Poetry Book Launch w/ Anhvu Buchanan
Celebrate the book launch of Anhvu Buchanan's latest publication, "The Peeling of a Name" with an evening of poetry featuring readings by: Anhvu Buchanan, Truong Tran, Carolyn Ho, and Irman Arcibal. The event is co-sponsored by the Diasporic Vietnamese Artist Network (DVAN), San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), and Black Bird Bookstore in San Francisco.
"The Peeling of a Name" is an exploration of the idea and the power of names, what it means to grow up Asian American, what it means to be Asian American during a time in our country with so much violence and hate towards Asians and Asian Americans. It is filled with odes to Buchanan’s family, his people, his culture, his heroes and his inspirations. "The Peeling of a Name" is a love poem, an apology, and an explanation, hoping you gain a better understanding of what it means to be an Asian American in the past, present and future.
Anhvu Buchanan is the author of "The Disordered" (sunnyoutside press) and "Backhanded Compliments & Other Ways to Say I Love You" (Works on Paper Press). His latest collection "The Peeling of a Name" is released with ELJ Editions. He was the recipient of the James D. Phelan Award and also received an Individual Artists Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission. He received an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State. He currently teaches in San Francisco and can be found online at www.anhvubuchanan.com
Truong Tran was born in Saigon, Vietnam. He is the author of eight collections of poetry, a children's book, and an artist monograph. His poems have been translated into Spanish, French and Dutch. Recent books include "100 Words" (Omnidawn Spring 2021), "Book of the Other". (Kaya Press Fall 2021), and forthcoming "Looking and Seeing, Seeing and Looking" (Omnidawn 2023). He is the recipient of The American Book Award, The Poetry Center Prize, The Fund For Poetry Grant, The CA Arts Council Grant and numerous San Francisco Arts Commission Grants, and more. Truong is also a visual artist whose work has been hung at the California Historical Society, California Institute of Integral Studies, SOMArts Gallery, Telegraph Hill Gallery, Avenue 12 Gallery and The Peninsula Museum of Art. He lives in San Francisco and teaches at Northeastern, formally Mills College in Oakland.
Carolyn Ho is a Vietnamese American poet, artist, mother. She is a Kundiman fellow, William Dickey fellow, won the SF Foundation’s Phelan Award, Nomadic Press Poetry Award, and is a multiple SF Arts Commission grant recipient, among others. Her writing navigates parenthood, race, and aging. She's folded 90,000+ cranes - but the crane as a symbol is arbitrary. "SF Weekly" coined Carolyn as one of several, “Best Writers Without a Book," which haunts her to this day. Carolyn holds a BA from USF, and an MFA / MA from SF State.
Irman Arcibal is a visual artist and poet who immerses himself in the broader concepts of word, breath, and synchronicity. His work studies both macro and microscopic worlds, and his poetry is a rhythmic musical wordplay- a sensory experience. Irman Arcibal earned an MFA in Art Studio from UC Davis, and a BS in Biological Sciences from Cal Poly SLO. He studied art and poetry at Solano College. Currently he teaches art at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco.
7PM | FREE
"The Peeling of a Name" is an exploration of the idea and the power of names, what it means to grow up Asian American, what it means to be Asian American during a time in our country with so much violence and hate towards Asians and Asian Americans. It is filled with odes to Buchanan’s family, his people, his culture, his heroes and his inspirations. "The Peeling of a Name" is a love poem, an apology, and an explanation, hoping you gain a better understanding of what it means to be an Asian American in the past, present and future.
Anhvu Buchanan is the author of "The Disordered" (sunnyoutside press) and "Backhanded Compliments & Other Ways to Say I Love You" (Works on Paper Press). His latest collection "The Peeling of a Name" is released with ELJ Editions. He was the recipient of the James D. Phelan Award and also received an Individual Artists Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission. He received an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State. He currently teaches in San Francisco and can be found online at www.anhvubuchanan.com
Truong Tran was born in Saigon, Vietnam. He is the author of eight collections of poetry, a children's book, and an artist monograph. His poems have been translated into Spanish, French and Dutch. Recent books include "100 Words" (Omnidawn Spring 2021), "Book of the Other". (Kaya Press Fall 2021), and forthcoming "Looking and Seeing, Seeing and Looking" (Omnidawn 2023). He is the recipient of The American Book Award, The Poetry Center Prize, The Fund For Poetry Grant, The CA Arts Council Grant and numerous San Francisco Arts Commission Grants, and more. Truong is also a visual artist whose work has been hung at the California Historical Society, California Institute of Integral Studies, SOMArts Gallery, Telegraph Hill Gallery, Avenue 12 Gallery and The Peninsula Museum of Art. He lives in San Francisco and teaches at Northeastern, formally Mills College in Oakland.
Carolyn Ho is a Vietnamese American poet, artist, mother. She is a Kundiman fellow, William Dickey fellow, won the SF Foundation’s Phelan Award, Nomadic Press Poetry Award, and is a multiple SF Arts Commission grant recipient, among others. Her writing navigates parenthood, race, and aging. She's folded 90,000+ cranes - but the crane as a symbol is arbitrary. "SF Weekly" coined Carolyn as one of several, “Best Writers Without a Book," which haunts her to this day. Carolyn holds a BA from USF, and an MFA / MA from SF State.
Irman Arcibal is a visual artist and poet who immerses himself in the broader concepts of word, breath, and synchronicity. His work studies both macro and microscopic worlds, and his poetry is a rhythmic musical wordplay- a sensory experience. Irman Arcibal earned an MFA in Art Studio from UC Davis, and a BS in Biological Sciences from Cal Poly SLO. He studied art and poetry at Solano College. Currently he teaches art at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco.
7PM | FREE