A cohort of refugee writers from Minnesota makes their debut

NINA MOINI: Over the past six months, a group of seven writers have been working together under the mentorship of local author Kao Kalia Yang. But these aren't just any writers. They're all refugees as well. Tonight, the cohort will share their work for the first time at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul. Kao Kalia Yang joins us now. Thanks for being here, Kalia.

KAO KALIA YANG: Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: And we're also thrilled to have one of the writers from the workshop, Pa Zao Vang. Thanks for being with us, Pa Zao.

PA ZAO VANG: Yes, my pleasure. Thank you.

NINA MOINI: I'm really excited to talk with you both. Let me start with you, Kalia. Tell me what inspired you to get this cohort of writers together.

KAO KALIA YANG: From the moment I became a writer, Nina, I've been fielding emails from community members, educators, saying, will you ever teach a course for refugee writers, an unapologetic course that is in concern about the traumas of war, that we engage with it sincerely and sensitively? And so this idea has been in the works for a long time, over a decade.

NINA MOINI: Wow. And one thing too that I read that you've talked about is just the importance of having so many stories, because stories are so individual.

KAO KALIA YANG: They are. They're so individual. And I think stories are the key to helping us become more understanding of each other's circumstances and realities, particularly in these fraught times.

NINA MOINI: Pa Zao, what made you want to be part of this project?

PA ZAO VANG: Well, first off, I mean, getting to be in the same room with a beautiful and intelligent award winning writer, Kalia, was inspirational enough. But essentially, it was the word refugee that captivated my interest. I don't think I've seen any specific arts or creative program geared toward refugees, and that word in itself allowed me to recognize my desperate need to put my experiences, truths, and emotions onto paper and sharing it.

NINA MOINI: Kalia, I mean, I know that's not news to you, but it's so striking to hear that. How does that make you feel to hear Pa Zao say there was nothing else that has ever been really?

KAO KALIA YANG: I am so honored to be able to teach this course. As a refugee writer myself, I understand the need. Minnesota is number one in secondary refugee resettlement in the nation. We have so many stories here. As a professor across institutions, often we say to our students, if you're going to say something that's going to traumatize somebody else, then you have to offer a trigger warning. But I wanted my writers to be able to write unapologetically from where they're positioned. And so it's an incredibly humbling experience to work with these seven writers, Pa Zao among them.

NINA MOINI: Pa Zao, what do you think about that? Just writing about traumatic experiences and writing completely unapologetically? What does that mean for you?

PA ZAO VANG: You know, I think it means trying to get people to understand us, about the refugee community. I wish people understand that refugee communities are not defined just only by our trauma, but we're also full of strength, humor, creativity, and dreams. Refugees don't come to this country empty. We come with knowledge, skills, cultures, and stories. And we're rebuilding our lives while carrying histories that most people never see. And that resilience deserves to be recognized and not overlooked. And so I just want to remind everybody, we love, we laugh, we cry, and we also have stories to share with everybody else.

NINA MOINI: Kalia, is that part of the mentorship that you try to provide? I mean, I know it's a unique experience to everyone, but just balancing the different facets of life that we all experience, the stuff that's harder to look at and the stuff that's joyful.

KAO KALIA YANG: It is. And I'm so lucky that we live in a state where there is funding for the arts. At a time when so many people are weighed down by what's going on around our world, we live in a state where there's more funding for the arts than any other nation. I mean, this program was made possible through an arts access grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board by the voters of Minnesota. And this is just the magic of living here, doing the kind of work that I get to do, inviting stories into the world, saying to my writers, write what your heart is compelled to share.

NINA MOINI: And Pa Zao, what was it like being in that creative space with other writers who are also refugees?

PA ZAO VANG: It was empowering. I can't even say it, because I get so emotional, but it's a healing. I'm so grateful for this platform and these sessions, because it allows us to talk and heal together. I think our trauma and migration and resilience and survival needs to be shared among each other, and know that even though we go through this journey, we're not alone.

NINA MOINI: Kalia, did you have a mentor when you started writing around these topics?

KAO KALIA YANG: I did not. I did not. And it's actually something that I spent a great deal of my career thinking about. What would it mean if I had a teacher who came from a similar set of experiences, who was interested in the same questions and ideas, and what would that community look like?

And so it's something that I've been thinking about as I've worked across institutions. No American institution would say teach a course for just refugee writers. I knew that it had to happen outside of institutional walls. And that is also why I'm so thankful to the East Side Freedom Library for the magic that they enable for hosting us these last six, seven months.

NINA MOINI: Are you viewing your work differently, Kalia, I wonder, during this time? You mentioned people feeling the weight of there's a lot of negative rhetoric around refugees right now. How is that, if in any way, shaping how you're viewing your work?

KAO KALIA YANG: Very much so. The question is always, what am I doing, and am I doing enough from where I'm positioned? This workshop allows me to make use of one of my great talents, teaching. Nina, I've been teaching for as long as I've been writing. And so to be able to open up a community class free of charge to a small cohort of writers, and to have in my heart an understanding that they are the first, that there will be a second and a third and a fourth cohort coming, to begin to build and structure this kind of community is something that my heart has yearned to do for a long time.

I think that when we think of Kao Kalia Yang, we tend to think Hmong American, but I understand that my experiences are individual. They're not unique. Even as we're talking right here, the world is creating more and more refugees. And my hope is that their stories will enter into our world and inspire courage, inspire care, sympathy, and understanding. And so my role in terms of community leadership has shifted in teaching this course in a fundamental way. There is no going back.

NINA MOINI: I love the way you said individual but not unique. I think that is the best way I've ever heard that described. That really sticks with me. Pa Zao, what is your hope for people who are encountering this work?

PA ZAO VANG: I want to just express to them that come with express with open arms. Share your stories, even in its all challenges and vulnerability, because that's the only way we heal. If we come together, we share our stories, and hopefully hope, strength, and storytelling can guide us forward.

NINA MOINI: And so it's been six-ish months, and finally sharing this work, bringing this out at the event tonight, Pa Zao, what are you looking most forward to?

PA ZAO VANG: I'm looking for the emotional impact that the audience will receive from this. I mean, Kalia can attest to how I break down every single time, because I resonate-- the stories that my cohorts share resonates with me, even though everybody's experiences are different. And so therefore, I can't wait to see the emotional impact that everybody will walk away with it.

NINA MOINI: Kalia, what was it like when you first saw all the stories come together from the cohort?

KAO KALIA YANG: Incredibly moving, Nina. I know how talented this cohort is. I've had the privilege of reading their work for the last six months. But the world doesn't know yet. Even people in their communities, maybe people in their families don't yet. So tonight is the culmination of a lot of work, a lot of heart, but a lifetime's caring of stories. It's going to be an incredibly hopeful and festive night. It's a night of celebration. And really, that's what this work is about. It's about celebrating our stories proudly.

NINA MOINI: And Kalia, remind us before we have to go, can people attend the event tonight or how can people experience this work?

KAO KALIA YANG: Yes, tonight is free and open to the public. It's from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. So please come and join us in the cold. It's a perfect way to warm up the heart. And then I will also be doing an event at the Ordway on December 19, an evening of children's literature with Kao Kalia Yang and friends. And that's going to be an evening full of songs and stories. So if your heart needs a bit of warming up, join us.

NINA MOINI: All right. Thank you both so much for your time and sharing your work with us. Really appreciate it.

PA ZAO VANG: Thank you.

KAO KALIA YANG: Thank you.

NINA MOINI: That was author Kao Kalia Yang and a member of the refugee writers cohort, Pa Zao Vang.