America is both fascinated and terrified of the possibilities that are China, Korea, India, Pakistan.

As young Asian Americans, you stand at the confluence of history and family and cultures. In addition to all your school and work and extracurricular activities, you are in the process of shaping your identity and cultivating your character in the midst of many contradictory influences. Anything is possible, but it takes courage and intention.

So as you prepare to leave home and begin this next phase of your journey, it is important to know who you are, remember the communities from where you come, and dare to think big/think global for both work and yourself. Then you will have the tools to go anywhere you want, and the courage to create something new….

Your task now is not simply to graduate and go to a good college and give your Tiger Parents something to brag about in the Asian Parenting Olympics.

Your task is also to start thinking about how you are going to cultivate your character and shape your identity beyond school, beyond work.…

So do not be afraid to dream! To live life! To fall in love! To create something new! Poised as we are between different cultures, we have rich resources that uniquely color everything we do, from our relationships to our research, our politics to our art. I think the key is that we all need to learn how to think and how to dream. Do not let society or your parents or fear make you limit yourself. Figure out how things work. Learn to think outside the box. Dare to take chances, get messy. Think hard. What kind of person do I want to be?

We laugh about it, but think about the three most prominent Asian and Asian American narratives of the moment—Tiger Mother, Jeremy Lin, Gangnam Style—and what they show us. Hard work and excellence are an important part of the equation, but so are passion and character and luck and creativity. And community. Your challenges are our challenges. Your successes are our successes. We are all in this together.”

Danny Chen Hazing Trial: Mother, Suzhen Chen, Says No Justice Was Served In Soldiers' Punishments

Danny Chen Hazing Trial: Mother, Suzhen Chen, Says No Justice Was Served In Soldiers' Punishments

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Hurrah! Gov. Snyder vetoed the guns bill!

Hurrah! Gov. Snyder vetoed the guns bill! Now we'll have to move to Tennesee if we want armed teachers in the classroom. 


http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/tennessee-armed-teachers.php

Veto SB 59! No guns in my children's schools! - NAM EthnoBlog

Excerpt from my article in New America Media:
My kids are remarkably blase about fire drills, tornado drills, lockdown drills. They've been prepped for everything. The coded PA announcement that triggers a lockdown is eerily benign. My daughter explains that they have two different kinds of lockdowns with two different protocols--one when there is an intruder inside the building and another when there is something wierd/dangerous going on in the neighborhood/outside the building. It is how unperturbed they are that strikes me.
Thanks to all our teachers. They don't pay you enough to have to deal with this, let alone to have to shoot back.
click on link for whole article: Veto SB 59! No guns in my children's schools! - NAM EthnoBlog

Monday, December 17, 2012

Remembering Senator Daniel Inouye

Telling 8 year old Little Brother the story of Senator Daniel Inouye tonight and hoping he learns integrity and humility and total badassness-- "When asked in recent days how he wanted to be remembered, Senator Inouye said, "I represented the people of Hawaii and this nation honestly and to the best of my ability. I think I did OK.""

senator daniel inouye dies at 88 | AngryAsianMan.com

So badass! here's the story straight from the source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6MCHjb50S20

another badass story about breaking the color barrier in the house of reps http://vimeo.com/5997922

Chicago is the World » Michigan Governor Rick Snyder: Veto SB 59! No guns in my children’s schools!

Excerpt from my article in Chicago is the World:
I remember when my children were small and I would not let them have playdates or sleepovers at homes that had guns. It was embarassing to ask, “Do you have guns in the house?” but I did. I made one relative get rid of the gun I knew he kept before we would come for a long visit. Curious small children. Careless adults. Deadly weapons. Not a combination I was interested in seeing together.
Now Michigan Republicans want me to send my children to schools full of concealed weapons?
Governor Rick Snyder: For goodness sake, veto SB 59! No guns in my children’s schools!
You can tell Michigan Governor Rick Snyder what you think about the gun bill here.

click on link for whole article: Chicago is the World » Michigan Governor Rick Snyder: Veto SB 59! No guns in my children’s schools!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Sing Along with Santa 2012

Nothing I love better than a man who sings, even--no, especially--when he is wearing a big red suit! Last year, Santa met us for tea and baozi at Eastern Accents Bakery, which meant so much to Little Brother (and who was so impressed that Mommy is such a media personality that of course she knows Santa). This year, we managed to get out of our earlier concert and make it to this concert just in time for Silent Night, sung for the families in Connecticut. Thanks, Santa.

Photos from AnnArbor.com:
Scenes from 'Sing Along With Santa' 2012

My article about the 2008 event (published in 2009):
Sing Along with Santa - Ann Arbor Observer

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder: Veto SB 59! No guns in my children's schools!

