Kundiman is thrilled to be joining Lit Crawl: Seattle this year! Come hear the diverse and empowered voices of some of the finest Asian American poetry and prose writers in the PNW. This reading is part of Claiming Space, a 4Culture project to lift the voices of writers of color, and features Kundiman poets Neil Aitken, Jordan Alam, Kalehua Kim, and Troy Osaki
Also, be sure to check out the reading on Facebook!
ABOUT THE WRITERS
Neil Aitken is the author of Babbage’s Dream (Sundress Publications, 2017) and The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga Press, 2008), winner of the Philip Levine Prize. Of Chinese, Scottish, and English descent, he was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and grew up in Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and various parts of western Canada. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Adroit Journal, American Literary Review, The Collagist, Crab Orchard Review, Ninth Letter, Southern Poetry Review, and elsewhere. A former computer programmer and a proud Kundiman fellow, he is the founding editor of Boxcar Poetry Review, administrator of Have Book Will Travel, and co-director of De-Canon: A Visibility Project. He also translates contemporary Chinese poetry and serves on the editorial board of Poetry East West, an international journal of bilingual translation. After spending many years working and studying in southern California, he now lives and teaches just outside Portland, Oregon.
Jordan Alam is a writer, editor, doula, and social change educator based out of south Seattle. Her short stories and articles have appeared in The Atlantic, CultureStrike Magazine, The Rumpus, and AAWW’s The Margins; she has spoken at events including the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Eyes on Bangladesh exhibition. She is currently writing a debut novel about three Bangladeshi American daughters whose family secrets begin to unravel in the aftermath of their mother's death. Find more about her work at her website, jordanalam.com.
Kalehua Kim is a poet living in the Seattle area. Born of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Portuguese descent, her multicultural background informs much of her work. Her poems have appeared in Calyx Journal and ‘Oiwi, A Native Hawaiian Journal. She recently completed the chapbook, “Beetmilk.”
Troy Osaki is a Filipino Japanese American poet, community organizer, and law graduate. He is the recipient of a Kundiman fellowship and a Youth Speaks Seattle alum and mentor. He earned his Juris Doctor degree at the Seattle University School of Law and has worked with court-involved and incarcerated youth to develop creative writing skills, gain communities of support, and obtain court-related benefits. Troy believes in building community power in order to achieve social change from the bottom up. He writes in hopes to build a safe and just place to live in by reimagining the world through poetry.