Does Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) literature matter?
The 500 Project seeks to profile 10 APIA individuals from each of the 50 States who answer YES.
On February 3, 2011, incidentally the Lunar New Year, the editors of Kartika Review, a national Asian Pacific Islander American literary arts journal, got together with award-winning poet Bryan Thao Worra and took on the 500 Project.
However, the concept started well before February 3rd, by Thao Worra, the first Lao American to hold an NEA Fellowship in Literature. Over the last 15 years, he has worked with Asian/Pacific Islander American writers from across the country to revitalize our literary and artistic traditions, in particular that of Lao and Southeast Asian American writers. A key part of that journey has been connecting emerging enclaves of writers with more established APIA artists across the United States. One recurring conversation the writer activists have is the question of the modern audience for Asian American literature.
We are in a time when there is a vocal demand for diverse voices, and yet APIA writers are hard-pressed to find the same passionate, sustaining demand that mainstream writers or genre fiction enjoy. That presents a contradiction, one we writer activists cannot ignore, and one that we should respond to loudly, proudly, from every storied corner of Earth.
In Thao Worra's home state of Minnesota, there are over 60 ethnic communities tracing their heritage to Asia or the Pacific Islands. These communities thrive across the United States, coast to coast. For each of these communities, writers must ask: Can't we find, among all of those thousands, 10 individuals who are passionate about Asian American literature, writer activists who will express without equivocation that Asian American literature matters?
For each of the 50 states, there must be at least 10 Asian / Pacific Islander Americans that answer yes. And thus Thao Worra, joined by Kartika Review seek out those 500. Why should it be so hard to identify them and build a vibrant, amazing network of readers and writers? How can a canon of contemporary Asian American literature be built if we cannot even find these 500?
And so our quest begins.
TO SUBMIT YOUR PROFILE TO THE 500 PROJECT, E-MAIL US AT
500project@kartikareview.com
In the subject line of your e-mail, include the state you reside in followed by your full name.
For example: Minnesota - Bryan Thao Worra.
Please be sure to attach a full color photograph of yourself to the e-mail.
In either the inline body of the e-mail or as a Microsoft Word attachment (.doc or .docx), include the following information about yourself:
1. Full Name
2. Date of Birth
3. Ethnicity
4. Residence (City, State)
5. Occupation
6. Professional Affiliations (optional)
Then answer the following questions:
1. Does APIA literature matter to you?
2. Why does APIA literature matter to you?
3. Cite the last 3 works of APIA literature you read.
4. Who are your favorite APIA writers or poets and why?
5. In your own words, you are:
6. In your own words, APIA literature is:
More information here.
The 500 Project seeks to profile 10 APIA individuals from each of the 50 States who answer YES.
On February 3, 2011, incidentally the Lunar New Year, the editors of Kartika Review, a national Asian Pacific Islander American literary arts journal, got together with award-winning poet Bryan Thao Worra and took on the 500 Project.
However, the concept started well before February 3rd, by Thao Worra, the first Lao American to hold an NEA Fellowship in Literature. Over the last 15 years, he has worked with Asian/Pacific Islander American writers from across the country to revitalize our literary and artistic traditions, in particular that of Lao and Southeast Asian American writers. A key part of that journey has been connecting emerging enclaves of writers with more established APIA artists across the United States. One recurring conversation the writer activists have is the question of the modern audience for Asian American literature.
We are in a time when there is a vocal demand for diverse voices, and yet APIA writers are hard-pressed to find the same passionate, sustaining demand that mainstream writers or genre fiction enjoy. That presents a contradiction, one we writer activists cannot ignore, and one that we should respond to loudly, proudly, from every storied corner of Earth.
In Thao Worra's home state of Minnesota, there are over 60 ethnic communities tracing their heritage to Asia or the Pacific Islands. These communities thrive across the United States, coast to coast. For each of these communities, writers must ask: Can't we find, among all of those thousands, 10 individuals who are passionate about Asian American literature, writer activists who will express without equivocation that Asian American literature matters?
For each of the 50 states, there must be at least 10 Asian / Pacific Islander Americans that answer yes. And thus Thao Worra, joined by Kartika Review seek out those 500. Why should it be so hard to identify them and build a vibrant, amazing network of readers and writers? How can a canon of contemporary Asian American literature be built if we cannot even find these 500?
And so our quest begins.
TO SUBMIT YOUR PROFILE TO THE 500 PROJECT, E-MAIL US AT
500project@kartikareview.com
In the subject line of your e-mail, include the state you reside in followed by your full name.
For example: Minnesota - Bryan Thao Worra.
Please be sure to attach a full color photograph of yourself to the e-mail.
In either the inline body of the e-mail or as a Microsoft Word attachment (.doc or .docx), include the following information about yourself:
1. Full Name
2. Date of Birth
3. Ethnicity
4. Residence (City, State)
5. Occupation
6. Professional Affiliations (optional)
Then answer the following questions:
1. Does APIA literature matter to you?
2. Why does APIA literature matter to you?
3. Cite the last 3 works of APIA literature you read.
4. Who are your favorite APIA writers or poets and why?
5. In your own words, you are:
6. In your own words, APIA literature is:
More information here.
