Friday, December 30, 2022

1990 Institute Newsletter 2022 review

We will pause our 1990 Institute newsletters for one issue so that staff can spend time with their families over the holidays. We look forward to seeing you again in the new year! But you can go back and see all the newsletters we published this year

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

How states have reshaped marijuana laws and what’s next | PBS NewsHour

I'm on the broadcast at PBS NewsHour. Talking to Judy Woodruff! Check out the report from Michigan.
The push for legalizing marijuana at the state level gained more momentum in 2022. This fall, Missouri approved legalization for recreational use, making it the 21st state to do so. NewsHour Communities Correspondents Gabrielle Hayes in Missouri, Adam Kemp in Oklahoma and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in Michigan joined Judy Woodruff to discuss the changes across the country.

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Register today for Upcoming courses at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) Winter 2023

Register today for Upcoming courses at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) 

Winter 2023

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop
10 Sundays, Jan 29-Apr 2, 2023, 12-2pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Telling the Stories of your Life through Food
3 Saturdays, Feb 4-18, 2023, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop
3 Saturdays, Mar 4-18, 2023, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Introduction to Publishing
2 Saturdays, Apr 22-29, 2023, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Spring 2023

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop
5 Sundays, May 7-Jun 11, 2023, 12-2pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Introduction to Magazine Writing
2 Saturdays, May 13-20, 2023, 10am-12pm EDT, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Writing to Save the World
2 Saturdays, June 3-10, 2023, 10am-12pm EDT, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Summer 2023

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop
5 Sundays, July 30-Aug 29, 2023, 12-2pm EDT, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom ?

Finding your Voice, University of Hawaii Hilo, July 2023?

Writing with Style, Finding your Voice
2 Saturdays, August 19, 26, 2023, 10am -12pm EDT, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Monday, December 12, 2022

Tonight: Speaking on panel re "To MFA or Not to MFA?" Room Project, Dec 12, 8pm EST



"To MFA or Not to MFA?" virtual panel for Room Project, a community of women and nonbinary writers on Zoom on Monday, December 12 at 8pm ET

Hosted by Anna Clark, panelists include Desiree Cooper, Thisbe Nissen, Leslie Contreras Schwartz, and me.

It's a question that's on the mind of a lot of writers -- whether or not they should enroll in a Master of Fine Arts program to get where they want to go with their work. Panelists will talk about their writing journeys, and answer questions. The event will both de-mystify the MFA experience for those who will flourish on that path, and also de-mystify the non-MFA experience for those who will flourish on that path. Our hope is to bring together a range of talented writers who took different creative paths for a candid conversation about what it was like.
 
Detroit's Room Project is a space for women, non-binary and trans writers and artists to work individually and collaboratively.

Saturday, December 3, 2022

WCC Class Ethical Wills begins Dec 3

Washtenaw Community College noncredit class: Ethical or Legacy Wills -- Writing a Love Letter to your Family, 3 Sats, Dec 3 - 17, 2022, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Monday, November 21, 2022

Photo: Smithsonian APA Center APA Day in a Life

Look what I found at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center archives -- from APA Day in a Life

https://smithsonianapa.org/now/experimenting-with-digital-media/attachment/279/

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Speaking tonight at SFSU Pathways to Publication, Thurs, Nov 10, 10pm EST, Zoom


Speaking tonight at SFSU Pathways to Publication, Thurs, Nov 10, 10pm EST/ 7pm PST, Zoom 

Thanks for inviting me, Prof. May-lee Chai!

Registration https://sfsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qsqsOhwBTm2eyMJLd04h2A

Monday, November 7, 2022

Speaking today! UM Language Matters, Nov 7, 5:30pm EST, in person


I'll be speaking at Univ of Michigan "LanguageMatters" Invitation to Lightning Workshop and Roundtable Conversation, Mon. Nov 7, 2022, 5:30-6:30pm, EST, in person, somewhere at Univ of Michigan. 268 Weiser Hall. They are figuring out the Zoom version.

This will be super fun, I'll have all sorts of new stories to tell, hope you can join!


UM Language Matters – All accents, dialects, and languages deserve respect. How can you help us spread the word?

Friday, November 4, 2022

With ballots in Arabic, how one community is ‘voting with dignity’ in Michigan | PBS NewsHour

My article for PBS NewsHour, with so much info re Voting Rights Act Sections 203 and 208 and the US Census, and some tips if you need language assistance at the polls.

With ballots in Arabic, how one community is ‘voting with dignity’ in Michigan | PBS NewsHour

1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 22: What future can we create by voting together and standing together?

My essay for 1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 22 Nov 4, 2022 asks What future can we create by voting together and standing together?
“I’m going to put your name down as a write-in candidate for the library board,” my son, who we all call Little Brother, joked as we filled in our ballots together Sunday at the kitchen table. 

Thursday, November 3, 2022

IS/LAND | Open Studio Rehearsal | Ann Arbor District Library


Come watch our next piece be developed step by step
IS/LAND | Open Studio Rehearsal at Ann Arbor District Library
Friday November 4, 2022: 6:00pm to 7:30pm 

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Writing Opinion Essays - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & College Development

Come write with me! I'm teaching Writing Opinion Essays & OpEds at Washtenaw Community College 3 weekends starting this Sat 11/5 10am on Zoom so anyone can join. Register today

How do we use writing to touch, inspire, persuade, and provoke readers to action? Learn simple but powerful methods to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page. Consider different forms including op-ed, persuasive essay, spoken word, social media and art. Part writing, part activism and a lot of heart, this class aspires to help you use the written word to create the change you want to see in the world.

Writing Opinion Essays - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & College Development

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

A Lightning Talk Workshop: Language and Identities | Happening @ Michigan


I’m giving a lightning talk next Monday re language and identities Nov 7 5:40pm at Univ of Michigan 268 Weiser Hall sponsored by UM Language Matters

A Lightning Talk Workshop: Language and Identities | Happening @ Michigan

Speaking at SFSU re "Pathways to Publication" Thurs, Nov 10

 


Speaking at SFSU Pathways to Publication, Thurs, Nov 10, 10pm EST/ 7pm PST, Zoom 

with Kao Kalia Yang Ruben Quesada, SFSU alumna Joan Gelfand, and Prof. May-lee Chai!

