Book Signing at Detroit Festival of Books at Eastern Market July 21

Excited to be signing books with Wayne State University Press at the Detroit Festival of Books at Eastern Market, Shed 5, in Detroit on Sunday, July 21, 10am-4pm. I'll be there 1:00-1:45 pm. Join us!

https://detroitbookfest.com/ 

Signing books at Detroit Festival of Books July 21

See you at Detroit Festival of Books! Next Sunday, July 21, 10-4, Eastern Market, Shed 5. I'll be there with Wayne State University Press signing books 1:00-1:45, join us! (free parking). https://detroitbookfest.com/

Writing Workshop: Stories We’re Told, Stories We Tell, KYLYN Asian American Arts and Culture Festival

Excited to be a part of the KYLYN Asian American Arts and Culture Festival!

SUNDAY, June 23, 3:00pm, Ann Arbor District Library

FREE Writing Workshop

Stories We’re Told, Stories We Tell

facilitated by Kyunghee Kim and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

This workshop invites participants to explore the narratives that shape their identities and the expectations placed upon them by family, society, and personal history. Through creative writing exercises and discussion, attendees will gain insights into the stories they've been told about themselves, the stories they tell, and most critically, the stories they want to tell. This workshop aims to: 

Uncover Hidden Narratives: Identify the cultural and familial narratives that influence our beliefs, behaviors, and relationships. 

Empower Personal Agency: Foster a sense of empowerment by recognizing the role we play in shaping our own narratives. 

Cultivate Self-Awareness: Promote self-awareness by examining how past experiences, familial and cultural expectations, and societal norms continue to shape our evolving identity. 

Promote Resilience: Explore strategies for navigating the burden of familial and cultural expectations and legacy, building resilience, and embracing authenticity. 

Foster Connection: Create a supportive environment for participants to share, listen, and learn from one another's experiences. 

By attending this workshop, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the stories that shape their lives and develop tools to navigate the burden of expectation and legacy with greater clarity and resilience.

https://www.kylynfest.com/schedule/#stories 

Writing Workshop: KYLYN Festival: Stories We’re Told, Stories We Tell

 

KYLYN Festival: Stories We’re Told, Stories We Tell interactive writing workshop this Sunday June 23 3pm Ann Arbor District Library downtown branch -- Uncover hidden narratives and cultivate self-awareness with Kyung Hee Kim and me! This workshop invites you to explore the narratives that shape your identity through creative writing and discussion. Attendees will gain insights into the stories they’ve been told about themselves, the stories they tell, and most critically, the stories they want to tell.

KYLYN Festival Film Premiere: IS/LAND presents Chimera (and other films)

KYLYN Festival Film Premiere | IS/LAND presents Chimera

Tuesday June 18, 2024: 6:30pm to 7:30pm 

Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Chimera is an immersive 15-minute movement-based film, performed by APIA Performance Collective IS/LAND in collaboration with University of Michigan Masters of Science researcher Do Young Kim.

By definition, a Chimera is ‘an organism composed of mixed genetic tissues’ but also, when applied to science, a goal that is ‘that is hoped for but is illusory or impossible to achieve’. Both of these definitions apply to the experiences of AAPI women—how their experiences and complex life identities are vilified and simplified by the white supremacist patriarchy, but moreso, how their achievements are also subject to the glass ceiling, with aspirations and dreams made impossible by existing social standards. Is it possible for AAPI women in this country to fully integrate into the fabric of Western society, or will they always be subjected to being othered?

This filmed performance then confronts and questions these two conceptual definitions through an immersive sound/optics environment. By creating a space where movement intersects with propulsive electronic sounds while enveloped by light, Chimera creates a space for AAPI women to liberate themselves from societal constraints and fully embody their complex life experiences—as both a form of exaltation and transformation, converging into an apex of ecstatic catharsis.

The projection backgrounds for Chimera will consist of optical imaging selected by Kim, exemplifying the cellular transformation of AAPI women through the performance experience.Also screened will be IS/LAND films, including Synodic (5 min), Lost Constellation (13 min), and C-OMMON(S) (3 min).Join members of IS/LAND and composer/DJ Whodat for a Q&A after the screening.

