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Category: Asian American History

Celebrating Lunar New Year with the Library of Congress’s Collections

Posted by: Ryan Wolfson-Ford

(This post is a cross-post written by Dianne Choie, Educational Programs Specialist at the Library of Congress. It originally appeared on the blog Minerva’s Kaleidoscope.) You may have counted down to midnight on December 31st to ring in 2024, but did you know that in some parts of the world, February 10th marks the beginning …

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Lao Literature in Diaspora at 50

Posted by: Ryan Wolfson-Ford

Lao poetry in America has gone in diverse directions since the end of the Southeast Asian conflicts in the 1970s. It has served a variety of social and cultural purposes for many of the communities who were rebuilding their lives and considering their next directions. Over the last five decades, poetry has been one of the leading forms of literary expression among those with roots in Laos, including ethnic Lao, Khmu, Tai Dam, Lue, Iu Mien, and Hmong, with works composed primarily in American English but often introducing new words from their heritage, in addition to sharing their perspectives on history and traditional beliefs, myths, and their personal and collective dreams as they engaged with an America on the verge of significant cultural shifts thanks to computers and the internet. This post takes a look at some of the opportunities and challenges readers and writers alike have faced to collect and share these works.

Black and white photo of Jade Snow Wong in pottery studio

New Display at Library of Congress Highlights Jade Snow Wong

Posted by: Joshua Kueh

In conjunction with May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, a new display titled “Celebrating the Art and Literature of Jade Snow Wong (1922-2006)” is open to the public in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building until June 5, 2023. This blog introduces several display items that showcase the career of this pioneering Chinese American ceramist and author.