Registration https://sfsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qsqsOhwBTm2eyMJLd04h2A

Thursday, October 20, 2022

ICYMI: PBS NewsHour: What will the EV revolution mean for Detroit?

Governor Whitmer emailed and tweeted and press released my EV article! Wow!

ICYMI: PBS NewsHour: What will the EV revolution mean for Detroit?

2 Readings tomorrow "You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids" at AADL and Booksweet

I have two back to back readings tomorrow! 

First at IS/LAND Open Studio at AADL Downtown Library Multipurpose Room this Friday Oct 21, 2022 6:00-7:30 pm EDT, in person. This will be an open studio with IS/LAND dancers and musicians so will not be your ordinary performance experience. It is always super cool with lots of discussion et al.


And then at Booksweet Bookshop from 7:30-9:00 pm, in person and outdoors (weather pending)!


An evening of readings at Booksweet on the northside of Ann Arbor from four local authors: Vicki Brett-Gach, Jihyun Yun, Ann S. Epstein, and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang.

Friday, October 21 from 7:30-9 pm, 1729 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, in person, hopefully outside, weather permitting. They said there will be treats!

This is a FREE event, but your RSVP is very helpful to their planning.

10/21: Local Authors Night @ Booksweet | Booksweet

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Speaking at UM Language Matters, Nov 7, 2022, 5:30pm EDT

I'll be speaking at Univ of Michigan "LanguageMatters" Invitation to Lightning Workshop and Roundtable Conversation, Mon. Nov 7, 2022, 5:30-6:30pm, EDT, in person, somewhere at Univ of Michigan.

This will be super fun, I'll have all sorts of new stories to tell, hope you can join!

UM Language Matters – All accents, dialects, and languages deserve respect. How can you help us spread the word?

Monday, October 17, 2022

Reading at Booksweet's Local Authors Night on Fri 10/21

 

An evening of readings at Booksweet on the northside of Ann Arbor from four local authors: Vicki Brett-Gach, Jihyun Yun, Ann S. Epstein, and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang.

Friday, October 21 from 7:30-9 pm, 1729 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, in person, hopefully outside, weather permitting. They said there will be treats!

This is a FREE event, but your RSVP is very helpful to their planning.

10/21: Local Authors Night @ Booksweet | Booksweet

Friday, October 7, 2022

What does Confucius’ birthday mean to us today? | 1990 Institute Newsletter vol 2 iss 20

My essay for 1990 Institute
What does Confucius’ birthday mean to us today?
1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 20 October 7, 2022

IS/LAND Presents: Invisible Embrace | Ann Arbor District Library

Three performers are clustered around a set of suitcases, and a pile of oranges is next to an empty, open suitcase. The set is dramatically lit in magenta and blue light, with the area away from the performance quickly shifting to black.

I'll be performing with IS/LAND at Ann Arbor District Library

IS/LAND Presents: Invisible Embrace
Friday October 7, 2022: 6:30pm to 7:30pm 
Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

IS/LAND, a performance collaborative comprised of Asian Pacific Islander American and Asian artists presents “Invisible Embrace”: a meditations on communal healing across generations, communities, and ethnicities, connected through words, visuals, and movement. The restorative and healing properties through this physical movement and storytelling offer the audience an experiential exploration of the interactive connections between the dancers with each other and the audience.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Fall writing classes at WCC starting Oct 1 & 2, register today

 My Fall writing classes at WCC starting this weekend, register today! Come write with me.

Jump-Start Your Memoir 
If you have a memoir you have been meaning to write, either for publication or just for your grandchildren, but are having difficulty getting going, w ...  View More
ENG 4006Start date: 10/01/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
3 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .Tuition:$99.00Location: Webinar 
 
 Continuing Writing Workshop: Finding the Writer Within 
Do you need help releasing the creativity within you? As we explore a variety of tips, tricks, exercises and more, you'll overcome barriers and learn ...  View More
ENG 4163Start date: 10/02/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
10 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly -Sun .Tuition:$289.00Location: Webinar 

Writing Opinion Essays 
How do we use writing to touch, inspire, persuade, and provoke readers to action? Learn simple but powerful methods to get the ideas out of your head ...  View More
ENG 4018Start date: 11/05/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
3 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .Tuition:$99.00Location: Webinar 

Ethical Wills: Writing a Love Letter to Your Family 
Traditional wills distill our lives to a balance sheet of assets and liabilities, but they do not fully capture the legacy of our values and experienc ...  View More
ENG 4003Start date: 12/03/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
3 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .Tuition:$99.00Location: Webinar 

Friday, September 23, 2022

How do we vote for our families and communities? | 1990 Institute Newsletter

My essay for 1990 Institute
How do we vote for our families and communities?
1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 19, Sept 23, 2022

Speaking today "Secrets of Publishing" Sidetrack Bookshop, Royal Oak, in person

 

I'll be speaking about publishing at Sidetrack Books in Royal Oak, Friday, September 23, 2022 - 7:00pm to 8:00pm, 325 S. Washington, Royal Oak, MI 48067-3822, in person.

Join us to learn the secrets of publishing with literary agent Justin Brouckaert, authors Aaron Foley and Frances Kai-Hwa, and moderated by author Susan Shapiro.

About our panelists:

Susan Shapiro is an award-winning writing professor, freelances for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Salon, Tablet, The Forward, Elle, Marie Claire, Oprah, Wired and The New Yorker online. She's the national bestselling author/coauthor of 13 books her family hates, including Unhooked, Five Men Who Broke My Heart, Lighting Up, The Bosnia List and The Byline Bible. She and her scriptwriter husband, a New York University professor, live in Greenwich Village, where she teaches her popular "instant gratification takes too long” classes at The New School, NYU, Columbia University, and private online classes. Follow her on Twitter @susanshapironet and Instagram @Profsue123.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a journalist, essayist, poet, and scholar focused on issues of Asian America, race, justice, and the arts. Her writing has appeared at PBS NewsHour, NBC AsianAmerica, PRI GlobalNation, AngryAsianMan, Cha Asian Literary Journal, Kartika Review, Drunken Boat. She teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan and creative writing at Washtenaw Community College. She co-created a multimedia artwork for Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, is a member of IS/LAND Asian American performance collaborative, and has a book of poetry, You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids, Wayne State University Press. Franceskaihwawang.com @fkwang

Aaron Foley's reporting and writing on Detroit, blackness, and queerness has appeared in This American Life, Jalopnik, the Atlantic, CNN, several anthologies, and the PBS NewsHour, where he is currently a senior digital editor. A Detroit native, the city's first appointed chief storyteller, and a former magazine editor, he is the author of How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass and editor of The Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook. He currently lives in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. His debut novel is Boys Come First.

