“The 'Ha' (Breath) of Writing” weekend writing retreat in Chicago in February

I am very excited to have been invited by Hula Kumu June Ryushin Tanoue of Chicago's Halau i Ka Pono to do a reading and a writing and hula workshop with her, “The 'Ha' (Breath) of Writing,” February 21-23, 2014! in Chicago!

UPDATE: Extremely tentative schedule:
Friday night: Prose Poetry Reading and Hula Performance,
Saturday: Writing and Hula workshop,
Sunday: Talk about Writing, Buddhism, and Life.

More info about Hula Kumu June Tanoue: http://www.halauikapono.org/about.htm

Chicago is the World » Justice for Trayvon, Justice for all our children

My article at Chicago is the World:

I am sitting at a beautiful airy music concert, the highlight of every summer, the Big Island Music Festival. On stage is a handsome young man, ukulele virtuoso Kris Fuchigami, with his mom playing backup on keyboard. But I cannot hear anything. The verdict comes through as I find my seat, short staccato posts on my Facebook feed, “Noooo,” “verdict fail,” “#hoodiesup.”

I wish I were surprised by the verdict, but my heart is breaking.

I am typing this out on my phone today because it could not wait.

How do we raise our sweet children of color? What do we tell them? What do we tell ourselves?

click link for rest of the article: Chicago is the World » Justice for Trayvon, Justice for all our children

Chicago is the World » On Birthday Parties, Tiger Aunties, and jailed Texan honor student Diane Tran

My daughter Hao Hao turned 16 on Saturday. Sweet 16.

She put on my tiara that I wear for my most serious writing, and she asked eight-year-old Little Brother if he had anything to say to her, expecting him to say, “Happy Birthday.” Instead, he answered, “Swagger.” (Swag 16!)

The day I turned 16, I headed straight for the Department of Motor Vehicles in Gilroy after school to take my driver’s test. The Junior/Senior Prom was that weekend and I needed to be able to drive. Full of ego and optimism, I failed that driver’s test spectacularly, but I could only see as far as the Junior/Senior Prom. My date scrambled to get his old Chevy running at the last minute, so we managed to get there. Then it broke down on the side of old Monterey Highway on the way home, and my father had to rescue us. Lol.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » On Birthday Parties, Tiger Aunties, and jailed Texan honor student Diane Tran

Chicago is the World » Catalyst to Action–Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and National Bike Month!

Oh no!

How did that happen?

I thought I took precautions! I was careful!

Grrr.

Biker’s tan.

You can always spot the bicyclists by that straight white line three to four inches above their knee and little white sock line around the ankle. I have been slathering on the sunscreen every day, trying (hopelessly) to stay fair and lovely (joke), but to no use. I know once that line forms, it is almost impossible to shake. Only two weeks into May and I am already marked. Everyone can see my secret.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Catalyst to Action–Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and National Bike Month!

Chicago is the World » El dia de nuestras madres في اليوم من أمهاتنا The Day of Our Mothers

Thanks to Chicago is the World's Stephen Franklin for this: 


"Sun’s up, blue skies.

Running out to pick up flowers on Mother’s Day and what else?

But then I’m snagged by Frances’ essay that I start and can’t s stop"


click on link for more: Chicago is the World » El dia de nuestras madres في اليوم من أمهاتنا The Day of Our Mothers

Chicago is the World » When Mother’s Day Goes Awry

Big Brother Roland called today to see what my plans were for Mother’s Day and to ask if I wanted to join him and his family in case the children were not with me this day. He is always looking out for me and invites me every year.

I declined, as always, because I will be writing (and buying an iPhone). A sudden burst of inspiration and opportunity has me writing constantly these days, even in my dreams.

However, it does feel strange to realize that this will be the first time ever that I will not be able to be with my children for Mother’s Day. Their dad wanted to take them somewhere this weekend. No, it did not make much sense to me either, but we have this fight every year.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » When Mother’s Day Goes Awry

APA Heritage Month Upcoming Talks

Happy (second month of) Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

I'm excited to have been invited to speak at:
Environmental Protection Agency, May 16
International Neighbors, May 23
Community Media Workshop's Making Media Connections, June 14, Chicago

(ok that last one is not during APA Heritage Month, but I'm really excited to be a part).

Chicago is the World » The sun is shining, the birds are singing—it’s National Poetry Month!

A sudden cold snap has sent me scurrying for my Hello Kitty scarf and gloves. Hard to remember that only one month ago, I was splashing through puddles at balmy midnight, wearing a Hawaiian print skirt and flip flops.

