Hello all, I am proud to be reading as a part of two events in the Bay area this weekend. Each event has plenty of awesome Vietnamese American artists participating, not just me. Here is the info: Friday, April 27, California and Beyond: Vietnamese American Artists and Writers Symposium, Stanford University, Stanford Humanities Center, 424 St. Teresa St. Link here Saturday, April 28, 7pm Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network’s SF Vietnamese
January 23, 2012
There is a certain catalyzing style that comes of utter fearlessness, and the poet Bao Phi has cornered it with his debut poetry collection, Sông I Sing. Jane Y. Kim, Hyphen magazine Read the full review here.
Chúc mừng năm mới!
January 23, 2012
Chúc mừng năm mới, everyone – wishing you a powerful, beautiful Year of the Dragon. I’ve been honored with another wonderful review, from the good people at the Asian American magazine Hyphen. Read it here Also a good mention of the book at Publisher’s Weekly. Congrats to Coffee House Press! Here Thank you all for supporting the book – the sales number is ridiculous, and a wonderful surprise. Then, last
December 29, 2011
In this strong and angry work of what he calls refugeography, Bao Phi, who has been a performance poet since 1991, wrestles with immigration, class and race in America at sidewalk level… on this song of his very American self, every poem Mr. Phi writes rhymes with the truth. read the full New York Times review here. Dana Jennings, the New York Times
December 29, 2011
Bao Phi’s words are undeniably politically brave and brutally honest—a rarity of a voice much needed. Ly Vũ Hoàng, Pacific Reader Journal Review
All Good Peeps
December 19, 2011
I’ve been fortunate in that a lot of good people have been saying good things about my book. First off, a very talented fellow Vietnamese American artist and community organizer whom I have a lot of respect for, and whom I am lucky to call friend, Sahra Nguyen. Also Kevin Ost-Vollmers was kind enough to devote some space to an interview with me on his awesome blog, Land of a
Ed Bok Lee x Bao Phi: Book Launch
September 23, 2011
If you see Bao Phi coming, you better do a gut check, and set your motherboard to receive. Anyone who has been lucky enough to experience his work knows he means to re-adjust our minds, unseat our comfortable assumptions, and teach our hearts to weep and sing. He is our grief-stricken brother howling, moaning, and wailing in remembrance of those who suffer because of inadequate representation. He is our ecstatic shaman,
Guante.info
September 16, 2011
The result is an incredibly emotional journey through the issues that Bao explores—but it’s emotion that’s grounded in quality writing and thoughtful political analysis, not just raw melodrama. [ Guante, Hip Hop artist — via Guante.info ] Bao’s debut collection, “Sông I Sing,” hit me in a different way. The poems here, at least to me, read like spoken-word pieces, and Bao’s understanding of structure and emotional arcs mirrors some
Song I Sing
September 8, 2011
Now Available → Designed, published and available for purchase via Coffee House Press. A rhapsodic exploration of immigration, race, and class by Vietnamese American phenom and National Poetry Slam star Bao Phi. Dynamic and eye-opening, this debut by a National Poetry Slam finalist critiques an America sleepwalking through its days and explores the contradictions of race and class in America. Excerpt From “Prince Among Men” When it feels like no
Yen Le Espiritu
September 1, 2011
Jagged yet tender, Bao Phi’s poetry mixes rough-edged critiques of racism and imperialism with resolute optimism in the power of love and community. Deeply grounded in Asian American Studies, it eloquently calls for the forging of new ties and lives out of the ruins of America’s ‘war zones’—both here in urban America and in Southeast Asia. — Yen Le Espiritu