The night before the school shooting in Connecticut, in a marathon late night session, lame duck Michigan legislature voted to allow concealed weapons at schools, daycares, churches, arenas, hospitals, etc.

Hours AFTER the shooting in Connecticut, Michigan Republicans won the prize for the "second-most awful remark on one of the worst days in American history, coming up behind Mike Huckabee’s" remark about God in schools. Regarding Thursday night's legislation to allow concealed weapons in schools, daycares, hospitals, arenas, etc., House Speaker Jase Bolger said that teachers shooting back might have meant “the difference between life and death for many innocent bystanders.”

My kids are remarkably blase about fire drills, tornado drills, lockdown drills. They've been prepped for everything. The coded PA announcement that triggers a lockdown is eerily benign. My daughter explains that they have two different kinds of lockdowns with two different protocols--one when there is an intruder inside the building and another when there is something wierd/dangerous going on in the neighborhood/outside the building. It is how unperturbed they are that strikes me.

Thanks to all our teachers. They don't pay you enough to have to deal with this, let alone to have to shoot back.

I remember when my children were small and I would not let them have playdates or sleepovers at homes that had guns. It was embarassing to ask, "Do you have guns in the house?" but I did. I made one relative get rid of the gun I knew he kept before we would come for a long visit. Curious small children. Careless adults. Deadly weapons. Not a combination I was interested in seeing together.

Now Michigan Republicans want me to send my children to schools full of concealed weapons?

Governor Rick Snyder: For goodness sake, veto SB 59! No guns in my children's schools!

The children and I are going to Sing along with Santa today. Every year, Little Brother asks Santa some pretty hard-hitting questions--what to do about bullies, how to handle his homework, does Santa like mochi, how does Santa get into houses without chimneys, etc. This year, I want to ask Santa one too. I can't imagine who else has the answer to this.


More from the Michigan Education Association: Michigan teachers union president urges governor to veto gun bill after Connecticut school shooting and from the American Federation of Teachers: AFT - A Union of Professionals - AFT Urges Michigan Gov. Snyder to Veto Gun-in-Schools Bill.

You can tell Michigan Governor Rick Snyder what you think about the gun bill here.

UPDATED 12/17/12 plus links.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Michigan and the Big Island of Hawaii. She is a contributor for New America Media Ethnoblog, Chicagoistheworld.org, PacificCitizen.org, and InCultureParent.com. She team-teaches Asian Pacific American History and the Law at the University of Michigan and University of Michigan Dearborn. She is a popular speaker on Asian Pacific American and multicultural issues. Check out her Web site at franceskaihwawang.com, her blogs at franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com and rememberingvincentchin.com, and she can be reached at fkwang888@gmail.com.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Quoted in Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife

Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife [2 volumes]

I am quoted on page 601 in this $199.95 book available on Amazon (in a chapter on Rites of Passage):

Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife [2 volumes] [Hardcover]Liz Locke (Editor), Theresa A. Vaughan (Editor), Pauline Greenhill (Editor)

"As activist scholar Frances Kai-Hwa Wang notes, 'You know you've become an adult when you buy your first twenty-five-pound sack of rice." 

LOL!

I'm an "activist scholar," too! Love it!

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Womens-Folklore-Folklife-volumes/dp/0313340501/ref=as_li_wdgt_ex?&linkCode=wey&tag=fkwang-20

UPDATE: I was introduced by the department chair as a "freelance intellectual." I like that, too. lol.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Melting Pot of Thoughts | Where to Buy

Miso for Life is now available for purchase online w special holiday rate (includes shipping) through website - just follow the link below.

A Melting Pot of Thoughts | Where to Buy

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too - NAM EthnoBlog

memories of a warm evening with Ravi and Anoushka Shankar long ago, "I think of Diwali as a straw-colored end-of-summer sort of holiday, one of long days and warm nights, set against orange and brown fields—not one that requires the coat and hat and scarf and gloves I just took out of my Michigan closet. What to do, but brave the dark night and icy rain and go to Hill Auditorium and bask in the warmth and gracious charm of Ravi and Anoushka Shankar…and look, the whole community is here."

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too - NAM EthnoBlog

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Reading Jeff Kass

Reading local writer (and writing teacher extraordinaire) Jeff Kass' new collection of short stories, Knuckleheads,  published by Dzanc Books. So pleased to finally meet him. Surprised we had not met before. Cool workshop last Saturday at Ann Arbor District Library. We traded books.

Monday, December 10, 2012

"Miso for Life--Melting Pot of Thoughts" Now Available

Miso for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts

So excited to see that I'm the third essay! wow! So fun to be a part of this new anthology with BFFs Kate Agathon and May-lee Chai. Thanks to editor ahn Mai Xuan Bui.

