Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA) Presents

Where We Come From

Writing Workshops: Sat., July 29, 2017; 9:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.

FREE - Open to All

Middlesex Community College
50 Kearney Square
Federal Building: Assembly Room
Lowell, MA 01852

Parents, bring your children!

Breakout Groups:

Children (ages 5 - 11)
Adolescents (ages 12 - 17)
Adults (ages 18 and over)

Workshop Instructors:

Peuo Tuy, Sokunthary Svay, Tararith Kho

Workshop Description:
Writing workshops will explore the roles of our cultural heritage, whether Khmer/Cambodian or other, and its relation to personal identity. Workshops will vary by instructor, using different writing exercises.

Visit us on Facebook: CALAAssociation

LIMITED SPACE. REGISTRATION REQUIRED VIA EVENTBRITE (Here)

OR CONTACT: PEUOTUY@GMAIL.COM / 917.744.6815

(please indicate age group for workshop)
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED

Sponsored by Global Education of Middlesex Community College and co-sponsored by UMass Lowell Center for Asian American Studies. The Center for Asian American Studies at UMass Lowell is affiliated with the 2017 Southeast Asian American Studies Conference (SEAAS).

Biographies for Workshop Instructors:

Peuo Tuy is a spoken word poet and writer. Her poetry collection, Khmer Girl, is inspired by the traumas of her life, including escaping the killing fields of her native Cambodia and enduring the inequities of life as an immigrant in the United States. Peuo’s spoken word performances have been featured in video projects, including “Futurographies: Cambodia-USA-France,” a multi-media exhibition that travelled to Cambodia and France in 2016. She was one of the original members of Urbintel's HerStory cast, whose performances were filmed and performed live at East Coast venues from Massachusetts to North Carolina. She has appeared at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Bowery Poetry Club, Harlem Book Fair, The Big Read/Miami Book Fair, and the New York Foundation for the Arts as well as various colleges, universities, junior high schools and high schools. For people of all ages, she conducts writing and self-empowerment workshops that focus on peace, compassion, and overcoming adversity in difficult times. Peuo is currently working on a Young Adult Fiction Fantasy novel and a spoken word music video documentary called, "Refugee Voices." She is one of the founding members of the new Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA).

Sokunthary Svay is a Pushcart-nominated Khmer writer and musician from the Bronx, New York. She and her family were refugees from Cambodia who survived the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. She is the poetry editor for Newtown Literary. A founding member of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA), her work has been published internationally in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, London and Australia. Svay was a subject inNew York Magazine’s “Living in a Sanctuary City” portfolio and featured in the New York Immigration Coalition’s This is Our NY, broadcast in Times Square. Additional writing credits include Homelands:Women’s Journeys Across Race, Place and Time, LONTAR: Jour nal for Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, FLESH, Prairie Schooner,Women’s Studies Quarterly, Blue Lyra Review and Mekong Review. She is a past Willow Arts Alliance Residency Fellow and a recipient of the First Friday Residency at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning.

TARARITH KHO is a Cambodian author and poet, who have been working earnestly to revive Cambodian literature by establishing two literary associations in Cambodia: Nou Hach Journal and Sower Association. He is also a founder of PEN Cambodia. Kho Tararith got a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Royal University of Phnom Penh (1999) and a Master's Degree in political science from Chomreoun Poly-technique University in Phnom Penh (2004), Cambodia. Over the years, Kho Tararith was working as a writer and media reporter for a local radio station and producing some substantial literary works including Ashamed (2012), Red Print (2010), Regretful (2009), Khmer Nigeria (Poetry collection, 2011), The Cage (a poem, 2008), Culture Shouldn’t Stay Alone (2006), Lesson of Life (1998). In recent years, Kho Tararith has been awarded a literary scholarship as a fellow at Brown University and then Harvard University. He is one of the founding members of the new Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA). Mr. Kho Tararith can be reached by email: khmerlite@gmail.com.

FAQs

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?

Yes. We are accepting partcipants from five-years-old and up. Writing Workshops are specified in age groups:

1. Children (ages 5 to 11)

2. Adolescents (ages 12 to 17)

3. Adults (ages 18 and up)

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

Here’s the link to parking: https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/transportation/parking/lparkmap.aspx

You should be able to park in the lot in front of the building and there is also on-street and garage parking nearby.

UPDATED DETAILS ON PARKING AND PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE LOWELL FOLK FESTIVAL. THERE WILL BE STREET CLOSURES.

NOTE: We want all of you to know that the writing workshops are also on the weekend of the Lowell Folk Festival, so parking is going to be challenging, not to mention it will be very busy; some streets maybe closed. Please be prepared for street closures.

There is plenty of street parking around Middlesex Community College (MCC) and hopefully it's not all taken up by those attending the festival. I recommend coming early. The Federal Building (50 Kearney Sq., Lowell, MA) will be opening at 8am, for those who wants to come early. There will be a big bright yellow sign/flyer on an easel outside of the Federal Building letting you know you have arrived at your destination. Some of our volunteers will be there between 8am - 830am.

Some of the places you can park are (they are walking distances to MCC's Federal Building) :
1. Davidson Lot - 15 Davidson St, Lowell, MA 01852
2. MCC Parking Lot - in front of the MCC Cowan Building; 33 Kearney Sq. Lowell, MA; across the street from MCC's Federal Building
3. UMass Lowell's (Inn and Conference Center Hotel building) Garage Parking Lot - 50 Warren St. Lowell, MA.

What can I bring into the event?

You may bring your own pens/pencils or writing utensils, notebooks or loose leaf papers. We will provide loose leaf papers and pens/pencils.

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

No, you do not have to bring your printed ticket to the event. We are putting a cap on the workshops - twenty participants for each age group.

Is it ok if the name on my ticket or registration doesn't match the person who attends?

Yes.