Justin Brouckaert, literary agent

Secrets of Publishing Panel with literary agent Justin Brouckaert, authors Aaron Foley and Frances Kai-Hwa, and moderated by author Susan Shapiro | Sidetrack Bookshop

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Reading today Nonwhite and Woman anthology, Dine College on Zoom

 

I'll be reading at the virtual Nonwhite and Woman launch reading, "won't you celebrate with me: An Evening of Poetry and Prose," on Thursday, September 22, 2022, 6 pm EST / 5 pm CST / 4 pm MDT / 3 pm PST / 12 pm HST, hosted by the Creative Writing Program at Diné College, on Zoom. 

The event will be two hours long and writers will be reading in alphabetical order (so I'll be with the Ws.)

In addition to the reading, we'll discuss the micro narrative form and how it feels to be telling our stories. Q&A.

The reading is open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Here is the link again.

Nonwhite and Woman

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Signing at Kerrytown BookFest tomorrow | Wayne State University Press

I'll be signing books at Kerrytown BookFest this Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, 1:30 pm at the Wayne State University Press table (Booth #32). 

Kerrytown BookFest is back! Sunday Sept 18, 2022, 10:30 am - 4:30 pm, in person. But it will be held at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) Morris J. Lawrence Building. Some activities will be indoors, some will be outdoors. The atrium is quite big and airy. The move should be good for being able to hear.

Other authors signing at Wayne State University Press table:
10:30 Peter Markus

12:30 Stephanie Heit; Petra Kuppers

1:30 Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

3:00 Jean Elster
Lots of talks and panels and fun activities: https://www.ktbookfest.org/2022-schedule.

Kerrytown BookFest | Wayne State University Press

Friday, September 16, 2022

Nonwhite and Woman "won't you celebrate with me: An Evening of Poetry and Prose" virtual reading at Dine College


I'll be reading at the virtual Nonwhite and Woman launch reading, "won't you celebrate with me: An Evening of Poetry and Prose," on Thursday, September 22, 2022, 6 pm EST / 5 pm CST / 4 pm MDT / 3 pm PST / 12 pm HST, hosted by the Creative Writing Program at Diné College, on Zoom. 

The event will be two hours long and writers will be reading in alphabetical order (so I'll be with the Ws.)

In addition to the reading, we'll discuss the micro narrative form and how it feels to be telling our stories. Q&A.

The reading is open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Here is the link again.

Nonwhite and Woman

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Secrets of Publishing Panel with literary agent Justin Brouckaert, authors Aaron Foley and Frances Kai-Hwa, and moderated by author Susan Shapiro | Sidetrack Bookshop


I'll be speaking about publishing at Sidetrack Books in Royal Oak, Friday, September 23, 2022 - 7:00pm to 8:00pm, 325 S. Washington, Royal Oak, MI 48067-3822, in person.

Join us to learn the secrets of publishing with literary agent Justin Brouckaert, authors Aaron Foley and Frances Kai-Hwa, and moderated by author Susan Shapiro.

About our panelists:

Susan Shapiro is an award-winning writing professor, freelances for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Salon, Tablet, The Forward, Elle, Marie Claire, Oprah, Wired and The New Yorker online. She's the national bestselling author/coauthor of 13 books her family hates, including Unhooked, Five Men Who Broke My Heart, Lighting Up, The Bosnia List and The Byline Bible. She and her scriptwriter husband, a New York University professor, live in Greenwich Village, where she teaches her popular "instant gratification takes too long” classes at The New School, NYU, Columbia University, and private online classes. Follow her on Twitter @susanshapironet and Instagram @Profsue123.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a journalist, essayist, poet, and scholar focused on issues of Asian America, race, justice, and the arts. Her writing has appeared at PBS NewsHour, NBC AsianAmerica, PRI GlobalNation, AngryAsianMan, Cha Asian Literary Journal, Kartika Review, Drunken Boat. She teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan and creative writing at Washtenaw Community College. She co-created a multimedia artwork for Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, is a member of IS/LAND Asian American performance collaborative, and has a book of poetry, You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids, Wayne State University Press. Franceskaihwawang.com @fkwang

Aaron Foley's reporting and writing on Detroit, blackness, and queerness has appeared in This American Life, Jalopnik, the Atlantic, CNN, several anthologies, and the PBS NewsHour, where he is currently a senior digital editor. A Detroit native, the city's first appointed chief storyteller, and a former magazine editor, he is the author of How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass and editor of The Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook. He currently lives in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. His debut novel is Boys Come First.

Justin Brouckaert, literary agent

Secrets of Publishing Panel with literary agent Justin Brouckaert, authors Aaron Foley and Frances Kai-Hwa, and moderated by author Susan Shapiro | Sidetrack Bookshop

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

10/21: Local Authors Night @ Booksweet | Booksweet

An evening of readings at Booksweet on the northside of Ann Arbor from four local authors: Vicki Brett-Gach, Jihyun Yun, Ann S. Epstein, and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang.

Friday, October 21 from 7:30-9 pm, 1729 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, in person, hopefully outside, weather permitting. 

They said there will be treats!

This is a FREE event, but your RSVP is very helpful to their planning.

