Bamboo Among The Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans

Bamboo Among The Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans
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Of an estimated twelve million ethnic Hmong in the world, more than 160,000 live in the United States today, most of them refugees of the Vietnam War and the civil war in Laos. Their numbers make them one of the largest recent immigrant groups in our nation. Today, significant Hmong populations can be found in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan, and Colorado, and St. Paul boasts the largest concentration of Hmong residents of any city in the world.

In this groundbreaking anthology, first-and second-generation Hmong Americansâ€”the first to write creatively in Englishâ€”share their perspectives on being Hmong in America. In stories, poetry, essays, and drama, these writers address the common challenges of immigrants adapting to a new homeland: preserving ethnic identity and traditions, assimilating to and battling with the dominant culture, negotiating generational conflicts exacerbated by the clash of cultures, and developing new identities in multiracial America. Many pieces examine Hmong history and culture and the authors' experiences as Americans. Others comment on issues significant to the community: the role of women in a traditionally patriarchal culture, the effects of violence and abuse, the stories of Hmong military action in Laos during the Vietnam War. These writers don't pretend to provide a single story of the Hmong; instead, a multitude of voices emerge, some wrapped up in the past, others looking toward the future, where the notion of "Hmong American" continues to evolve.

In her introduction, editor Mai Neng Moua describes her bewilderment when she realized that anthologies of Asian American literature rarely contained even one selection by a Hmong American. In 1994, she launched a Hmong literary journal, Paj Ntaub Voice, and in the first issue asked her readers "Where are the Hmong American voices?" Now this collectionâ€”containing selections from the journal as well as new submissionsâ€”offers a chorus of voices from a vibrant and creative community of Hmong American writers from across the United States.
Country USA
Brand Borealis Books
Manufacturer Minnesota Historical Society Press
Binding Paperback
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780873514378
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Borealis Books
Manufacturer	Minnesota Historical Society Press
Binding	Paperback
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780873514378
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Bamboo Among The Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans

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