(I'm in Lost Constellation, and unexpectedly on the panel, too, lol)

https://aadl.org/node/627987 

1990 Newsletter Vol 4 Issue 6, June 14, 2024

Panel Discussion: Can Art Grace Our Troubled World? Kylyn Asian American Arts and Culture Festival

Excited to be a part of the KYLYN Asian American Arts and Culture Festival!

THURSDAY, June 6, 2024, 6:30pm, Ann Arbor District Library, Downtown

Panel Discussion

Can Art Grace Our Troubled World?

with Kim Jackson Debord, Jasmine Rivera, and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

In a world often plagued by conflict, uncertainty, and inequity, art can offer a glimmer of hope and solace. But how exactly can art grace our troubled world?

This panel discussion will explore the power of art to heal, inspire, and bring people together. We will discuss how art can provide a platform for dialogue, foster understanding, and promote intersectional solidarity and social change.

Local APIA artists and leaders will share their insights on how art can make a difference in the world, and  offer practical methods and processes for individuals to use art to create positive change.

https://www.kylynfest.com/schedule/#canart 

WCC Writing Workshop Writing to Save the World on Zoom

Writing to Save the World starts June 1-15, 2024, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom, 3 sessions

Coming up next

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop (Summer)

5 Sundays, July 28-Aug 25, 2024, 12-2pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom 

Writing with Style, Finding your Voice
2 Saturdays, August 17, 24, 2024, 10am -12pm EDT, Washtenaw Community College

Thanks Next Chapter Books Detroit for AAPI Heritage Month Poetry Reading

Big thanks to Next Chapter Books in Detroit for an amazing reading! And thanks to Zilka Joseph and Sherina Rodriguez Sharpe for joining me. And thanks to Gajiza Dumplings and Eastside Roasters for the amazing food and chai.

 Look at how cute we are! More pictures at https://www.instagram.com/p/C7j_OsuPqQ_/?img_index=1

Reading today: AAPI Heritage Month Poetry Reading Next Chapter Books Detroit

TODAY So excited to be reading with Zilka Joseph and Sherina Rodriguez Sharpe for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Friday, May 24 at 6:30 pm at Next Chapter Books, 16555 E. Warren Ave. Detroit. Mark your calendars! https://www.nextchapterbkstore.com/ 

Speaking at Michigan Pan Asian American Conference at Canton High School May 18

Honored to be speaking at the Michigan Pan Asian American Conference at Canton High School today, May 18, 9:30-2:30. Send your high schoolers!

Poetry Reading Next Chapter Books Detroit 5/24 6:30pm

Poetry Reading Next Chapter Books Detroit 5/24 6:30pm 

with Zilka Joseph and Sherina Rodriguez Sharpe 

Upcoming WCC classes Spring/Summer 2024

Spring/Summer 2024

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop (Spring)

5 Sundays, May 5-Jun 9, 2024, 12-2pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Writing to Save the World

2 Saturdays, June 1-15, 2024, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop (Summer)

5 Sundays, July 28-Aug 25, 2024, 12-2pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom 

Writing with Style, Finding your Voice
2 Saturdays, August 17, 24, 2024, 10am -12pm EDT, Washtenaw Community College

Poetry Reading at Next Chapter Books in Detroit

So excited to be reading with Zilka Joseph and Sherina Rodriguez Sharpe for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Friday, May 24 at 6:30 pm at Next Chapter Books, 16555 E. Warren Ave. Detroit. Mark your calendars! https://www.nextchapterbkstore.com/ 

2024 Kiplinger Fellowship

Big thanks to the Kiplinger Program and Ohio University in Athens for a great week of fellowship and discussion and deep thoughts about immigration and migration with an incredible group of journalists from around the world. I learned so much from everyone. And so much bright green bobcat swag. 

https://www.ohio.edu/news/2024/01/ohio-university-announces-2024-kiplinger-fellows 