10/21: Local Authors Night @ Booksweet | Booksweet


Friday, September 9, 2022

Voters in Michigan will decide whether to protect abortion this November | PBS NewsHour

My article at PBS NewsHour with all my thoughts re kerning, the width of the spaces between words.
“No one said anything about the spacing of the words...I did not encounter one voter who signed not knowing what they were signing for, nor do I know any voter who would sign a petition not knowing or being clear on what they were actually signing. Because they do ask,”

"Are you celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival?" | 1990 Institute Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 18

My essay, "Are you celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival?" at 1990 Institute Newsletter, September 9, 2022, Volume 2, Issue 18

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Nonwhite and Woman launch day | Woodhall Press


Happy launch day! Thanks Darien Hsu Gee and Carla Crujido for putting this book together

Edited by Darien Hsu Gee and Carla Crujido
​Woodhall Press
Publication Date September 6, 2022. 
Trade print and e-book, bookstore and e-tailer distribution through Independent Publishers Group (IPG).
9781949116694 
09/06/2022 
$19.95

Come join our virtual launch party and reading on Thurs., Sept 22, 2022, 6-8pm EDT  

About the Anthology

Nonwhite and Woman celebrates how women of color live and thrive in the world, and how they make their lives their own. The anthology’s title is from Lucille Clifton's luminous poem, won’t you celebrate with me, which serves as the anthology’s epigraph. Read the full poem here. The poem's inclusion in the anthology is granted from Copper Canyon Press.

Authors

Loralee Abercrombie ⋅ Karina L. Agbisit ⋅ María Alejandra Barrios ⋅ Hala Alyan ⋅ Anastacia-Renee ⋅ Julie Hakim Azzam ⋅ Selina Li Bi ⋅ Maroula Blades ⋅ Kimberly Blaeser ⋅ ʻIolani Brosio ⋅ Vivian Mary Carroll ⋅ Samantha Chagollan ⋅ Victoria Cho ⋅ Fela Cortés ⋅ Carla Crujido ⋅ Margarita Cruz ⋅ Ella deCastro Baron ⋅ Camille Dungy ⋅ Tina Ehsanipour ⋅ Dara Yen Elerath ⋅ Safia Elhillo ⋅ Theresa Falk ⋅ Alison Feuerwerker ⋅ Fatimah Finney ⋅ CMarie Fuhrman ⋅ Helena Garcia ⋅  Isabel Garcia-Gonzales ⋅  Gabrielle Ghaderi ⋅ Victoria K. Gonzales ⋅  Michelle Guerrero Henry ⋅ Samina Hadi-Tabassum ⋅ Stephanie Han ⋅ Ida Soon-Ok Hart ⋅ Sadia Hassan ⋅ Lisa Lee Herrick ⋅ Chelsea Tayrien Hicks ⋅ Christine Hsu ⋅ Kaitlyn Hsu ⋅ Rogelia Lily Ibarra ⋅ Mee Ok Icaro ⋅ Amal Iman ⋅ Toni Jensen ⋅ Alyssa Jocson Porter ⋅ Anita Johnson ⋅ Tayari Jones ⋅ Leena Jun ⋅ Kristiana Kahakauwila ⋅ Mohja Kahf ⋅ Blaise Allysen Kearsley ⋅ Lena Khalaf Tuffaha ⋅ Sabina Khan-Ibarra ⋅ Saheli Khastagir ⋅ Amanda Mei Kim ⋅ Eugenia Kim ⋅ Iris (Yi Youn) Kim ⋅ Kalehua Kim ⋅ Lydia Kim ⋅ Yi Shun Lai ⋅ Cassandra Lane ⋅ Devi S. Laskar ⋅ Sherilyn Lee ⋅ Lavonne Leong ⋅ Joanna Mailani Lima ⋅ Grace Hwang Lynch ⋅ Aretha Matt ⋅ DW McKinney ⋅ Sarah E. Mcquate ⋅ Claire Meuschke ⋅ Donna Miscolta ⋅ Sandy Namgung ⋅ Shaina A. Nez ⋅ Joan Obra ⋅ Preeti Parikh ⋅ Deesha Philyaw ⋅ London Pinkney ⋅ Saarika Rao ⋅ Barbara Jane Reyes ⋅ Roshni Riar ⋅ Karen Rigby ⋅ Rahna Reiko Rizzuto ⋅ Adrienne Robillard ⋅ Daleelah Saleh ⋅ Shei Sanchez ⋅ Misty Sanico ⋅ Misty Shock Rule ⋅ SJ Sindu ⋅ Gabrielle Smith ⋅ Jen Soriano ⋅ Liza Sparks ⋅ Anupama Spencer ⋅ Elizabeth Su ⋅ Victoria Sun ⋅ Yong Takahashi ⋅ Grace Talusan ⋅ Jeanne Tanaka ⋅ Imani Tolliver ⋅ Frances Kai-Hwa Wang ⋅ Keʻalohi Wang ⋅ Durthy A. Washington ⋅ Z. Williams ⋅ Jane Wong

Purchase Nonwhite and Woman book at Woodhall Press

Monday, September 5, 2022

Creative Writing Classes - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & College Development

My Fall writing classes at WCC starting soon, register today! Come write with me.

Jump-Start Your Memoir 
If you have a memoir you have been meaning to write, either for publication or just for your grandchildren, but are having difficulty getting going, w ...  View More
ENG 4006Start date: 10/01/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
3 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .Tuition:$99.00Location: Webinar 
 
 Continuing Writing Workshop: Finding the Writer Within 
Do you need help releasing the creativity within you? As we explore a variety of tips, tricks, exercises and more, you'll overcome barriers and learn ...  View More
ENG 4163Start date: 10/02/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
10 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly -Sun .Tuition:$289.00Location: Webinar 

Writing Opinion Essays 
How do we use writing to touch, inspire, persuade, and provoke readers to action? Learn simple but powerful methods to get the ideas out of your head ...  View More
ENG 4018Start date: 11/05/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
3 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .Tuition:$99.00Location: Webinar 

Ethical Wills: Writing a Love Letter to Your Family 
Traditional wills distill our lives to a balance sheet of assets and liabilities, but they do not fully capture the legacy of our values and experienc ...  View More
ENG 4003Start date: 12/03/22Mandatory Fees:$0.00
3 sessions.Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .Tuition:$99.00Location: Webinar 

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Signing books at Kerrytown Bookfest

I will be signing books at the Wayne State Univ. Press table at Kerrytown Bookfest, Sun., Sept 18, 2022, Morris Lawrence Building, WCC

HOME | bookfest

Saturday, September 3, 2022

Reading at Booksweet Local Authors' Night Oct 21 7:30pm

I'll be reading at Booksweet's Local Authors' Night on Friday, October 21 from 7:30-9 pm, 1729 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Join us at Booksweet for an evening of readings and treats from four local authors:

