Now more than ever, we need to hear voices from those who have been marginalized, to hear the hungry voices, the voices of survival, women's voices, the voices of resilience, the voices of healing. We need our writing to take back our lives. Streaming to you live, I'm honored and excited to give a reading from my seven books of poetry (and three chapbooks) and writings that deal with these themes. I will also read new work. During the hour, I will perform some songs with voice and guitar that touch upon this issue. Musical harmony is a great way to complement poetry and promote healing. These events are supported in part by Poets & Writers, thanks to a grant from the Hearst Foundations.
Mộng-Lan, poet, novelist, essayist, former Stegner Fellow at Stanford Univ, a Fulbright Scholar, winner of a Pushcart Prize, the Juniper Prize, the Great Lakes Colleges Association’s New Writers Awards for Poetry, is the author of seven books and three chapbooks, the most recent of which is the full-length collection, Dusk Aflame: poems & art, and the chapbook, Tone of Water in a Half-Filled Glass. Other books include One Thousand Minds Brimming; Song of the Cicadas; Why is the Edge Always Windy?, Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art; Tango, Tangueando: Poemas & Dibujos (the bilingual Spanish-English edition); Love Poem to Tofu & Other Poems (poetry & calligraphic art, chapbook); Love Poem to Ginger & Other Poems: poetry & paintings (chapbook); Force of the Heart: Tango, Art. Mộng-Lan’s poetry has been nationally and internationally anthologized to include being in Best American Poetry; The Pushcart Book of Poetry: Best Poems from 30 Years of the Pushcart Prize; Asian American Poetry: the Next Generation; Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond (Norton); and has appeared in journals such Kenyon Review, The Iowa Review, and North American Review. Mộng-Lan received her Master of Fine Arts from the Univ of Arizona. Also a dancer, painter, photographer, musician, composer and singer, she left her native Viet Nam on the last day of the evacuation of Sai Gon. Mộng-Lan has read and performed her poetry and music on many stages.