A woman I see every morning walking to school growled about the cold this morning, and I, for some reason, sang out, “But it’s National Poetry Month! The sun is shining, the birds are singing.”

She was not quite sure how to respond.

On my way home, I found a stack of five free SAT and ACT and AP Calculus AB prep books on a neighbor’s lawn. A Tiger Mom score! Life does not get better than this.

So here we are, in the last week of National Poetry Month. A few more days to take the NaPoWriMo challenge of writing a poem a day. Last year, I was so impressed by all those poets who dared to publicly take the NaPoWriMo challenge, writing and publishing in real time, that this year I wanted to try, too.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » The sun is shining, the birds are singing—it’s National Poetry Month!

Chicago is the World » Seeking Asian Pacific American Superheroes…at a Conference?

Purdue University recently had some race-related troubles in the form of a racist anti-Asian Twitter account(s) that denigrated and ridiculed Asian and Asian American students there. The Asian American community was offended. Others thought it was funny. The university was slow to respond.

As the Asian Pacific American media began talking about it nationally, I began to fantasize about a more effective solution. I knew that two very cool Asian American activists happened to be headed to Purdue for various Asian Pacific American Heritage Month activities. I conjured up the image of the two of them dressed up in sky blue superhero costumes with fluttering capes and bright yellow masks and gloves, parachuting into the center of Purdue to take care of business.

Ka-pow! Sock! Bam!

Sometimes, in the face of depressing news item after depressing news item, I long for a superhero to set things right as cleanly and simply as they do in the comic books.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Seeking Asian Pacific American Superheroes…at a Conference?

May-Lee Chai response to Preparing Children for Bullying and Hate Crimes we hope never come

from the beautiful and brilliant author May-Lee Chai in response to http://chicagoistheworld.org/2012/04/preparing-our-children-for-the-bullying-and-hate-crimes-we-hope-never-come/:

Frances,

Great column, great advice, as usual!

I'm really glad you wrote on this topic. And what great advice you give to kids about speaking up.

This is what's missing from the other media accounts I've read and seen about bullying.

They focus on what parents can do, what the kid being bullied can do, but you also but responsibility on kids who WITNESS bullying, which we all know is the vast majority.

It's so important that you show there's moral responsibility --and civic responsibility, and self-interest!--in telling an adult (so much more useful than just trying to defend the kid in the present) and to keep telling adults. Also puts responsibility on adults' shoulders. Many adults DO NOT FEEL ANY RESPONSIBILITY, but they should.

Great column!

May-lee

Angry Asian Man Tweets Awesome

April 2, 2012 Twitterfeed

Angry Asian Man ‏ @angryasianman
Heejun Han, an Asian American mother's lessons for her children, and how to invest in human beings. And other links: http://blog.angryasianman.com/2012/04/read-these-blogs.html

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang ‏ @fkwang
@angryasianman thanks for including me in your read these blogs! you're the best!

Angry Asian Man ‏ @angryasianman
@fkwang Of course! I hope your kids are aware of how awesome you are.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang ‏ @fkwang
@angryasianman they are :) wait until you hear the whole story over drinks some day

What our children and their books could teach Rush Limbaugh and friends | Chicagoistheworld.org

A few weeks ago, in the midst of Linsanity and some of its racist reactions, journalist Grace Hwang of Hapamama.com asked if I thought racism was taken more seriously than sexism.

I was still thinking about how best to answer her when Rush Limbaugh spent three days vomiting all over Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke.

Well, I guess there was my answer.

Some of the racist taunts that hit Jeremy Lin might possibly be able to be explained as accidental, insensitivity, ignorance, (barely), but Limbaugh’s incredible remarks (coupled with all the transvaginal ultrasound legislation by white male congressmen and the all-male testimony on birth control that brought about Limbaugh’s remarks in the first place) left me sputtering.

What is wrong with these people?

click link for more: http://chicagoistheworld.org/2012/03/what-our-children-and-their-books-could-teach-rush-limbaugh-and-friends/

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Chicago is the World » Linsanity–a hero for Little Brother

I missed the first week of Linsanity because I was caught up in fighting the racist China-fear-mongering Pete Hoekstra political ad that aired during the Superbowl. I remember feeling beleaguered at the time, like we still had a looooong way to go until the elections in November, and if this was just the beginning…

I was surprised to learn that the mainstream considered Jeremy Lin an unknown who had come from out of nowhere, because even though I know nothing about sports, even I knew who Jeremy Lin was (courtesy of Ryan Higa and Kev Jumba).