Special Edition "Miso for Life--Melting Pot of Thoughts" available from mai@13minutesmag.com for $15.75 (shipping included). 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Speaking at ACA Detroit High School Scholarship Awards Dinner

Giving the keynote at the Association of Chinese Americans (ACA) Detroit High School Scholarship Awards Dinner tonight, Sunday, December 9, 2012, 6:00 pm, Chinese Community Center, Madison Heights.

Inspiring message planned: Do your homework. Speak your language. Don't be a disappointment and bring home anything lower than 103%. (JUST KIDDING!)

http://www.acadetroit.org/ 

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Miso for Life Book Launch Today!


If you are in southern California, Book Launch Today! Miso for Life--A Melting Pot of Thoughts. So excited to be a part of this new anthology
Saturday, December 8, 2012, 7:00-10:30pm
Come celebrate the release of the anthology "Miso for Life" & enjoy an evening with friends, foods, drinks, and great entertainment. A limited amount of general entry tickets and books are available. 
***Online ticket and book pre-order sales are now closed. Tickets at the door will be $15.***
The evening will include: Two fashion shows (Kimonos) provided by DollDelight and Suehiro Kimono; live performances by Nancy Sanchez, Tj Parker, Phanith Rama Sovann, Sue Jin Kim, Khanh Angela Nguyen, Larissa Lam Chiu; martial arts stunt skit (EMC Monkeys), Hawaiian dance (Crystal Chau); special ping pong demonstration by Soo Yeon Lee, complimentary hor d'oeuvres and cocktails, and more.
Your friendship and supports over the years are the reason why we're still here. Thank you for giving us our voices. Let's celebrate.
https://www.facebook.com/events/543023432378649/

Jumpstart your Memoir continues at WCC


Teaching  the conclusion of "Jumpstart your Memoir" today at Washtenaw Community College. What's your favorite memoir? 

LifeLong Learning @ WCC › Browse All Classes › Writing & Literature

Friday, December 7, 2012

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Team-teaching American Culture 301: Asian Pacific American History and the Law next term

Team-teaching American Culture 301: Asian Pacific American History and the Law next term with the lawyers who were there during the Vincent Chin case, activists who were there during the Internment and internment redress movement, each one feistier and more badass than the next. I just listen. Send us your Univ of Michigan students. Thursdays 6-9.

https://wolverineaccess.umich.edu

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Huron High School student group to host Pizza Showdown to benefit children in Kenya

Check out what our apia teens and friends are doing at Huron High School this Friday night, November 30, 2012! Yay Andy, Hanel, Atulya, Kevin, et al!
A group of Huron High School students have organized a Friday night event that is sure to leave attendees feeling full and satisfied in more ways than one, with all-you-can-eat pizza and supporting a good cause.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, more than 100 pizzas will be delivered to the Huron cafeteria for a Pizza Showdown — an event that combines local business promotion, community camaraderie and good food together with helping sick and needy children in Kenya.

A new Huron after-school club called Youth Impact is organizing the showdown. It costs $5 for students and $10 for adults to attend.

The money generated will be given to the Take Heart Association's Hearts for Kids project. The Take Heart Association (THAP) strives to provide life-saving surgeries, support, resources and hope to families of underprivileged children in Kenya and East Africa who suffer from heart defects and disease, THAP's website says.
click on link for whole article: Huron High School student group to host Pizza Showdown to benefit children in Kenya

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Chicago is the World » Possibility. Imagination. Conversations to remember. A Future for all of us.

The annual University of Michigan Natural History Museum Halloween party is packed, the girls all dressed as princesses and fairies, the boys all dressed as autobots and ninjas. My son, eight-year-old Little Brother, is a pirate. I am Hello Kitty Gangnam Style. We come every year for the science and the stories, the dinosaurs and the whales (Yay Professor Gingerich!). 
This day, I get such a sense of possibility from this short multiculti crowd. There do not seem to be any limits as boys and girls of so many different races and ethnicities imagine what they could be. Anyone could be a doctor, anyone could be a scientist, as little hands explore the surfaces of mammoth and mastodon teeth. 
Imagination has no limits today. I love that about Halloween. 
Education has no barriers today either. I love that about the Natural History Museum. (Whenever we talk about Chicago, eight-year-old Little Brother has only one word, “Sue.”) 
Even now, three weeks later, the memories of this day and the imagination it inspires insulate me from the hateful racist and sexist rhetoric churning outside my door. I want to believe that this hopeful future is what is real and all that crazy stuff in the news—from the Petraeus et al affairs to talk of secession to the Arizona woman who ran over her husband for not voting—is not. Really, don’t we all just want to educate our kids and share a little bit of candy? 
Funny how we sometimes need to step outside of reality a moment in order to see what is real.
click on link for whole article: Chicago is the World » Possibility. Imagination. Conversations to remember. A Future for all of us.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

