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

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

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

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

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/

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

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. 

POTUS. SO. AWESOME.

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

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.

‎#IVOTED How about you?

‎#IVOTED How about you? Make sure to make your loved ones (and not so loved ones) vote!

http://chicagoistheworld.org/2012/10/what-do-you-mean-you-dont-vote-how-can-you-not-vote/

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

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 Hsu, Frances 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. 

To purchase print copies, see: (and 20% off if purchase today Nov 1 code BRAINFOOD!)

Regular version, $11:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/christine-lee-zilka-and-jennifer-derilo-and-kenji-liu-and-sunny-woan/kartika-review-issue-14-fall-2012/paperback/product-20484529.html

Full color version (for the artwork), $24:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/christine-lee-zilka-and-jennifer-derilo-and-kenji-liu-and-sunny-woan/kartika-review-issue-14-fall-2012-full-color/paperback/product-20484548.html

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

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

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 Style, Michigan Style, Gundam Style, My Little Pony Style, Umma Style, Lungi Style, Klingon Style, Mitt 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

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

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

150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation today

University of Michigan commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation today.

Upcoming Events

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.

"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