Mong-Lan
Encyclopedia
Mong Lan is a Vietnamese
-born American
poet, writer, painter, photographer and Argentine tango dancer and educator.
, Mong-Lan left her native Vietnam
on the last day of evacuation of Saigon
.
Mong-Lan's first book of poems, Song of the Cicadas (University of Massachusetts
Press, 2001) won the Juniper Prize, the Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writers Awards for Poetry, and was a finalist for the Poetry Society of America
's Norma Farber First Book Award. Her other collections of poetry include Why is the Edge Always Windy?; Love Poem to Tofu & Other Poems; and Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art.
She received her Master of Fine Arts
degree from the University of Arizona
, was the recipient of a Wallace E. Stegner Fellowship in poetry for two years at Stanford University
, and was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam. Her poetry has been anthologized in Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize Anthology: Best Poems from 30 Years of the Pushcart Prize," Making More Waves: New Writing by Asian American Women; Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry and Prose; and Asian American Anthology—The Next Generation; and has appeared in numerous leading American literary journals such as The Kenyon Review, The Antioch Review, and the North American Review.
Her paintings and photographs have been exhibited for one year in the Capitol House in Washington D.C., for six months at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
, in galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area
, and in public exhibitions in Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, and Bali.
Mong-Lan has read her poetry and presented her artworks at many universities and festivals/workshops in a number of countries to include Buenos Aires, Argentina; the World Poetry Festival in Heidelberg
, Germany
; Lavigny, Switzerland
; Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, Japan
; and in the U.S. to include: Harvard University
, Stanford University
, San Francisco State University
, University of Nevada
, VA Festival of the Book, University of Maryland University College
, SUNY Purchase, Kenyon College
, DePauw University
, Hope College
, the Asia Society in NYC, and the Poetry Society of America
's Festival for New Poets. She has taught at the University of Arizona
, Stanford University
, the Dallas Museum of Art, the San Diego State University
Writers' Conference and currently teaches in the Asian Division of the University of Maryland University College
in Tokyo, Japan.
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet, writer, painter, photographer and Argentine tango dancer and educator.
Life
Born in Saigon, South VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, Mong-Lan left her native Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
on the last day of evacuation of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
.
Career
Of her poetry, Robert Creeley has commented, "Mông-Lan is a remarkably accomplished poet. Always her poems are deft, extremely graceful in the way words move, and in the cadence that carries them. One is moved by the articulate character of ‘things seen,’ the subtle shifting of images, and the quiet intensity of their information. Clearly she is a master of the art."Mong-Lan's first book of poems, Song of the Cicadas (University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
Press, 2001) won the Juniper Prize, the Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writers Awards for Poetry, and was a finalist for the Poetry Society of America
Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
's Norma Farber First Book Award. Her other collections of poetry include Why is the Edge Always Windy?; Love Poem to Tofu & Other Poems; and Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art.
She received her Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, was the recipient of a Wallace E. Stegner Fellowship in poetry for two years at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and was a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam. Her poetry has been anthologized in Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize Anthology: Best Poems from 30 Years of the Pushcart Prize," Making More Waves: New Writing by Asian American Women; Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry and Prose; and Asian American Anthology—The Next Generation; and has appeared in numerous leading American literary journals such as The Kenyon Review, The Antioch Review, and the North American Review.
Her paintings and photographs have been exhibited for one year in the Capitol House in Washington D.C., for six months at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston , located in Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with more than 62,000 works from six continents....
, in galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, and in public exhibitions in Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, and Bali.
Mong-Lan has read her poetry and presented her artworks at many universities and festivals/workshops in a number of countries to include Buenos Aires, Argentina; the World Poetry Festival in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
; Lavigny, Switzerland
Lavigny, Vaud
Lavigny is a municipality in the district of Morges of the canton of Vaud, Switzerland.-Geography:Lavigny has an area, , of . Of this area, or 81.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 5.0% is forested...
; Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
; and in the U.S. to include: Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
, VA Festival of the Book, University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland University College
The University of Maryland University College is located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, UMUC is the largest 4-year public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance learning...
, SUNY Purchase, Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
, DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
, Hope College
Hope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
, the Asia Society in NYC, and the Poetry Society of America
Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
's Festival for New Poets. She has taught at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, the Dallas Museum of Art, the San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
Writers' Conference and currently teaches in the Asian Division of the University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland University College
The University of Maryland University College is located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, UMUC is the largest 4-year public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance learning...
in Tokyo, Japan.
Books
- Song of the Cicadas ( Juniper Prize)
- Why is the Edge Always Windy?
- Love Poem to Tofu & Other Poems (chapbook of poetry & artwork)
- Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art
- "Tango, Tangueando: Poemas & Dibujos" (Spanish-English bilingual edition)
Honors
- Juniper Prize, for Song of the Cicadas
- Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writers Awards for Poetry, for Song of the Cicadas
- Poetry Society of AmericaPoetry Society of AmericaThe Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
's Norma Farber First Book Award, Finalist, for Song of the Cicadas - Pushcart Prize, inclusion in Pushcart Book of Poetry: Best Poems from 30 Years of the Pushcart Prize, 2006.
- Inaugural Visual Artist and Poet in Resident at the Dallas Museum of Art, through a National Endowment for the Arts Grant.
- Fulbright Fellow to Vietnam
- Wallace E. Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University for two years