Poet Ka Vang Performs 'Extraordinary Hmong'
Poet and spoken word artist Ka Vang was born at the secret CIA military base in Laos, Long Cheng, at the end of the Vietnam War. She immigrated to the Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul, MN in 1980 when she was just five years old.
Here, Vang performs her spoken word piece Extraordinary Hmong and talks about the importance of keeping Hmong traditions alive.
Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Song Poet and The Latehomecomer, reflects on her Hmong roots and how her heritage has shaped her writing in this story from the event series, Art Is...
Trained by the great Hmong song poets of his time, Kao Kalia Yang's father, Bee Yang, reflects on the theme of Arts Is... Our Call for Peace: "If there are good things that emerge from wars at all, then it is us, those who’ve survived to dream of more peaceful possibilities."
Perhaps you've seen her mural work in Saint Paul. Perhaps you've seen her sketching fresh ingredients popular at Hmongtown Marketplace. Either way, get to know artist Xee Reiter in this story from the event series Art Is...