Past Events
Pushkar Sharma & Cihan Kaan
Long overdue is our salute to Sikh Americans’ contributions to stand-up comedy and spoken word. Jen Kwok and Ed Lin host a night of levity and healing on the inauspicious 9/11. Polish off your jokes and rhymes to join the open mic roll call and showcase your talents. Harnessing socially-conscious...
September 11, 2012
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street
New York New York 10001
110-112 West 27th Street
New York New York 10001
Ed Lin
It's easy to bat around issues about character, plot, point of view, description, dialogue, setting, pacing, voice and theme (whew!) in terms of writing. But Ed Lin promises to spend as little time as possible talking about those concepts. Lin believes writing is akin to playing a musical instrument that...
September 10, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 W. 27 Street, Ste. 600
New York NY 10001
110-112 W. 27 Street, Ste. 600
New York NY 10001
Gina Apostol & Sabina Murray
Gina Apostol and Sabina Murray, two storytellers, whose works are steeped in history and its fractured retellings, will discuss latest projects, rewriting the past, and stumbling upon new worlds and the same old imperial ones. Join us for a dual reading, where Apostol and Murray will pick each other’s brain...
September 6, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
Hua Hsu
What do MIA, Adam Yauch, Jay Electronica, Christian Hosoi, Rondo, and the Kardashians all have in common? Grantland staff writer and Atlantic magazine regular Hua Hsu has written incisive criticism about all of them. Want to learn to write about your favorite (or most hated) cultural icons? This three-session course...
August 14, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
Ed Park, Marissa Lichwick, Henry Chang, Elahe Izadi, & Gibran Saleem
Ed Lin and Jen Kwok are back with an All-Stars Edition of Mouth to Mouth Open Mic! For one night only, we’re bringing you the best of the best—so spectacular that open mic slots are only available by lottery! Will you be the lucky winner of one of the five...
August 10, 2012
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
Pauline Chen, Don Lee & Aimee Phan
Spanning 1980s Midwest to imperial court China, our second installment of Bricolage—a salon-style multimedia show-n-tell—takes us into the brilliant minds of novelists on journeys of recovery. American Book Award-winner Don Lee’s The Collective is a gripping tale of friendship, loss, and the “melancholy burden of unfulfilled dreams” (Publishers’ Weekly). After...
July 26, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
Ashok Kondabolu of Das Racist, Julio Salgado, Ishle Park, Christina Xu & Tao Lin
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is launching three new magazines about race and immigration. We’re having a free party (with RSVP) at projective space in Chinatown to celebrate on June 28th with Ashok Kondabolu of Art Core Hip Hop Trio Das Racist, Julio Salgado, Tao Lin, Cognac Cocktails, Tiger Beer, and art swag tote bags by artist Tania Bruguera of Immigrant Movement International.
June 28, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Projective Space
72 Allen Street (@ Grand) Third Floor
New York New York 10002
72 Allen Street (@ Grand) Third Floor
New York New York 10002
Tania James, Rajesh Parameswaran, Xu Xi
A lonely spinster marries a ghost. A live-at-home son writes dispatches from his basement. A laid-off techie tries his hand at doctoring day laborers without a license. These are the tales of antiheroes, itinerant workers and gender refugees in Tania James, Rajesh Parameswaran, and Xu Xi’s newest short story collections.
June 21, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 10001
Alexander Chee
Have you tried to write a novel and found yourself paralyzed by the task? Are you unmotivated, or aimless in your literary pursuit? In this class, we’ll go over some of the basic steps, approaches, and methods for the beginning of novels and their drafting, how to organize your life differently, approaches to plotting and structure, how to work with an outline, and how to know when to drop your outline.
June 18, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 1000
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor Between 6th and 7th Avenues Buzzer 600
New York New York 1000
Tania Bruguera
We want you to help celebrate our launch by posting photos of your immigrant parents and grandparents to Twitter--or anyone else in your family!--along with a short narrative tweet that will tell us what the person in the picture meant to you. Vijay Prashad
Why did Indian Americans, wearing turbans and carrying the Indian republic flag, march in New York’s St Patrick’s Day parade in 1920? What’s the connection between the Israel lobby in the US and the rise of the Hindu lobby? And how did multiculturalism facilitate the growth of rightist Hindu groups on US college campuses? Vijay Prashad’s takes on these questions in his latest book Uncle Swami: South Asians in America Today. Jeff Yang & Trevor Zhou
Leave your dancing monkey at home and meet Spike Lee/Jonah Hill collaborator Trevor Zhou and Mr. Asian America, Jeff Yang of The Wall Street Journal. Trevor is the face of Verizon FiOS and starring in Spike Lee's The Girl is in Trouble and the upcoming 20th Century Fox feature The...