EMPOWERMENT: Presented by UAAO Board and Kappa Phi Lambda

So pleased to be invited to be a part of this courageous event at University of Michigan on Wednesday, although sad about the motivating events.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 6:00 pm, Kalamazoo Room, Michigan League, University of Michigan
UAAO Board would like to invite you and your general members to attend EMPOWERMENT co-hosted by Kappa Phi Lambda. This event has been triggered by many cases of gender/sexuality-based assault. We believe that this needs to be brought to the attention of everyone in the A/PIA community. During this event we will have a presentation by SAPAC (Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center), a facilitated dialogue and discussion. CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) will also be present to provide addi
tional support.
click on link for more: EMPOWERMENT: Presented by UAAO Board and Kappa Phi Lambda

Monday, November 26, 2012

LifeLong Learning @ WCC › Browse All Classes › Writing & Literature

Jumpstart your Memoir starts this weekend, December 1 and 8, at Washtenaw Community College:

LifeLong Learning @ WCC › Browse All Classes › Writing & Literature

Making Teriyaki Sauce for Thanksgiving Eve - NAM EthnoBlog

My 16-year-old daughter Hao Hao texts me from school, “We should make teriyaki sauce.” 
Students are not supposed to text during school so my stock answer used to be, “Why are you texting me from class?” Instead, I check the clock and smile. It is lunchtime. I have grown used to these delightful lunchtime missives. She often texts me photographs of her friends’ lunches that are so much better than what I packed for her. One friend’s mom writes lovely love notes in an elegant cursive every day…on a banana. You can practically hear her chirpy English accent in her curlicues. I try to copy, but my messy Sharpie printing falling off the mottled banana’s curves simply is not the same. Still, Hao Hao texts me photographs of the two bananas comparing notes. And her friends are amused by the pseudo banana rivalry.
Today’s message, however, is about Thanksgiving Eve. Every year, we celebrate one night early, on Wednesday—hence the name, Thanksgiving Eve—with a big international potluck with about sixty of our closest friends. Our friends bring the most amazing spread, from all corners of the world, and for years we never bothered with a turkey. However, an unexpected gift of a turkey one year challenged me to attempt a teriyaki turkey with sticky rice stuffing (I generally do not cook meat). Last year, I learned how to make teriyaki sauce from scratch.

click on link for more: Making Teriyaki Sauce for Thanksgiving Eve - NAM EthnoBlog

Thursday, November 22, 2012

InCultureParent | Creating Our Own Thanksgiving Asian-American Style

An old story I wrote about my childhood, learning from my neighbors the Shigematsus how Thanksgiving could whatever we wanted it to be--teriyaki turkey and sweet potato tempura--and creating our own Asian American Thanksgiving...dusted off from the archives and reprised for InCultureParent Magazine:
My mother is one of the world’s greatest cooks. She never reads any cookbooks, and her dishes are never fancy or complicated. Yet every night we sit down to a delicious dinner of soup, greens, tofu or bean sprouts, stir fried chicken or beef, and rice. The sounds of the vegetables hitting the oil and the fragrant smells wafting through the house call us to dinner before my mom can. Every dish complements the others in color, taste, and texture. One will be green, another white; another will have red or orange accents. One dish will be crunchy, one crisp, and one creamy. Meals are perfectly balanced, just as she wishes our lives to be.

Except for Thanksgiving dinner.

When I was growing up, my family always tried to celebrate it like other American families did. It was one of the few days my father got off from work. My mother tried to cook a rare special dinner of “American food” as a treat. And it was the only day of the year my father led us in a prayer of thanks before we ate.

I never understood why other Americans got so excited about Thanksgiving. I understood the giving thanks part. I was thankful, too, for the freedoms and opportunities our family has had in America. But it was also a holiday about food, and the food, as I experienced it, was so bland and unappetizing. How do they eat it, I wondered, let alone celebrate it?
click on link for whole article: InCultureParent | Creating Our Own Thanksgiving Asian-American Style

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Chicago is the World » Making Teriyaki Sauce for Thanksgiving Eve