Vicki Brett-Gach https://annarborvegankitchen.com
Vicki Brett-Gach is a Plant-Based Culinary Instructor, Certified Personal Chef, Master-Certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach, and author of "The Plant-Based for Life Cookbook: Deliciously Simple Recipes to Nourish, Comfort, Energize an Renew” – published through Brooklyn Writer’s Press. Trained in Nutrition for a Healthy Heart, Vicki earned a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. She is Forks Over Knives Plant-Based Certified, trained in Dietary Therapy for Reversing Common Diseases, and a graduate of Dr. McDougall’s Starch Solution Certification program. Vicki also holds certificates in Wellness Counseling (through Cornell University), and in Culinary Coaching (through Harvard Medical School and The Institute of Lifestyle Medicine). As a coach, Vicki works remotely with individual clients across the country, often helping them reverse health challenges and chronic conditions, and teaches whole food plant-based cooking classes to groups of all sizes, with a focus on helping people learn how to make eating healthy EASY. Vicki is the creator of the Ann Arbor Vegan Kitchen blog. Stay connected for new recipes as soon as they are published at AnnArborVeganKitchen.com.

Jihyun Yun https://jihyunyun.com 
Jihyun Yun is a Korean American poet from the San Francisco Bay Area. A Fulbright research fellow, her debut collection SOME ARE ALWAYS HUNGRY won the 2019 Prairie Schooner Prize and was published by University of Nebraska Press. Her work has been published in Best New Poets, Narrative Magazine, Ninth Letter and elsewhere. ]

Ann S. Epstein https://www.asewovenwords.com
Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, and essays. Her novels are On the Shore, Tazia and Gemma, A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve., The Great Stork Derby, One Person’s Loss, and The Sister Knot (in press). Her other work appears in North American Review, Sewanee Review, PRISM International, Ascent, The Long Story, and elsewhere. In addition to writing, she has a PhD in developmental psychology and MFA in fiber art.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang  http://www.franceskaihwawang.com/
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a poet, artist, essayist, and activist focused on issues of Asian America, race, justice, and the arts. Her writing has appeared at Cha Asian Literary Journal, Kartika Review, Drunken Boat. She teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan and creative writing at Washtenaw Community College. She co-created a multimedia artwork for Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Her book of poetry, “You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids,” is just out at Wayne State University Press. She has a weakness for a well-crafted argument and a lyrical turn of phrase. Franceskaihwawang.com @fkwang

This is a FREE event, but your RSVP is very helpful to our planning.
Learn more about health and safety at Booksweet.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Today Big Island Frances Kai-Hwa Wang Talk Story | Basically Books



Today! Reading on Big Island, Hilo side! In conversation with Tom Peek, author of Daughters of Fire

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang Talk Story
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 AT 1 PM HST, in person and outdoors
Basically Books, 334 Kilauea Ave., Hilo, Hawaii (new location across from Ben Franklin)

Friday, August 19, 2022

Talk Story with author Tom Peek this Saturday 8/20 1pm HST at Basically Books


Talk Story "You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids" with "Daughters of Fire" author Tom Peek this Saturday 8/20 1pm HST in person Basically Books new new location (across from Ben Franklin) Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii 
https://www.facebook.com/events/297885229198441/

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Friday, August 12, 2022

1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 16 How can education and data help us make connections across cultures and history?

My essay and curated news section for 1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 16 which asks How can education and data help us make connections across cultures and history?
My daughter and I just spent two days in Honolulu going to museums and eating Asian food. We go to the Bishop Museum one day and the Honolulu Museum of Art the next. We drive past Iolani Palace, the King Kamehameha statue, and the old Chinatown. We eat Japanese and Korean pastries, dim sum, Japanese sandos, Korean tacos, Singaporean laksa, and Eggs Benedict and Spam.

We have a great time and never even make it to the beach.

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Ann Arbor 40th commemoration of Vincent Chin's killing with poetry, film, panel discussion at MI Theater

Thank you to CultureVerse, Synecdoche, and Do Good Work for sponsoring this showing of "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" at the Michigan Theater on June 23, 2022, for the 40th commemoration of Vincent Chin's brutal hate crime killing. Thanks to everyone that was able to come out, donated to the cause, and supported. I read poems by me, Bryan Thao Worra, and Ravi Shankar. We watched the film. Then we had a great panel discussion with Manan Desai of UMich (moderator), Chien-An Yuan of IS/LAND, Dim Mang of Rising Voices, and me with my book project (thanks Knight Foundation, CultureSource, Ann Arbor Area Foundation).

Monday, August 8, 2022

Despite state efforts to protect abortion access, Asian Americans in Michigan still see obstacles | PBS NewsHour

My article for PBS NewsHour

After the Roe ruling, advocates in Michigan and beyond are concerned about how the decision will affect the maternal and reproductive health care of Asian Americans, which is layered with cultural attitudes toward abortion and barriers to the procedure itself.

Despite state efforts to protect abortion access, Asian Americans in Michigan still see obstacles | PBS NewsHour

Saturday, August 6, 2022

Big Island Talk Story at Basically Books Aug 20



Next reading on Big Island, Hilo side! and in conversation with Tom Peek, author of Daughters of Fire

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang Talk Story
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 AT 1 PM HST, in person and outdoors
Basically Books, 334 Kilauea Ave., Hilo, Hawaii (new location across from Ben Franklin)

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang Talk Story | Facebook

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Tonight! Poetry Night with Frances Kai-Hwa Wang and friends | Nicola's Books

Tonight! 7/26/2022 7pm Nicolas books with the great Carlina Duan and Zilka Joseph!
Poetry Night with Frances Kai-Hwa Wang and friends | Nicola's Books

Jul 26 2022 - 7:00pm
Westgate Shopping Center
2513 Jackson Avenue
Ann ArborMI 48103

Celebrate Ann Arbor Poets with Frances Kai-Hwa Wang and friends

We are honored to present three Asian-American poets in celebration of Frances Kai-Hwa Wang’s new book of essays. Enjoy a poetry filled hour in-store with readings and discussion. We are so excited to welcome them as one of our first in-person events in over two years.

