* Taking place Monday, May 18 at 5 pm EST, in person (come!) or livestreamed *
Back in 2015-2020 I worked at an arts non profit in Manhattan called the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, where asian diasporic literary figures, activists, and artists would all converge for small readings, talks, and workshops; we were all knowingly or unknowingly doing small parts to will forward an imperfect and boundless future for asian american culture and identity. If you knew me back then, I was that person in the back of the dark room quietly running sound, setting up the live stream, and occasionally popping up on stage to make sure the microphones were the right height for the readers.
Working here was one of the most formative experiences of my life. It was my political education and shaped my understanding of the world as I see it now. I learned so much about queerness, critical race theory, class solidarity, and the colonial histories of British and American imperialism; how it’s affected so much of Asia and the world. (In fact maybe I learned too much as we ended up unionizing our staff in 2018 🤷♀️ )
Since covid began and I left the organization, I’ve somewhat fallen out of touch with my literary self, trading readings and panels for raves and experimental music gatherings. Besides my personal music and film scoring, I started a residency at The Lot Radio in Greenpoint championing new and underrepresented asian diasporic music, which I titled Stray Dogs. Then I subsequently had to learn how to DJ.