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all our friends and family both near and far!
My 16-year-old daughter Hao Hao texts me from school, “We should make teriyaki sauce.”
Students are not supposed to text during school so my stock answer used to be, “Why are you texting me from class?” Instead, I check the clock and smile. It is lunchtime. I have grown used to these delightful lunchtime missives. She often texts me photographs of her friends’ lunches that are so much better than what I packed for her. One friend’s mom writes lovely love notes in an elegant cursive every day…on a banana. You can practically hear her chirpy English accent in her curlicues. I try to copy, but my messy Sharpie printing falling off the mottled banana’s curves simply is not the same. Still, Hao Hao texts me photographs of the two bananas comparing notes. And her friends are amused by the pseudo banana rivalry.
Today’s message, however, is about Thanksgiving Eve. Every year, we celebrate one night early, on Wednesday—hence the name, Thanksgiving Eve—with a big international potluck with about sixty of our closest friends. Our friends bring the most amazing spread, from all corners of the world, and for years we never bothered with a turkey. However, an unexpected gift of a turkey one year challenged me to attempt a teriyaki turkey with sticky rice stuffing (I generally do not cook meat).
Last year, I learned how to make teriyaki sauce from scratch.
click here for whole article: Chicago is the World » Making Teriyaki Sauce for Thanksgiving Eve

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

"Imaginary Affairs" at the University of Michigan Library

My book, "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life," is going into the University of Michigan library! Cool! Check this: "On behalf of the Regents of the University of Michigan, I thank you for the generous gift you have given to the Library. I will process the gift and will be shelved accordingly." 

if you don't want to have to wander the stacks, go to Blacklava:
http://www.blacklava.net/#/item/frances_kai-hwa_wang_imaginary_affairs_chapbook

Monday, November 19, 2012

Teaching Ethical Wills: Writing a Love Letter to Your Family

I'll be teaching
Wednesday, March 13 and 20, 2013, 10am-12pm
Adult Learning Institute, Cedars of Dexter
Ethical Wills: Writing a Love Letter to Your Family

Sunday, November 18, 2012

AADL children's program on Asian harvest festivals November 18

I will be presenting a children's program on Asian harvest festivals today, Sunday November 18, 2012, 2:00-3:30 pm, at the Downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, downstairs in the multipurpose room. I'll be bringing Chinese, Indian, and Korean dancers, Taiwanese harp music, and i'm going to talk about different cultural traditions (Mid-Autumn Moon festival, Diwali, Chuseok) and do some stories. There will also be crafts and snacks afterwards. Should be fun! Hope to see you there!

from aadl.org:
Learn, share and enjoy treats as we celebrate a jumble of traditions from Asia with music and crafts that the whole family will enjoy! AADL's Family Cultural Celebrations highlight the communities from around the world that live in Ann Arbor. For all ages.
http://www.aadl.org/events/list?id=15797

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Opening of UM Understanding Race Project: New Exhibits Look at Race In Our Community




With the inimitable La'Ron Williams and the silky-voiced photographer Mohammed Langston at the opening of Mohammed Langston's photography exhibit "Glimpse: People of our Community" and Laurie White's video "Race in this Place: A Community Conversation" at the UM Understanding Race Project: New Exhibits Look at Race In Our Community at University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. 

Friday, November 16, 2012

UM Understanding Race Project: New Exhibits Look at Race In Our Community Public reception


I'm going to be part of photographer Mohammed Langston's exhibit "Glimpse: People of our Community" and Laurie White's video "Race in this Place: A Community Conversation" both of which will be at the UM Understanding Race Project: New Exhibits Look at Race In Our Community Public reception, Friday, November 16, 6-8 pm University of Michigan Museum of Natural History 1109 Geddes Ave. UnderstandingRaceProject.org

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Possibility. Imagination. Conversations to remember. A Future for all of us. | Chicagoistheworld.org



The annual University of Michigan Natural History Museum Halloween party is packed, the girls all dressed as princesses and fairies, the boys all dressed as autobots and ninjas. My son, eight-year-old Little Brother, is a pirate. I am Hello Kitty Gangnam Style. We come every year for the science and the stories, the dinosaurs and the whales (Yay Professor Gingerich!).

This day, I get such a sense of possibility from this short multiculti crowd. There do not seem to be any limits as boys and girls of so many different races and ethnicities imagine what they could be. Anyone could be a doctor, anyone could be a scientist, as little hands explore the surfaces of mammoth and mastodon teeth.

Imagination has no limits today. I love that about Halloween.

Education has no barriers today either. I love that about the Natural History Museum. (Whenever we talk about Chicago, eight-year-old Little Brother has only one word, “Sue.”)

Even now, three weeks later, the memories of this day and the imagination it inspires insulate me from the hateful racist and sexist rhetoric churning outside my door. I want to believe that this hopeful future is what is real and all that crazy stuff in the news—from the Petraeus et al affairs to talk of secession to the Arizona woman who ran over her husband for not voting—is not. Really, don’t we all just want to educate our kids and share a little bit of candy?