1990 Institute newsletter April 19, 2024, Volume 4, Issue 4 How do you think about community for AANHPI Heritage Month?

My essay for the 1990 Institute newsletter,  April 19, 2024, Volume 4, Issue 4

How do you think about community for AANHPI Heritage Month?

https://1990institute.salsalabs.org/1990newsletter_vol4_issue4?wvpId=3472bc42-b4b5-46d4-8347-f928d14e9f4f

What’s in Michigan’s push to expand voting rights | PBS NewsHour

My article for PBS NewsHour

What’s in Michigan’s push to expand voting rights

Poetry reading Friday April 12 7pm Booksweet with Zilka Joseph

I'll be reading Friday 4/12 7pm with Zilka Josep at her Sweet Malida book launch at Booksweet book store on Plymouth Road and Murfin, Ann Arbor

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/412-poetry-night-with-zilka-joseph-alise-alousi-frances-kai-hwa-wang-tickets-850125878387

Michigan lawmakers are considering a state-level MENA category. Here’s what that would mean | PBS NewsHour

My article for PBS NewsHour

Michigan lawmakers are considering a state-level MENA category. Here’s what that would mean | PBS NewsHour

“And when you are invisible in the eyes of data, then you are invisible in the eyes of policymakers who rely on that data to make decisions”

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/michigan-lawmakers-are-considering-a-state-level-mena-category-heres-what-that-would-mean 

Speaking at the MAASU spring conference at Univ of Michigan April 6

Looking forward to speaking at the 2024 The Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Students Union (MAASU) Spring Conference, Transforming our Futures: Storytelling and the Pathway towards Generational Change & Healing, April 5th-7th, 2024, University of Michigan  

I'll be presenting two workshops, Writing to Save the World and The stories of Hawaiian sovereignty and activism

Curtis Chin will be the keynote. And lots of other cool speakers!

https://www.spring24.maasu.org/

Activists tap a sweet Indigenous tradition to connect youth of color in Detroit with the outdoors | PBS NewsHour

My article for PBS NewsHour re the Detroit Sugarbush Project

Activists tap a sweet Indigenous tradition to connect youth of color in Detroit with the outdoors

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/activists-tap-a-sweet-indigenous-tradition-to-connect-youth-of-color-in-detroit-with-the-outdoors

What ‘uncommitted’ voters in Michigan want | PBS NewsHour

My article for PBS NewsHour

What ‘uncommitted’ voters in Michigan want

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/why-these-michigan-voters-are-choosing-uncommitted-in-the-primary

A new program in ‘prescribes’ monthly payments for the first year of an infant’s life | PBS NewsHour

My article at PBS NewsHour

A new program in Flint Michigan ‘prescribes’ monthly payments for the first year of an infant’s life

The program is “about a new vision of how we fundamentally should be caring for each other,” said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, one of the program’s co-directors.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/a-new-anti-poverty-program-in-flint-michigan-gives-cash-to-new-moms

1990 Institute Newsletter Vol 4 Issue 2 Feb. 9, 2024

My essay for 1990 Institute Newsletter

February 9, 2024

Volume 4, Issue 2

What will you stand up for in this Year of the Dragon? 

https://1990institute.salsalabs.org/1990newsletter_vol4_issue2

Speaking at 2024 Asian & Pacific Islander Graduation Celebration at the University of Michigan

Very excited to be invited by the University of Michigan Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives and the Asian & Pacific Islander Student Committee to be the keynote graduation speaker at the 2024 Asian & Pacific Islander Graduation Celebration at the University of Michigan this May!

Ohio University announces 2024 Kiplinger Fellows (me!)

Ohio University announces 2024 Kiplinger Fellows on immigration (including me!)

Eighteen veteran journalists with experience covering immigration and migration issues across the globe have been selected for the 2024 Kiplinger Fellowship in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio University.

The Kiplinger Fellows will come to Columbus and then travel to Ohio University, April 14-20, for a weeklong fellowship aimed at improving immigration and migration reporting. The majority of the fellows this year are freelancers who extensively cover immigration and migration issues for large media outlets or for dedicated online sites. 