June 1, 2012
8:00 PM
8:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street
New York NY 10001
110-112 West 27th Street
New York NY 10001
Nora Chau & Cihan Kaan
Take a load off and join special guests Nora Chau and Cihan Kaan at our next rib-tickling Mouth to Mouth event. Nora Chau- Ma-Yi Writer's Lab member and ABC/Disney New Talent Screenwriting grant recipient- will mystify you with her unique brand of vaudevillian storytelling 'til your jaw drops and your eyes bulge. Award-winning video artist and...
May 18, 2012
8:00 PM
8:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York NY
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York NY
Cathy Park Hong, Young Jean Lee, & Monica Youn
Join us for our inaugural edition of Bricolage, our salon-style multimedia show-n-tell, where your favorite authors and artists present the images that have been haunting their writing. We have an incredible line-up of critically-acclaimed artists to kick off the first Bricolage. You’ll be serenaded by cowboy ballads, nostalgic for beloved...
May 14, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
Ed Lin & Cindy Cheung
Join us for our first ever husband-and-wife reading to celebrate the release of One Red Bastard, the novel. Ed Lin's sequel to the highly acclaimed Snakes Can’t Run and the latest installment of the Robert Chow series about the travails of a Chinatown beat cop in 1976 New York City....
May 12, 2012
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
Favianna Rodriguez, Jeff Chang, Daniel Alarcón, Laughter Against the Machine, & Others
CultureStrike coordinator Favianna Rodriguez teams up with other creative minds for UndocuNation: An Artistic Response to the Immigration Crisis. With talks, food, revelry and rabble-rousing, the event offers “an evening of culture jamming, visual art, and performances addressing the devastating consequences of our country’s broken immigration system.” Sponsored by CultureStrike,...
May 3, 2012
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission St (Mission & 3rd )
San Francisco California
701 Mission St (Mission & 3rd )
San Francisco California
Tan Lin, Pamela Lu, Sueyeun Juliette Lee, Dorothy Wang, and Lucy Ives
Join us for a night of ambient poetics with three experimental writers who probe the relationship between art-making and found technologies from parking garage reverberations to the neon glow of TV broadcasts. Treat your ears to Tan Lin’s Insomnia and the Aunt, Pamela Lu’s Ambient Parking Lot, and Sueyeun Juliette...
April 27, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
Mirza Waheed, Angana P. Chatterji, & Kanishka Raja
Once known for its majestic snow-capped Himalayas, Kashmir now hosts a militarized hotbed of insurgency and conflict between India, Pakistan, and China. Join us for an inter-disciplinary dialogue between three guests whose work shed light on Kashmir’s complex identity. You’ll hear stories of pre-partition India, lyrical accounts of village life,...
April 21, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
Negin Farsad, Jen Kwok, & Sheng Wang
Come join us for an Asian American all-star comedy festival! AAWW favorite Jen Kwok, the velvety voice that brought you Date an Asian and Ballad of the Tiger Mom, will bring her ukulele and extraordinary talent. Relish the sharp stylings of Sheng Wang, who won top honors at NBC Universal's...
April 19, 2012
6:30 PM
6:30 PM
Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, Queens College
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing New York 10001
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing New York 10001
Robert Casper, Ken Chen, Mya Spalter, Patrick Ryan, and Sarah LaPolla
A discussion with Robert Casper, Ken Chen, Mya Spalter, Patrick Ryan, and Sarah LaPolla. Robert Casper is the head of the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. He is also publisher of the literary magazine, jubilat, and co-founder of the jubilat/Jones Reading Series in Amherst, Massachusetts. Ken...
April 16, 2012
6:30 PM
6:30 PM
Wollman Hall, Eugene Lang Building (The New School)
65 West 11th Street, 5th Floor
New York New York
65 West 11th Street, 5th Floor
New York New York
Chris Grace and ManSee Kong
We know- we can't believe it's time for another one of our lavishly funny Open Mics! This month we are delighted to host talented singer/songwriter Chris Grace as well as sassy documentarian ManSee Kong. Chris's seductive vocals will knock you flat and ManSee Kong’s sharp chops will glue you to...