Let us know you are coming by registering HERE

About the Book

In the aftermath of a messy divorce, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang writes in the hope of beginning to build a new life with four children, bossy aunties, unreliable suitors, and an uncertain political landscape. The lyric essays in You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids deftly navigate the space between cultures and reflect on lessons learned from both Asian American elders and young multiracial children, punctuated by moments rich with cultural and linguistic nuance. In her prologue, Wang explains, Buddhists say that suffering comes from unsatisfied desire, so for years I tried to close the door to desire. I was so successful, I not only closed the door, I locked it, barred it, nailed it shut, then stacked a bunch of furniture in front of it. And now that door is open, wide open, and all my insides are spilling out.

Full of current events of the day and #HashtagsOfTheMoment, the topics in the collection are wide ranging, including cooking food to show love, surviving Chinese School, being an underpaid lecturer, defending against yellow dildos, navigating immigration issues, finding love in a time of elections, crying with children separated from their parents at the border, charting the landscape of frugal/hoarder elders during the pandemic, witnessing COVID-inspired anti-Asian American violence while reflecting on the death of Vincent Chin, teaching her sixteen-year-old son to drive after the deaths of Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, and trusting the power of writing herself into existence. Within these lyric essays, some of which are accompanied by artwork and art installations, Wang finds the courage and hope to speak out for herself and for an entire generation of Asian American women.

A notable work in the landscape of Asian American literature as well as Midwest and Michigan-based literature, You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids features a clear and powerful voice that brings all people together in these political and pandemic times.

Order your copy here:  https://www.nicolasbooks.com/book/9780814349410

Let us know you are coming by registering HERE

About the Author(s): 

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a poet, artist, essayist, and activist focused on issues of Asian America, race, justice, and the arts. Her writing has appeared at PBS NewsHour, NBCAsianAmerica, PRI GlobalNation, Cha Asian Literary Journal, Kartika Review, Drunken Boat. She teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan and creative writing at Washtenaw Community College. She co-created a multimedia artwork for Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. She is a 2019 Knight Arts Challenge Detroit artist. Her book of poetry, “You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids,” is just out at Wayne State University Press. Franceskaihwawang.com @fkwang

Books:  You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids,” Wayne State University Press; and contributor to Rise (Harper Collins 2021) 

CARLINA DUAN is a writer-educator from Ann Arbor, and the author of the poetry collections I Wore My Blackest Hair (Little A, 2017) and Alien Miss (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2021). She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the University of Michigan's Joint Program in English and Education. Among many things, she loves river walks, snail mail, and being a sister.

Books: I Wore My Blackest Hair (Little A, 2017) and Alien Miss (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021). I will be reading from Alien Miss.

ZILKA JOSEPH moved to the US from Kolkata, India in 1997, and Michigan has been her home since 2000. This is where she reconnected with writing  poetry, and began publishing books. She is working on a new manuscript, and a set of poems based on the Vedas that will accompany an Indian classical dance performance. Her website is www.zilkajoseph.com and She’s available on Facebook. Books: In Our Beautiful Bones (Mayapple Press, 2021), Sparrows and Dust (Ridgeway Press, 2021), Sharp Blue Search of Flame (Wayne State Univ Press), Lands I Live In ( Mayapple Press)

Monday, July 25, 2022

My new book on Michigan Radio Stateside: Monday, July 25, 2022

I'm on the radio again today! Michigan Radio Stateside at the 12:35 mark. Big thanks to April Baer for reprising our great convo just in time for tomorrow's reading at Nicola's Books.

Stateside: Monday, July 25, 2022

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Welcomes Arts Writers For Annual National Critics Institute

That's me! Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Critics Institute Knight Fellow, the premiere arts criticism and arts journalism boot camp/fellowship.  

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Welcomes Arts Writers For Annual National Critics Institute
From July 12 to July 24, these journalists will strengthen and diversify their skills through workshops in reviewing, storytelling and analysis, and more.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center will welcome 16 talented arts and culture writers and critics from across the country to campus for the annual National Critics Institute.

The 2022 class of fellows includes the following writers: Tre'vell Anderson, Nancy Coleman, Alexi Chacon, Serena Daniels, Jay Gabler, Devika Girish, Angela Harmon, Cecilia Johnson, Brittani Julious , Pam Kragen, Jasmine Liu, Kaitlin McCarthy, Gloria Oladipo, Hanna Raskin, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, and John Wenzel.

From July 12 to July 24, these journalists will strengthen and diversify their skills through workshops in reviewing, storytelling and analysis, arts profile writing, blogging, social media, and more. This year, fellows are hearing from mentors including Peter Marks (The Washington Post), Sarah Kaufman (The Washington Post), Ligaya Mishan (The New York Times), Harvey Young (Boston University), KO (performer and activist), Mark Blankenship (arts writer and critic), Mary Dixon (WBEZ), and Mark Caro (freelancer writer and podcaster).

This selective, intensive program is led by Director Dr. Chris Jones, chief theater critic for the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News, and Associate Director Naveen Kumar, journalist and culture critic with work in The New York Times, Town & Country, Variety, and more.

"We're thrilled to welcome such an impressive group of cultural critics for the first in-person National Critics Institute in three years," Jones said. "This is about the only national retreat and workshop for mid-career critics, and it's clear that the profession is in great hands for the future. We are so grateful to Knight Foundation for their support."

Knight Foundation, which is investing in journalism and the arts in cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight published newspapers, fully supports participation by fellows who live and/or work in one of these communities. This year's Knight Foundation Fellows are Alexi Chacon, Serena Daniels, Jay Gabler, Angela Harmon, [Cecilia] Angela Johnson, Jasmine Liu, Hanna Raskin, and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang.

Monday, July 11, 2022

Fellowship: National Critics Institute | Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

Very excited to be on my way to the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center! It's a
A two-week workshop designed for arts writers and critics looking to strengthen their skills in an increasingly competitive and fast-paced industry. (and we're going to see so many plays! can't wait.)