Some of the fellows in this year’s class are also immigrants, moving from their original birth places because of economic or political strife, such as wars. The selection of these seven U.S. journalists and 11 international ones concludes a two-month review process of nearly 300 applications.

“We are again blessed with an amazing class of fellows from all over the world,” Kiplinger Program Executive Director Kevin Z. Smith said. “This topic is one of the most current and relevant anywhere you look in the world. Understanding immigration and migration issues and being able to convey the complexities of these stories is one of the most important jobs for a journalist in 2024, and we have an excellent class to take on the challenge.”

During the week at Ohio University, Fellows will have an opportunity to hear from leading experts on immigration and migration policies, from humanitarian organizations, as well as other journalists who cover the issues exclusively. The fellowship will consist of workshops and focus of themes like economic, climate, or political forced migration; border policies and immigration quotas, human trafficking and other related topics. 

The fellows will meet daily at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in Schoonover Center.

The U.S. Fellows include:

Jordan Gass-Poorè, independent investigative journalist, podcast creator, New York City, N.Y.

Alexandra Locke, executive producer, The Take, an Al Jazeera English podcast, Cambridge, Mass.

Katie McQue, investigative freelance reporter, New York City, N.Y.

Sophia Qureshi, publisher, 285 South magazine, Atlanta, Ga.

Clavel Rangel, immigration communities freelance journalist, Miami, Fla. 

Ralph Thomassaint, immigration journalist, Documented, New York City, N.Y.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, communities correspondent, PBS Newshour, Dearborn, Mich.

International Fellows include:

Amir Hadi Azmi, correspondent, South China Morning Post, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Morgan Black, reporter/anchor, Global News, Edmonton, Canada

Alienor Carrieré, online freelance journalist, Lille, France

Francisco Javier Carrión, reporter, El Independiente, Madrid, Spain

Liz Cookman, freelancer British journalist, Kyiv, Ukraine

Mahmoud Elsobky, freelance journalist, Brussels, Belgium

Juan Luis Garcia Hernandez, reporter, Causa Natura, Mexico City, Mexico

Cristina Lai Men, producer, TSF Radio, Lisbon, Portugal

Erkinbek Kamalov, freelance immigration writer, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

Magdalena Rojo, freelance journalist, Oaxaca, Mexico

Pierina Sora, founder, Cápsula Migrante, Lima, Peru

The April gathering marks the 51st year of the fellowship which was started in 1973 at Ohio State University following a generous gift from the Kiplinger family in honor of patriarch Willard Kiplinger, founder of the Washington Editors (WE). WE produced the Kiplinger Newsletter and Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine from 1920-2019. 

The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism moved to Ohio University in 2019. 

In addition to the fellowship, the Kiplinger Program maintains a robust training schedule for professional journalists in the United States and abroad. 

https://www.ohio.edu/news/2024/01/ohio-university-announces-2024-kiplinger-fellows

Upcoming classes et al Winter 2024

Introduction to Publishing
2 Saturdays, Jan 20-27, 2024, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Finding the Writer Within Continuing Writers Workshop
10 Sundays, Feb 18-Apr 28, 2024, 12-2pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Telling the Stories of your Life through Food
3 Saturdays, Mar 9-23, 2024, 10am-12pm EST, Washtenaw Community College, Zoom

Guest Lecture Hawaiian Sovereignty

Asian/Pacific Islander American Civil Rights, University of Michigan Dept of American Culture
Mon., March 18, 2024, 10-11:20am EDT

Midwest Asian American Students Union (MAASU) 

3 workshops: Writing to Save the World and Hawaiian Sovereignty

Sat., April 6, 2024, University of Michigan

Reading with Zilka Joseph at Booksweet

Friday, April 12, 2024, 7:00 pm, Booksweet, Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor

University of Michigan Asian American and Pacific Islander graduation celebration keynote

Sat., May 4, 2024, University of Michigan