April 13, 2012
8:00 PM
8:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 1001
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 1001
Krys Lee & Alexander Chee
Krys Lee’s debut short story collection, Drifting House, explores the heartbreaking forgings of Korean identity in the wake of war and economic collapse. Haunted by their tragic past, Lee’s cast of characters include a spurned wife who seeks to rescue her kidnapped daughter in America and a tenant who believes...
April 9, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor
New York New York
112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor
New York New York
Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Tamiko Beyer, Robin Coste Lewis, & Metta Sama
Join us for our sixth annual collaboration between Asian American Writers' Workshop and Cave Canem featuring the dynamic talent from four all-star female poets! Winner of two American Book Awards, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge molds language with her keen sensibility for visual art. Characteristic of her style is a lush mix of...
April 5, 2012
6:30 PM
6:30 PM
Cave Canem
20 Jay Street, Suite 310-A
Brooklyn NY 11201
20 Jay Street, Suite 310-A
Brooklyn NY 11201
Lysley Tenorio & Nita Noveno
Join us in celebration of Lysley Tenorio's Monstress, a dazzling debut short-story collection featuring lepers, healers, and celebrities going incognito. Monstress alternates between the Philippines and San Francisco, where we encounter a Filipino B-movie horror actress from the 1960s striving for chance at stardom, a transgender sibling’s revelation at his...
April 4, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
New York New York 10001
Sophia Chang, Carolina González, dream hampton, Vijay Prashad, Rinku Sen, John Kuo-Wei Tchen
DJ hit replay! Or shall we manually rewind this nostalgic cassette tape with a discerning finger to your favorite awkward 1990s multiculti blunders? The '90s gave us “Sister Souljah moments,” the OJ Simpson hearings, the rise of xenophobic legislation (Prop 187 and 209), and homophobic punditry on national television (Jerry... Ken Chen, Jennifer Karmin, Philip Metres, Mark Nowak, & Jonathan Skinner
How can poets mobilize poetry as a change agent? These poets demonstrate the ways that the arts can contribute to the defense of the environment, workers, and oppose war. Philip Metres will discuss the ways in which projects such as Peace Show (Cleveland) and the “Stories of War and Peace...
March 22, 2012
11:30 AM
11:30 AM
Split This Rock
True Reformer Building, Board Room, 1200 U Street NW
Washington, D.C.
True Reformer Building, Board Room, 1200 U Street NW
Washington, D.C.
Lisa Arrastia, Paul Beatty, Anne Chang, Eddie Huang, Nicholas Lemann, & Wesley Yang
We all think we know the answer to this question--Asians are not black, right? But in the nineteenth century, one California court actually determined that Chinese Americans were black--since they were not, after all, white. This panel--titled after Janine Young Kim’s seminal essay, itself a ‘90s product--discusses how Asians and...
March 21, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Museum of Chinese in America
215 Centre Street
New York New York
215 Centre Street
New York New York
Kazembe Balagun, Elizabeth Mendez Berry, Jeff Chang, Hua Hsu, Hiram Perez, Jay Smooth, & Salamishah Tillet
Two decades ago, Rodney King famously asked, “Why can’t we all just get along?” The question might as well have served as the defining question of the multicultural moment, in which the US attempted to dream about what a pluralistic society would look like--from GOP Family Values to the black...
March 16, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art
80 Hanson Place
Brooklyn New York
80 Hanson Place
Brooklyn New York
Thanhha Lai
Torn between poetry and fiction? Wandering in a world of metaphors and similes? Aching to capture your family's stories, but just can't make it "write"? Join us and National Book Award winner Thanhha Lai, for an in depth look at prose poetry. Lai is the author of Inside Out and...
March 9, 2012
4:00 PM
4:00 PM
Teachers and Writers Collaborative
520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2020
New York New York 10018
520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2020
New York New York 10018
Dan Charnas, Christian Lander, David Roediger, Reihan Salam, Neela Vaswani, Jamia Wilson, Negin Farsad
Titled after Don DeLillo’s White Noise, in which identity politics reaches its reductio ad absurdum in a Hitler Studies department, our second AFTER 1989 installment explores the curious phenomenon of white ethnic identity in the 1990s. Think back to a time when Bill Clinton was called the “first African American...
March 8, 2012
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
CUNY Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium
365 5th Avenue
New York New York
365 5th Avenue
New York New York