Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Join us for an exciting celebration of Bangladesh Victory Day! This vibrant event will feature an evening filled with music, poetry, and stand-up comedy. Enjoy English and Bengali music presented by Royal Bengal Tea House, followed by laughter and an after-party with some of the funniest Bangladeshi comedians in New York City! Celebrate all things … Read more
Russell C. Leong, poet and editor, will read from his 2015 illustrated graphic poem, MothSutra, based on his living and working Manhattan’s Chinatown and the Bowery, and his study of Buddhism.
For this volume, noted translator Keming Liu selected one hundred poems, chiefly representing poet Zhang Lian’s multifaceted perceptions of his world at dusk, when farmer and shepherd are blessed with a moment to daydream.
Part historical imagining of Japan’s so-called “comfort women” during World War II, part personal claiming of her own experiences with immigration and motherhood, and part exploration of identity across two languages, The War Still Within weaves together two cultures and gives voice to generations of Korean and Korean-American women.
Skyler Chin will present on Illegal, a poetry-rap-rock musical based on his grandfather’s immigration documents from when he was detained on Angel Island in 1923. The lyrics are inspired by poetry carved into the walls by Chinese Angel Island detainees. Chin wrote Illegal to give voice to Asian Americans like his grandfather whose stories had been left out of history, and to convey the fighting spirit of the people who began to define what it takes to become American.