Funny how we sometimes need to step outside of reality a moment in order to see what is real.

click on link for whole article: _____________

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Ann Arbor District Library Asian Fusion Harvest Festival












I'll be telling stories and bringing dancing girls to the Ann Arbor District Library Asian Fusion Fall Harvest Festival
From AADL:
Asian Fusion Harvest Festival 
Join us, along with Frances Kai-Hwa Wang and Katie Mashio, for a celebration of rich Asian tradition through storytelling, dancing, and crafts on Sunday, November 18th at 2:00 pm. Chinese harp, Korean and Indian dancers, Japanese origami, mooncake mazes and little Asian snacks will be on the ticket for the whole family!

http://www.aadl.org/node/219193

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Trying to Understand the Entitlement Ethos in Abigail Fisher v University of Texas and Republican Party Post-Election - NAM EthnoBlog

In New America Media's Ethnoblog:

This time of year, I spend a lot of time sitting in cafes with my friends’ children, helping them with their college application essays. (The University of Michigan’s early decision deadline is November 1.) Reading their essays is such a privilege, such a window into their worlds (that they often do not even share with their own parents). I learn so much about ethical dilemmas they have faced, challenges they have overcome, their diverse communities, their families, their dreams. Working on successive drafts together, I ask questions and push for clarification, and these teenagers that I have watched grow up and who thought they knew it all realize that there is more to learn, more to write, more that can be done. The difference between first and last drafts is stunning. 
Going through this process with them always reminds me of when I applied to college. I applied to nine universities—Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Dartmouth, Georgetown, etc. My friends and I were debaters, all so cocky and sure about ourselves. We had serious discussions about whether or not we would turn down Stanford in favor of Berkeley, Harvard in favor of Stanford. When the acceptance and rejection letters began coming in, it was quite humbling that of those nine applications, I was only accepted into my safety school. Of course, my safety school was UC Berkeley, which still says volumes, but I learned a huge lesson in humility that year, and I am better for it.
click on link for whole article: Trying to Understand the Entitlement Ethos in Abigail Fisher v University of Texas and Republican Party Post-Election - NAM EthnoBlog

Monday, November 12, 2012

Chicago is the World » Trying to Understand the Entitlement Ethos in Abigail Fisher v University of Texas and Republican Party Post-Election

A small argument. A simple confusion. My latest article inChicago is the World. While helping friends' kids with their college application essays, I simply do not understand the entitlement ethos of abigail fisher v university of texas and republicans post-election.

This time of year, I spend a lot of time sitting in cafes with my friends’ children, helping them with their college application essays. (The University of Michigan’s early decision deadline is November 1.) Reading their essays is such a privilege, such a window into their worlds (that they often do not even share with their own parents). I learn so much about ethical dilemmas they have faced, challenges they have overcome, their diverse communities, their families, their dreams. Working on successive drafts together, I ask questions and push for clarification, and these teenagers that I have watched grow up and who thought they knew it all realize that there is more to learn, more to write, more that can be done. The difference between first and last drafts is stunning.
Going through this process with them always reminds me of when I applied to college. I applied to nine universities—Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, Dartmouth, Georgetown, etc. My friends and I were debaters, all so cocky and sure about ourselves. We had serious discussions about whether or not we would turn down Stanford in favor of Berkeley, Harvard in favor of Stanford. When the acceptance and rejection letters began coming in, it was quite humbling that of those nine applications, I was only accepted into my safety school. Of course, my safety school was UC Berkeley, which still says volumes, but I learned a huge lesson in humility that year, and I am better for it.
So I am really puzzled by people like Abigail Fisher of the current US Supreme Court case Abigail Fisher v University of Texas. A mediocre student, the University of Texas insists that she simply was not good enough, but she is certain that the reason she was not accepted is because of affirmative action and less-qualified minorities. This case also pulls Asian Americans into the argument.
Lots of folks have already written about the legal dimensions of this case, and it is complex, but I am curious about the sense of entitlement that makes her so certain that it is the fault of others that she did not get in.
click link for whole article: Chicago is the World » Trying to Understand the Entitlement Ethos in Abigail Fisher v University of Texas and Republican Party Post-Election

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Han SuYin The Mountain is Young

Woke to the news that author Han SuYin has passed away at age 96. Forget Love is a Many Splendored Thing. The book to read is The Mountain is Young. HOT hapa - desi love story. Set in 1950's Kathmandu against the backdrop of the King's coronation (LOVE the charismatic Boris), the valley is gorgeous, the cultural festivals not exoticized, with a woman writer, stifling marriage, voyage of self-discovery, the swagger of international development, and did i mention HOT hapa - desi love story (before folks even identified that way).