As I got caught up in Linsanity along with everyone else, I found myself talking about Jeremy Lin with my Chinese language class, my Critical Race theory class, my Asian Pacific American History class, even at a career talk for Chinese American high school students. I finally had something to say to the little boy next door who spends his afternoons shooting hoops on the corner. Jeremy Lin applied to everything, everywhere, in equal parts good and bad, and for once, everyone—Asian American or not—was in agreement.

Then I realized the person who needed Jeremy Lin the most was my eight-year-old son, Little Brother.

click here for more: Chicago is the World » Linsanity–a hero for Little Brother

Chicago is the World » We gain so much wading in the water of each other’s cultural experiences–Adventures in Multicultural Living

Two years ago, my father’s choir at the University of Hawaii was invited to sing at a big international diversity concert at Lincoln Center in New York for MLK Day. Choirs from around the world had been invited to sing together, and a Hawaiian choir adds instant diversity with its multicultural population of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese, Caucasians and native Hawaiians. That summer, over a breakfast of Chinese pancakes and Portuguese sausage, my father told us about the difficulties he had had the night before at choir practice pronouncing the words in the spirituals that they were learning, “You have to say the words like a Negro,” he said.

Twelve-year-old Hao Hao gently corrected him: “African American. These days you should say African American.” (I bet Senator Reid wishes his grandchildren had told him this, too.)

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » We gain so much wading in the water of each other’s cultural experiences–Adventures in Multicultural Living

Chicago is the World » Learning about Christmas and Santa through the claymation classics and Oh! Oshogatsu!–Adventures in Multicultural Living

oops these were supposed to go up in December and January.

Chicago is the World » Learning about Christmas and Santa through the claymation classics–Adventures in Multicultural Living

Chicago is the World » Oh! Oshogatsu! Missing Japanese New Year’s Day–Adventures in Multicultural Living

Chicago is the World » U-M Center for Chinese Studies Kite Festival and keeping the conversation going | adventures in multicultural living

excerpt: An English teacher at Huron High School used one of my columns to stimulate classroom discussion of a Maya Angelou book they were reading — which was so lively it spilled into a second day, and even more impressive, students who normally never talked in class really got into the discussion.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » U-M Center for Chinese Studies Kite Festival and keeping the conversation going | adventures in multicultural living

Chicago is the World » Making Mooncakes the modern traditional way for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival | Adventures in Multicultural Living

"The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is this Monday. That means mooncakes!

A harvest festival, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is a Chinese (Zhong Qiu Jie),Vietnamese (Tet Trung Thu) and Korean (Chusok) festival that celebrates the end of the harvest, family and food. It’s sort of like Thanksgiving (without the turkey), Octoberfest(without the beer) and Sukkot (without the tent). It is always celebrated on the largest full moon of the year, the Harvest Moon."

'via Blog this'

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Making Mooncakes the modern traditional way for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival | Adventures in Multicultural Living

Chicago is the World » Showing off our many local treasures, the power of sharing our ideas | Adventures in Multicultural Living

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) National Convention was held in Detroit this month. I really wanted to attend, since it was home, but unfortunately I was not able to make it. Still, I watched from afar via Twitter, I saw my friends smiling in Twitpix, I connected people to each other via Facebook and email, I read newspaper articles online, and I even received a cellphone call that would have allowed me to listen in on one of the panels (if only I had not been driving at the time). It was a little surreal seeing a photograph in the Detroit Free Press of my real-life friends together with my virtual friends, not to mention hearing about the conversations they had because of my virtual introductions.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Showing off our many local treasures, the power of sharing our ideas | Adventures in Multicultural Living

Chicago is the World » From Band Camp to Ramadan – finding strength, skinniness and similarities | Adventures in Multicultural Living

At the annual Band Camp concert at Interlochen a few years ago, my friend Shih-yi joked, “This would be a good day to rob Ann Arbor. Half the town is here.”

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » From Band Camp to Ramadan – finding strength, skinniness and similarities | Adventures in Multicultural Living

Chicago is the World » Finally finding time for church/temple in the space of summer | Adventures in Multicultural Living

A girlfriend who attends St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church once told me how invaluable that one hour a week every Sunday morning was for her, to sit, reflect, pray, and be alone.

To hear her describe it, I wanted to go, too.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Finally finding time for church/temple in the space of summer | Adventures in Multicultural Living