Mong-Lan's poems beautifully reflect the
displacement
of her life and that of countless others with similar
refugee experiences. Born in Vietnam, along with her
family, she left her beloved Saigon one day before its evacuation. Having been educated in the
United States, she returned to Vietnam for the first time in 1995. She
traveled from north to south, Hanoi to Ha Tien. The journeys
she depicts in poetry are long and winding, the words,
terse and spare. Her poems often deal with the
struggle of constructing an identity for
oneself through language, using language to sift
through and sculpt the layers of being and
consciousness. She writes of the new Vietnam, after
it opened its doors to the world in the '90s: Hanoi,
the capital, and Saigon, or officially called Ho Chi
Minh City. Whether writing of the war or of love, she sings directly
to heart. Her later extended experiences from living and traveling in numerous countries such as Mexico,
France, Switzerland, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan
form the fabric from which many of her poems draw
lyrical and artistic inspiration. Her latest books, Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art (and the bilingual Spanish / English edition, Tango, Tangueando: Poemas & Dibujos) reveal and illuminate her love of the Argentine tango.
Mong-Lan reading at the footsteps of Borobudur, Indonesia, at the Utan Kayu International Literary Biennale, 2007
this age our era i
can correctly say this an era of exile
this satiny desert
on this trail of a
thousand years there is us amidst misfits & assiduous trees
. . . .
what is the remedy for momentum for
mania a deciduous heart?
loitering now i
speak of nothing no ideas just vietnam motherland inside us
& between us the air arizona sun magnanimous
accepting everything
From "Trail,"Why is the Edge Always Windy?, Tupelo Press, 2005.
Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art
Pen & Ink Drawings of Tango dancers and poetry by Mong-Lan
Valiant Press, Spring 2008
Available in major bookstores and at Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-0-6151-8800-3
Welcome to the tango, sensual, elusive and alluring. Mong-Lan’s award-winning poetry and elegant pen & ink drawings reflect and reveal her love of the Argentine tango.
"A mesmerizing accomplishment - four voices at their climax: the dance, if we can call it that, the physics of being, the history and manual of dark beauty and the voleos of line, ink, stanza and voice, layers of loss, desire and the body in ecstatic explosions. Three drops of Lorca, one tincture of María Luisa Bombal and a full vasija of Mong-Lan, a masterpiece, señores y señoras. A mathematics of fire."
-- Juan Felipe Herrera
Love Poem to Tofu & Other Poems
Chapbook of poetry & calligraphic art by Mong-Lan
Valiant Press, September, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0-6151-4656-0
Purchase the book now at your bookseller or at Amazon.com
In this highly unusual chapbook, memorable poetry and beautiful calligraphic art are married to exquisite tastes. One immediately identifies with Mong-Lan’s poems, while with her calligraphic art, one wishes to linger. And, the tastes remain, even after the pages are closed. Whether Mong-Lan is singing of her love to food or writing of Southeast Asia (particularly Vietnam and Thailand), her poetry is quick-witted, humorous, vibrant , intoxicating and worldly. One sips the words slowly, imbibes to smell, not only to taste; then to devour wholeheartedly of what the soul sings.
2009 Buenos Aires International Book Fair -- La Fería del libro de Buenos Aires: Mong-Lan reads from Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art in English and Spanish. Invited by the American Embassy in Buenos Aires.
Mong-Lan reads her poetry at the San Francisco International Poetry Festival, 2008. Sponsored by
the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and DVAN (Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network)
Utan Kayu International Literary Biennale at the foot of the spectacular temple, Borobudur, in Central Java, Indonesia, 2007. Mong-Lan reads from her poetry, 10 minutes.
Buenos Aires International Book Fair, (La Feria del libro de Buenos Aires), American Embassy Stand, May 2008. Mong-Lan reads from her Spanish translation of her latest work, Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art. 10 minutes.
Charlottesville, Virginia, 2006. Mong-Lan reads from Song of the Cicadas, the poem, "The Golden Gate Bridge," 5 minutes.
Please respect the fact
that all artwork and writing (except where indicated) and poetry on this website
are copyrighted by Mong-Lan. It may not be stored, displayed, published,
reproduced, without her written permission.