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Young-Han-Suyin/dp/0224602519

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/world/asia/han-suyin-dies-wrote-sweeping-fiction.html

Saturday, November 10, 2012

On the Blacklava landing page :)

hey look i'm on the landing page of Ryan Suda Blacklava! Check out my steamy red chapbook, "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life." Thanks Ryan!http://blacklava.net/

Friday, November 9, 2012

Taiwan Academy/ Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan event

Moderating a Taiwan Academy/ Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan (AACCOM) Chinese as a foreign language event tonight. Little kids are adorable! #annarbor

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Chinese American Jazz musician Jon Jang at University of Michigan

Guest Lecture by Asian American Movement Musician Jon Jang “One Day American, One Day Alien: a Survey of Artists of Color Who Changed the National Anthem" THURSDAY NOV. 8, 2012 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM, American Culture Conference Room, 3512 Haven Hall, University of Michigan apiastudies.events@umich.edu.

Chinese American Jazz concert with Jon Jang Tuesday, Nov 13, Rackham Auditorium, 7:30pm, University of Michigan. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

POTUS. SO. AWESOME.

POTUS. SO. AWESOME. no more apologies from me for being idealistic and hopeful. time to write. :)

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

ITADAKIMASU! A Taste of Nikkei Culture -- The Aunties at Temple


So pleased to be included in Discover Nikkei's ITADAKIMASU! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

The Aunties at Temple By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang
I see in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald newspaper that novelist Lois-Ann Yamanaka is reading at the Kinoole Farmer’s Market. “Jean Yamanaka” is the contact name, so she must be in town visiting her mom or other relatives. I love her work and plan to go, excitedly gathering up all her novels to ask her to sign.
But instead, the books bake in my car as I let myself get caught up with the older Japanese American ladies at the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple.
click on link for whole article: http://5dn.org/e0ef42c

Thanks to M for the photograph.

Friday, November 2, 2012

My Bio for Miso for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts

My bio for Miso for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts (Access Media Group, December 2012) is now up. With a great big photograph of me and the handsome fella in my love story. Book Launch celebration on December 8, 2012: http://www.ameltingpotofthoughts.com/archives/friends/frances-wang

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Kartika Review 5th Anniversary Edition out now!



Read my love letter to ♥ Ryan Suda ♥ "Did you eat? means...I love you" written on the occasion of BlacklavaBlacklava 20 Year Anniversary Celebration! now published inKartika Review with new artwork! Read online athttp://kartikareview.com/?page_id=8

From editor Jennifer Derilo:
Happy 5th Anniversary, Kartika Review!
Kicked it off right with the gorgeous artwork ofJooYoung Choi and the ingenious cover design of Ligaya King. The CNF section is rightfully impressive with the essays of Jo HsuFrances Kai-Hwa Wang, and Jimin Han. There's stunning poetry by Rachelle Cruz and Khaty Xiong. Finally, the fiction is jaw-dropping good with An Tran, Kiki Whang, Naomi Williams (fave short story), and Ramola D.
It's FREE to read online, friends. Sink your teeth, feast your eyes. 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

AMCULT 301: "A/PIA History and the Law" Thursdays 6-9 Winter 2013 University of Michigan

University of Michigan Winter 2013 Course Guide is now available for students to view.  I'll be team-teaching AMCULT 301: "A/PIA History and the Law" Thursdays 6-9 with the lawyers and activists who were there during the Vincent Chin case and Internment Redress and Reparations movement. Only place in the country you can take a course re Vincent Chin case with the folks who were there. Even I get chills every time I hear them talk about it. Send your Umich students. 

school / college class search

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

You Wear the Costume, I Wear the Stigma | BlogHer

thanks to Grace Hwang Lynch for the shoutout and linkto onBlogHer! connects to my article on Chicago is the World on Halloween costumes and Psy ♥ it always comes back to Psy ♥ What do you think about Big Bird Gangnam Style!

click on link for article: You Wear the Costume, I Wear the Stigma | BlogHer

Monday, October 29, 2012

This Halloween: Dress classy. Dance cheesy. We're a Culture, not a Costume. - NAM EthnoBlog

