In partnership with TC’s Kappa Delta Pi and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop we will host a read-aloud of provocative writings on Immigrants and Class. The creative work of fellows of the Asian American Writers Workshop calls to our attention different circumstances, thoughts, and experiences of Asian immigrants and how it relates to class in America. Come to hear the fellows read their pieces and join us for a Q&A afterwards.

The following pieces will be read:

Vish & Dev: Undocumented in Richmond Hill, by Rishi Nath

“He paid twenty thousand to come here. He has to work and doesn’t go to school at all.”

Searching for Soca Paradise, An Afternoon with DJ Rekha, by Rishi Nath

“The Basement Bhangra deejay revisits the neighborhood of a legendary Hollis nightclub that flourished in the 90s…Famed for championing bhangra–a unique sound that merges traditional South Asian music with hip-hop–Rekha, one of the most successful South Asian artists in the United States, has even played for President Obama in the White House.”
Mohammad Zuhoor-ul–Haqq, Spiritual Street Vendor, by Humera Afridi

“I’ve walked past Mr. Haqq’s vending stand on 74th Street in Jackson Heights more than a dozen times, tempted to chat. But on each occasion, I silently practice my opening lines and fail to deliver them, daunted by his prayer cap and upright demeanor.”

When The Butcher Cries: A Visit to an Organic Halal Slaughterhouse, by Humera Afridi

“A river of dark, red fluids frothed and pooled over drains. Men in green T-shirts scrubbed the floor with brooms as wave after wave of water washed away the sacrificial blood.”
Wal-Mart in Los Angeles Chinatown, by Sukjong Hong

“Spread out on the sidewalk in plastic bags, her vegetables are still on stems, covered with dirt, and untrimmed, smelling like a backyard’s harvest, which in fact, it is. In Manhattan, just 10 of these leaves are immobilized behind plastic wrap on a Styrofoam tray and sold for exorbitant amounts.”

Left in the Dark: Inside the Buildings of Chinatown After Hurricane Sandy, by Sukjong Hong

“Volunteering in Chinatown before the power came back on, and unable to speak Chinese except for ‘ don’t speak Chinese,” ‘I am Korean,’ and ‘I love you,’ this basic language of needs made up my script.”

Kappa Delta Pi is an international honor society in the field of education.

Persons interested in attending may rsvp via online support by Monday, April 22nd.

Light refreshments will be served.

Where: Second Floor

A Series on Community and Culture!