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How Do I Begin?: A Hmong American Literary Anthology

Bryan Thao Worra

4.1/5 ( ratings)

Hmong history and culture can be found in the form of oral stories, oral poetry, textile art, and music but there is no written account of Hmong life, by a Hmong hand, passed down through the centuries. As an undergraduate, Burlee Vang experienced this void when he received valuable advice from his English professor: "Write about your people. That story has not been told. If you don't, who will?"

How Do I Begin? is the struggle to preserve on paper the Hmong American experience. In this anthology, readers will find elaborate soul-calling ceremonies, a woman questioning the seeming tyranny of her parents and future in-laws, the temptation of gangs and drugs, and the shame and embarrassment of being different in a culture that obsessively values homogeneity. Some pieces revisit the ghosts of war. Others lament the loss of a country. Many offer glimpses into intergenerational tensions exacerbated by the differences in Hmong and American culture.

Language: English

Pages: 201

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Heyday Books

Release: September 16, 2011

ISBN: 159714150X

ISBN 13: 9781597141505

How Do I Begin?: A Hmong American Literary Anthology

Bryan Thao Worra

4.1/5 ( ratings)

Hmong history and culture can be found in the form of oral stories, oral poetry, textile art, and music but there is no written account of Hmong life, by a Hmong hand, passed down through the centuries. As an undergraduate, Burlee Vang experienced this void when he received valuable advice from his English professor: "Write about your people. That story has not been told. If you don't, who will?"

How Do I Begin? is the struggle to preserve on paper the Hmong American experience. In this anthology, readers will find elaborate soul-calling ceremonies, a woman questioning the seeming tyranny of her parents and future in-laws, the temptation of gangs and drugs, and the shame and embarrassment of being different in a culture that obsessively values homogeneity. Some pieces revisit the ghosts of war. Others lament the loss of a country. Many offer glimpses into intergenerational tensions exacerbated by the differences in Hmong and American culture.

Language: English

Pages: 201

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Heyday Books

Release: September 16, 2011

ISBN: 159714150X

ISBN 13: 9781597141505

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