As 2016 is upon us, so is the official birthday of LLOTP’s editor-poet-community-advocate-extraordinaire, Bryan Thao Worra. For the past 20 years, Bryan has highlighted the Lao American experience and social issues of the community through his nuanced craft of words. To celebrate, we offer you a treat from his 2009 book of poems, Tanon Sai Jai. Happiest birthday, B!
April is here. 40 years of Lao Diaspora journeys fill the limited pages and portraits in snippets of fragmented memories. Shoutout to our fellow Southeast Asians holding down their own commemoration events across the nation. My hands are raw from fresh paper cuts scrambling to share collected stories of my people. Full conversations with passerbys. “Oh, I grew up during the Vietnam War” “Did you know about Laos too?” “Um. Where?” I’m exhausted. Let the exhibit speak. Sneak peek: If you missed the first run of “Refuge of the InvisibLao” exhibit, catch the ‘limited’ version of the exhibit. Share your thoughts and reflections. Opening reception with stories and refreshments Friday, April 3rd from 2:00-5:00pm. Exhibit runs through May 31st, 2015 at Brookdale Public Library located on 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430. See you there. -Chanida Phaengdara Potter, editor@littlelaos.org
Little Laos on the Prairie 