Chath PierSath
Encyclopedia
Chath Piersath, born in (Kop Nymit, Svay Sisophon District, in Battambang Province
is a noted Cambodian American
poet
, painter
and humanitarian. He creates both large and small portraits of people from his memory, often representing the social and economic disparity among Cambodians.
Chath pierSath crossed the Thai-Cambodian border in 1979 at the end of the Khmer Rouge
with members of his family to Aranyaprathet Refugee Camp. With the aid of his aunt, he, his older brother and sister emigrated to the United States in 1981, and lived first in Boulder, Colorado
. He graduated from World College West
/New College of California
, majoring in international service and development.
Much of his poetry deals with his macabre memories of the Khmer Rouge
atrocities and the massacres of the Killing Fields; his poem "A Letter to My Mother" appears in Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs of Survivors, compiled by Dith Pran
and edited by Kim DePaul. It was published by the Yale University Press
in 1997. His other work also appear in Anthologies of the Merrimack Valley Press of Lowell, Massachusetts. His recent works include "After" a book of poetry, published by Abingdon Square Publishing on 15 October 2009 and a children's book, Sinat and the Instrument of the Heart, published by Soundprints.
He returned to Cambodia
in 1994 for the first time after ten years of separation from family members and his homeland to do humanitarian work as a volunteer of the Cambodian American National Development Organization (CANDO). He was assigned to assist a local human rights organization, Human Rights Vigilance of Cambodia. He also helped an array of other local NGOs working on HIV/AIDS Prevention education and child rights issues. One of his exhibitions at the Java Cafe in Phnom Penh
and also in Bangkok, Thailand and Kunming, China addressed those living with HIV
and AIDS. He currently spends six months of the year working and living on a farm in his adopted country, the United States, and six months in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as a painter and writer.
Battambang Province
Battambang is a province in northwestern Cambodia. It is bordered to the North with Banteay Meanchey, to the West with Thailand, and to the East and South with Pursat. The capital of the province is the city of Battambang. The name, meaning 'lost staff', refers to the legend of Preah Bat Dambang...
is a noted Cambodian American
Cambodian American
A Cambodian American is an American who is born, raised, or from Cambodia usually of Khmer descent but also including Chinese Cambodians, Vietnamese Cambodians, Cham people and other ethnicities of Cambodia...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and humanitarian. He creates both large and small portraits of people from his memory, often representing the social and economic disparity among Cambodians.
Chath pierSath crossed the Thai-Cambodian border in 1979 at the end of the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
with members of his family to Aranyaprathet Refugee Camp. With the aid of his aunt, he, his older brother and sister emigrated to the United States in 1981, and lived first in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. He graduated from World College West
World College West
World College West was an undergraduate liberal arts college in Marin County, California. Founded by Dr. Richard M. Gray, it offered a program that integrated a grounding in the liberal arts with work-study and a required two-quarter "World Study" in a developing country...
/New College of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, majoring in international service and development.
Much of his poetry deals with his macabre memories of the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
atrocities and the massacres of the Killing Fields; his poem "A Letter to My Mother" appears in Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs of Survivors, compiled by Dith Pran
Dith Pran
Dith Pran was a Cambodian photojournalist best known as a refugee and survivor of the Cambodian Genocide. He was the subject of the Academy Award-winning film The Killing Fields . He was portrayed in the movie by first-time actor Haing S. Ngor , who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
and edited by Kim DePaul. It was published by the Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
in 1997. His other work also appear in Anthologies of the Merrimack Valley Press of Lowell, Massachusetts. His recent works include "After" a book of poetry, published by Abingdon Square Publishing on 15 October 2009 and a children's book, Sinat and the Instrument of the Heart, published by Soundprints.
He returned to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in 1994 for the first time after ten years of separation from family members and his homeland to do humanitarian work as a volunteer of the Cambodian American National Development Organization (CANDO). He was assigned to assist a local human rights organization, Human Rights Vigilance of Cambodia. He also helped an array of other local NGOs working on HIV/AIDS Prevention education and child rights issues. One of his exhibitions at the Java Cafe in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
and also in Bangkok, Thailand and Kunming, China addressed those living with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and AIDS. He currently spends six months of the year working and living on a farm in his adopted country, the United States, and six months in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as a painter and writer.
Publications
- After: a book of poetry, Abingdon Square Publishing, 2009
- Sinat and the Instrument of the Heart by Chath pierSath, illus. by Vann Nath and Phal Phouriseth, Southprints, 2009.
- Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists: Artists of the American Mosaic, by Kara Kelley Halllmark, Greenwood Press, 2007.
- "Poems and journal," http://ecommunity.uml.edu/bridge/reviews5/piersath/index.htm, 1997.
- "Where the Road Begins, an anthology" - Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL). Kathy Devlin, Matthew Miller, LZ Nunn and Gigi Thibodeau, eds. 2007
- "The way I want to remember my Cambodia," - The Merrimack Literary Review. Ron Rowland & Grey Water, eds. 2004
- "Inching toward acceptance," Commonwealth Magazine, June 2002
- "An Invocation for Cambodia," Prayers of a Thousand Years. Elizabeth J. Roberts and Elias Amidon, eds. 1999.
- "Letter to my mother," Children of the Killing Fields: Memoirs of survivors. Compiled by Dith Pran, edited by Kim DePaul, ed. 1994.