National Critics Institute | Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

More about how intense it is supposed to be (I'm starting to worry a little bit) 

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Date change! Continuing Writing Workshop: Finding the Writer Within - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & College Development

Date change for my next writing workshop! My 5-week Sunday Continuing Writing Workshop: Finding the Writer Within workshop at WCC will begin Aug 7 12-2pm EDT/9amPDT/6amHST instead of July 31 and instead of earlier July dates that might have been listed as well. The July 31 date will be made up in September. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Continuing Writing Workshop: Finding the Writer Within - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & College Development

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Sowing Aunties on AAWAA Pass It On, Episode 1: Birth of a Movement

Pass It On, Episode 1: Birth of a Movement is now available on-demand. Originally co-presented by AAWAA and KOHO on International Women’s Day 2022, experience this historic roundtable discussion featuring artist Kim Anno with AAWAA co-founders Betty Kano and Flo Oy Wong as they recount the founding and early days of Asian American Women Artists Association, the nation’s only nonprofit serving AAPI women in the arts.

You can see my Sowing Aunties art installation at the beginning of this video from Asian American Women Artists Association

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

3 new books highlighting underrepresented stories by NewsHour staff - PBS NewsHour Classroom

A lesson plan from Evelyn Chi at PBS NewsHour Classroom based on last Friday's broadcast story re Aaron Foley, Nicole Ellis, and my books 3
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why do you think it’s so important to write and read books about underrepresented groups, such as women, minorities and LGBTQ people?
If you were to write a book about or inspired by your own life, what would it be? Would it be nonfiction, a memoir or a novel? Why?

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

An Irresistible Summer Read. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang’s latest book | by Here and There | Medium

a great book review from Roopa at Here and There on Medium. Thanks!
This book doesn’t fit neatly into any category. It reads like a memoir, but, has been described as a prime example of creative non-fiction and the lyrical essay. Indeed, the work does defy genres, blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction. It is a collection of carefully crafted mini-stories, or flash fiction in modern parlance, strung together like a pearl necklace — each piece as equally exquisite as the next. Individually, they can stand alone, yet, when taken as a whole, they blend like beautiful voices singing in chorus. It can be read cover to cover or opened randomly at any page. Both options are equally satisfying. Either way, it is one of those books that stays with you long after you’re done beckoning to be re-opened and re-read.

Friday, July 1, 2022

NewsHour staff members discuss new books they have written | PBS NewsHour



Aaron, Nicole, and I were interviewed by Jeffrey Brown about our books for PBS NewsHour! And Judy Woodruff said she was proud of us!
If you are looking for something good to read this summer, you might start with the books written by our very own NewsHour staff. Three of our colleagues are out now with a memoir, a novel and a non-fiction book, all with very different styles. Jeffrey Brown spoke with Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Aaron Foley and Nicole Ellis for our arts and culture series, "CANVAS."
NewsHour staff members discuss new books they have written | PBS NewsHour

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/newshour-staff-members-discuss-new-books-they-have-written/

YouTube https://youtu.be/UM22DG8ffQw 

Short Excerpt https://twitter.com/NewsHour/status/1543004957099675650

More info re our books:
"You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids," published by Wayne State University Press
https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/you-cannot-resist-me-when-my-hair-braids

Aaron Foley "Boys Come First," Belt Publishing, https://beltpublishing.com/products/boys-come-first

Nicole Ellis "We Go High: How 30 Women of Colour Achieved Greatness against all Odds," DK Publishing, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691077/we-go-high-by-nicole-ellis/

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Today! Book Talk & Signing in Chelsea at Serendipity Books | Events 18213

Today! Chelsea friends! Book reading and signing Tues 6/28 7pm EDT in person at Serendipity Books, Chelsea, MI "You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids," Wayne State University Press, Free but registration advised. 

Monday, June 27, 2022

Serendipity Books | Events 18213

Chelsea friends! Book reading and signing Tues 6/28 7pm EDT in person at Serendipity Books, Chelsea, MI "You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids," Wayne State University Press, Registration advised. 

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Friday, June 24, 2022

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang Talks Divorce, Banana Covers, More in New Book | Hour Detroit

omg this incredible review in Hour Magazine!
When you pick up Frances Kai-Hwa Wang’s new book, You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids, published by Wayne State University Press, you have to let go of the reflexive, all-too-human impulse to pinpoint its genre. Is it a collection of prose poems with photos? A kind of experimental memoir? A collection of short, lyrical essays? 

I confess, I spent no small amount of time ruminating on these questions while reading the first half of Braids, since I would obviously need to describe it in a review. But here’s the thing: Once I let go of trying to figure out what Braids was, exactly — and instead got into the practice of approaching each short piece with an open mind and a curiosity about where Wang might take me next — I unlocked its power.
Frances Kai-hwa Wang Talks Divorce, Banana Covers, More in New Book

Thursday, June 23, 2022

"Who Killed Vincent Chin" Screening + Panel Discussion Registration, Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

Ann Arbor friends! 

Free showing of Academy Award winning documentary film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" at Michigan Theater, Thursday June 23 7pm, followed by an all-Ann Arborite panel discussion with Chien-An Yuan, IS/LAND; Dim Mang, Rising Voices; Manan Desai, Univ of Michigan Dept of American Culture Program in Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies, and me. 

And out in the lobby: Kizuna Tree is an interactive installation/performance collaboration between Detroit Public Television, WDET, Rising Voices, and IS/LAND Asian American Arts Collaborative. Comprised of an Ikebana Tree designed by Celeste Shimoura Goedert of Rising Voices, sound recordings from the collaborative series ‘Kizuna Stories’ from DPTV and WDET by Zosette Guir and Dorothy Hernandez, and dance by AAPI Performance Collaborative IS/LAND, Kizuna Tree is an exploration of communal healing for AAPI peoples, across generations, communities, and ethnicities, connected through words, visuals, and movement. The restorative and healing properties through this physical movement and storytelling offers the audience an experiential exploration of the interactive connections between the dancers with each other, the audience, and the tree itself.

I will also be performing my poem, "Finding home between the Vincent Chin case and COVID-19," and "Ypsilanti 1982" by Bryan Thao Worra, and excerpt from "Latin for New World Order" by Ravi Shankar." These poems will be published in my upcoming book, "Beyond Vincent Chin: Legacies in Action and Art, Wayne State Press, 2024. Thanks CultureVerse and The New Foundry for supporting this project, along with Knight Arts Challenge Detroit, CultureSource, Ann Arbor Area Foundation, Michigan Humanties, and friends who have contributed essays and poems. 

Thank you to our Sponsors; CultureVerse & The New Foundry.

