If you’re looking for more books to add to your reading list, Badger writers will always have you covered. This collection from alumni and faculty authors honors APIDA Heritage Month and explores issues of Asian American identity and belonging in the United States. Read autobiographical accounts of perilous journeys to America, discussions of fitting in — or not — through food and literature, and poems about home countries left behind.
If you’d like to see more books by Badgers, check out WAA’s Goodreads Bookshelf. And if you’d like to add your own published piece, let us know!
Pao Lor PhD’01 lost his village and his parents to the Communist regime that seized control of Laos following the Vietnam War. Read about his childhood journey as a Hmong refugee in Thailand and the challenges he ultimately overcame in the United States.
Monsoon Daughter by Mandy Moe Pwint Tu
In this short series of poems, Mandy Moe Pwint Tu MFA’24 reminisces about her native Myanmar, reflects on its current political state, and explores the power of a family’s collective memory.
Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir by Beth Nguyen
UW creative writing professor Beth Nguyen was made a Vietnam War refugee at only eight months old. In this memoir, she reflects on her Midwestern upbringing, her estranged relationship with her mother (who stayed behind in Saigon), and Nguyen’s own experience as a parent.
Organs of Little Importance by Adrienne Chung
Adrienne Chung MFA’22’s debut poetry collection plays with Darwinian and Jungian concepts as she explores the psychology of useless but persistent memories and personal quirks.
Intimate Eating: Racialized Spaces and Radical Futures by Anita Mannur
In this food-focused discussion of belonging and oppression, Anita Mannur ’96 explores how marginalized communities can defy narratives and build relationships through the culinary arts.
