The Southeast Asian Diaspora in Poetry & Memoir

Join us for a reading that brings together the work of Laotian poet and dancer Krysada Phounsiri and Cambodian writer Sieu Sean Do.

Krysada Phounsiri’s debut book of poetry, Dance Among Elephants, is at turns intimate and interrogative, interested in unpacking the many layers of his family’s journey from Laos to the United States and around the world. Phounsiri is a Lao American professional dancer who has performed with the acclaimed group Jabbawockeez in Las Vegas, award winning poet, engineer, and avid photographer.

Sieu Sean Do’s memoir, A Cloak of Good Fortune, traces his coming of age from the idyllic, peaceful years of childhood in rural Cambodia through his family’s forced exile by the Khmer Rouge. Sieu Sean was born in 1963 and grew up in Kampong Speu, a rural town about fifty kilometers outside Phnom Penh.

Co-presented by Oakland Asian Cultural Center and Eastwind Books of Berkeley.

FREE, suggested donation $3-5 (no one turned away for lack of funds)