As Halloween nears, whenever I teach late, I come home to find a different cast of characters galloping triumphant through my house, including Howl’s Moving Castle, pirate vs. ninja, kung fu masters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Steampunk, Goth Lolis, and more. A raucous combination of cosplay and Halloween, the spirit is festive, the creativity fun, the details impressive. Last week, even my old prom and wedding dresses were both trotted out and Steampunked. “Don’t you kids have homework to do?”
And the background music in our house these past few weeks has been Psy’s “Gangnam Style” with its driving beat and in all its many variations (UC Berkeley StyleMichigan StyleGundam StyleMy Little Pony StyleUmma StyleLungi StyleKlingon StyleMitt Romney Style).
click on link for whole article at New America Media: This Halloween: Dress classy. Dance cheesy. We're a Culture, not a Costume. - NAM EthnoBlog

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Relishing Real World Halloween Costumes - NAM EthnoBlog

You don't want to miss the annual UM Halloween concert tonight! Here's an old article about how much fun it is. Keep an eye out for hello kitty gangnam style... :)

click here for whole article in New America Media: Relishing Real World Halloween Costumes - NAM EthnoBlog

Saturday, October 27, 2012

International Conference on the Phillipines at MSU

Tomorrow: ICOPHIL-9: The Philippines and the World The Ninth International Conference on the Philippines at Michigan State University, East Lansing, October 28-30, 2012. All events on the opening day of the conference, Sunday October 28, are free and open to the public. 

International Conference on the Phillipines

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Chicago is the World » This Halloween: Dress classy. Dance cheesy. We’re a Culture, not a Costume.

As Halloween nears, whenever I teach late, I come home to find a different cast of characters galloping triumphant through my house, including Howl’s Moving Castle, pirate vs. ninja, kung fu masters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Steampunk, Goth Lolis, and more. A raucous combination of cosplay and Halloween, the spirit is festive, the creativity fun, the details impressive. Last week, even my old prom and wedding dresses were both trotted out and Steampunked. “Don’t you kids have homework to do?”

And the background music in our house these past few weeks has been Psy’s “Gangnam Style” with its driving beat and in all its many variations (UC Berkeley Style,Michigan Style, Gundam Style, My Little Pony Style, Umma Style,Lungi Style, Klingon Style, Mitt Romney Style).

For several weeks, which is unheard of in internet time, folks have been loving and discussing and parodying Korean rapper Psy’s music video, “Gangnam Style.” With its cool style and critical social commentary and fun dance moves, it is now the most viewed YouTube video ever. I love what Asian Americans in particular have been doing with “Gangnam Style,” although I am also wary that some of its crazy popularity might rub a little too close for comfort to laughable Asian male stereotypes—is the mainstream laughing at or with Psy?

However, all alarms went off when I realized that Psy is going to be a huge Halloween costume this year. In the Los Angeles Times article announcing Psy’s new clothing line with Jill Stuart, also came the announcement that Halloween costume companies were putting together Gangnam Style Halloween costumes: “Party City said it has costume accessories in stock to pull off a “Gangnam Style” costume. ‘We expect this to be a HUGE costume trend this year,’ spokeswoman Ressa Tomkiewicz wrote in an email.”

click on link for whole article: Chicago is the World » This Halloween: Dress classy. Dance cheesy. We’re a Culture, not a Costume.

Monday, October 22, 2012

"What do you mean you don't vote? How can you not vote?" - NAM EthnoBlog

We came up over the rise as the highway curved and my breath caught in my throat. The Washington Monument. The Jefferson Memorial. So beautiful and serene in the morning mist.

My uncle was driving me into Washington DC for the day, and I suddenly realized that I have not been here since I was a child. I quickly flashed through my memory of our family photo albums and I recalled that photo of me and my cousins and aunties standing on the steps of the National Zoo after seeing the pandas. My brother was in a stroller, so I must have been nine, at most ten. “I don’t think I’ve been here since that last family reunion in 19-when-was-it?” Could it be? My uncle and I flipped through our collective memories of family reunions past. We recalled another family reunion for my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary, but that was in suburban Maryland, so we never went into the city.

But Washington always seems so present; like the cousin you never see but whose mom constantly keeps you up-to-date.

click on link for whole article: "What do you mean you don't vote? How can you not vote?" - NAM EthnoBlog

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Blacklava link to frances kai-hwa wang imaginary affairs chapbook

On Friday, I was introduced to a poet as "a poet." So exciting to be called a poet! (Sorry Dad, I know it's not the best get rich slow scheme). Still, people are still steadily buying my book, and you can too! 

Purchase Frances Kai-Hwa Wang's new book of prose poetry and short short stories, "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life" here:

Blacklava - frances kai-hwa wang imaginary affairs chapbook

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Writing class today: "Writing with Style, Finding your voice"

I am teaching today at Washtenaw Community College, "Writing with style, Finding your voice." Here's the class doing a timed writing exercise about a photograph I borrowed from my friend, Jyoti Omi Chowdhury. Next class coming up in December: "Jumpstarting your memoir."