"Who Killed Vincent Chin" Screening + Panel Discussion Registration, Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

Details
Screening of the film "Who Killed Vincent Chin" and panel discussion

About this event
In 1982, a 27-year-old Chinese American named Vincent Chin was beaten to death with a baseball bat by two auto workers who blamed the Japanese for the U.S. auto industry’s troubles. The men were fined $3,000 and never spent a day in jail. Such a light sentence for such a brutal killing brought Asian Americans together across ethnic lines to form multiethnic and multiracial alliances, to organize for civil rights, advocating for change.

As the fortieth anniversary of Chin’s death, this story that is so Michigan and so important to the Asian American community is still poorly known. However, in today’s political landscape which is increasingly racist, sexist, violent, and exacerbated by COVID19-inspired anti-Asian American sentiment—it is not enough to know about this one case of injustice, but to harness that outrage and use it for good today.

Join us for a special anniversary screening of the Oscar nominated 1987 documentary produced and directed by Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Pena.

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SCHEDULE

7:00pm Welcome

7:15-8:45pm Screening

8:45-9:30pm Panel Discussion + Q&A

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TICKETS + DONATIONS

This event is free and open to the public. Registration and masks are encouraged. Seating is in the main theater and should allow for social distancing.

A $10 donation is recommended and will support:

A book anthology of Asian American activists and artists about how this case has inspired them and connects to contemporary issues. It will be published by Wayne State University Press with a foreword written by Asian American civil rights icon Helen Zia. By: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang;

as well as Stop AAPI Hate Organization The coalition (AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University) tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Their mission is to advance equity, justice and power by dismantling systemic racism and building a multiracial movement to end anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate.

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PANEL DISCUSSION

Moderator:

Manan Desai is the author of The United States of India: Anticolonial Literature & Transnational Refraction (2020), published by Temple University Press as part of the Asian American History and Culture Series. His essays have been published in Comparative Literature, the Journal of Popular Culture, and the forthcoming volume of Asian American Literature in Transition. He has served on the Board of Directors for the South Asian American Digital Archive (saada.org). He is currently the director of the University of Michigan Program in Asian/Pacific Islander American (A/PIA) Studies in the Department of American Culture.

Panelist:

1. Ayesha Ghazi Edwin has dedicated her career to helping to mobilize and fight for the rights of the Asian American community. She previously served as the Executive Director of American Citizens for Justice, worked for APIAVote-Michigan, and currently serves as the Governor Whitmer appointed Chair of the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission. Ayesha is an award-winning social justice activist, having previously worked in health equity, labor rights, for immigration reform and for voting rights. Ayesha’s family is of Indian descent, and she grew up in Ann Arbor after immigrating here from London at the age of 3. Currently Ayesha serves as the Deputy Director of Detroit Disability Power, is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, an appointed Ann Arbor Human Rights Commissioner, and a current candidate for Ann Arbor City Council, Ward 3.

2. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a poet, artist, essayist, and activist focused on issues of Asian America, race, justice, and the arts. Her writing has appeared at PBS NewsHour, NBCAsianAmerica, PRI GlobalNation, Cha Asian Literary Journal, Kartika Review, Drunken Boat. She teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan and creative writing at Washtenaw Community College. She was formerly Executive Director of American Citizens for Justice and Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce. She co-created a multimedia artwork for Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. She is a 2019 Knight Arts Challenge Detroit artist creating an anthology of essays and a digital arts archive about Vincent Chin. Her book of poetry, “You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids,” is just out at Wayne State University Press. Franceskaihwawang.com @fkwang

3. Chien-An Yuan is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and educator based in Ann Arbor, MI. Yuan runs 1473, a record label specializing in improvisation, electronics, and collaboration. He is also a founding member of IS/LAND, a performance collaborative comprised of AAPI movers, artists, and collaborators. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, NewCity, Salon, ArtSlant, Huffington Post, and WNYC. Past performances and exhibitions include Detroit Institute of Arts, The Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Gene Siskel Film Center, Museum of Chinese in America NYC, Syrup Loft, Zhou B Arts Center, Asian American Cultural Center of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Hyde Park Art Center, and Gallery 312.

4. Dim Mang (they/she) is a Community Organizer with Rising Voices, an Asian American non-profit committed to building power with Asian Americans in Michigan. Dim was born in Mandalay, Burma to two Tedim Chin parents, and they immigrated to the US with their family in 2005. She was raised in a working-class family in Tulsa, Oklahoma and went to college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, majoring in History and Political Science. Outside of her day job, Dim is an At-Large Vice President of APALA (Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance), and helps run a mutual aid network and fundraiser to aid anti-coup protesters in her home country, Burma. They are fluent in English and Tedim Chin, and hope to relearn Burmese. Dim currently lives with her partner and their two cats on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Potawatomi, Fox, and Peoria. They hope to one day help co-create a Burmese community center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where her immediate and extended family still live. They hope to organize for collective liberation for the rest of their life.

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And out in the lobby:

Kizuna Tree art installation (w/o dancers)

Kizuna Tree is an interactive installation/performance collaboration between Detroit Public Television, WDET, Rising Voices, and IS/LAND Asian American Arts Collaborative. Comprised of an Ikebana Tree designed by Celeste Shimoura Goedert of Rising Voices, sound recordings from the collaborative series ‘Kizuna Stories’ from DPTV and WDET by Zosette Guir and Dorothy Hernandez, and dance by AAPI Performance Collaborative IS/LAND, Kizuna Tree is an exploration of communal healing for AAPI peoples, across generations, communities, and ethnicities, connected through words, visuals, and movement. The restorative and healing properties through this physical movement and storytelling offers the audience an experiential exploration of the interactive connections between the dancers with each other, the audience, and the tree itself.

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Thank you to our Sponsors; CultureVerse & The New Foundry.

https://cultureverse.org/events/who-killed-vincent-chin
https://www.facebook.com/events/michigan-theater/who-killed-vincent-chin-free-screening/5485867901458527/
https://annarborobserver.com/mc-events/who-killed-vincent-chin-michigan-theater/
https://secure.michtheater.org/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=737870~c76be4f4-22b5-4bed-a89c-7def863b8c53&epguid=83683564-3500-4e9a-8221-b074c769a042&