via @kpotbbqandhotpot
photo submitted by reader.
We're BIG fans of award-winning Vietnamese poet and internationally bestselling novelist Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai—The Mountains Sing was one of our favorite books of 2020 (and one of our customers' faves, too!). And we're very excited to welcome her to Pittsburgh on her national tour for her latest novel, Dust Child (out 3/14). She'll be joined in conversation by Chatham University's Emerging Black Writer-In-Residence and local author Cameron Barnett (The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water, Autumn House Press). We're grateful to the Chatham University MFA in Creative Writing for co-sponsoring this event.
Quế Mai will do a short reading from the book, talk about her research and writing process and perform her poetry in Vietnamese and English. She will also take your questions. She can't wait to see you, and is happy to sign and personalize your books.
"Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai will win many more readers with her powerful and deeply empathetic second novel. From the horrors of war and its enduring afterlife for men and women, lovers and children, soldiers and civilians, she weaves a heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption. Dust Child establishes Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai as one of our finest observers of the devastating consequences of war, and proves, once more, her ability to captivate readers and lure them into Viet Nam’s rich and poignant history."—Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Sympathizer and The Committed
We're back! Come celebrate the Year of the Rabbit @Squirrel Hill with the biggest gathering of Pittsburgh's Pan Asian Community Organizations and Friends!And "We proudly honor Pittsburgh's Buddhist Tzu Chi Organization as our 2023 Grand Marshal for their invaluable work assisting our Asian immigrant community members!" The parade will start at Teppan BBQ, 2209 Murray Ave., and progress up Murray Hill to the intersection of Murray and Forbes (map).
Bad Activist is a multimedia musical performance dramatizing the true story of singer-songwriter/activist Mai Khoi (dubbed “the Vietnamese Lady Gaga”) and her journey from pop stardom to purpose. Performed by Khoi herself, it incorporates storytelling, live video, archival footage, and original animation in a bold evocation of her past, present and future hopes.
via traveloriented.Join the Asian Studies Center in the Global Hub as we celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with snacks, music, and activities!It runs from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Global Hub, located on the first floor of Posvar Hall.
To all of our loyal customers we would like to thank you for another great year and would like to wish you all a happy new year! We absolutely love the city of Pittsburgh and all the overwhelming support we have received over the past four years! It has been our honor to serve each and every one of you and watch you all enjoy the traditional Vietnamese cuisine we have offered. With that being said it is now time for for our family to start a new chapter and move locations to be closer to our family and loved ones! Again, we cannot thank each and every one of you enough and realize this is a bittersweet moment for Two Sisters.The restaurant opened in February 2019 at 216 N. Highland Ave.
With Love ♥️
Two Sisters Family
City of Asylum artist-in-residence Mai Khôi presents a concert of brand-new music composed in collaboration with Pittsburgh-based pianist Mark Micchelli.The show starts at 7:00 pm at Alphabet City at 40 W. North Ave. on the North Side (map). Tickets are free but registration for the in-person and online performances is required.
Khôi founded Mai Khôi and the Dissidents in Vietnam in 2017 as a vehicle to perform her genre-busting songs protesting government censorship and police violence. The band performed secretly at underground shows in Hanoi until threats from the Vietnamese government forced the band to change their name, then ultimately dissolve. Following Khôi’s exile to the United States, she reformed the band with local Pittsburgh musicians while continuing the group’s radical mission.
The American iteration of Mai Khôi and the Dissidents is an eclectic jazz-pop quintet that’s as likely to launch into a noisy protest song or collective improvisation as a lullaby or a love ballad. They have also toured Khôi’s multimedia stage show Bad Activist at high-profile venues in Pittsburgh, New York, and Las Vegas.
Are you looking to practice an Asian language? Or are you a native speaker of an Asian language hoping to practice English? The Asian Studies Center can help match you with a language exchange partner! The form to sign-up can be found here. The program is open to university students and community members living in Pittsburgh. Languages represented are English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and Vietnamese. Please email asia@pitt.edu with any questions.
Mai Khoi rose to pop stardom in Vietnam, where she played arena concerts and was often compared to Lady Gaga in the international media. But when she turned her celebrity to the cause of free expression, her music was banned. She was detained, harassed, evicted from her home and eventually forced into exile. She now lives in Pittsburgh. For her courage in defending human rights, Mai Khoi has been awarded the Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent and the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award for Free Speech.Tickets for the 7:00 pm show at PNC Theatre are available online. The theatre is located at 350 Forbes Ave. (map).
The Pittsburgh Playhouse, Point Park University's Center for Media Innovation and the International Free Expression Project (IFEP) are proud to present the fully realized theatrical production of "Bad Activist" — a multimedia tour de force in which Mai Khoi tells her remarkable story and performs with extraordinary musicianship.
This production is part of the Media Innovators Speaker Series, which welcomes media changemakers and leaders in the field who have made significant contributions to journalism, storytelling and free expression.
The University of Pittsburgh's Vietnamese Student Association will host a VSA Coffeehouse with Professor Diana Khoi Nguyen on April 9.
Join the Vietnamese Student Association for a poetry workshop with Professor Diana Khoi Nguyen that will explore expressions of Vietnamese identity.It runs from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Global Hub on the first floor of Posvar Hall, and is free and open to the Pitt student community.
Eduling International Academy is hosting a Vietnamese-language online discussion with two poets and a third writer on writing poetry for children. "Làm thơ cho thiếu nhi" will take place on Facebook live on February 19 at 8:30 pm EST (February 20 at 8:30 am Hanoi).
If you know Vietnamese and would like to listen to two poets from Vietnam and a writer from the US talking about writing poems for children, join this free event. The event will be live on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/236eYkxj8. You can also register to join it on Zoom by completing this form: www.tinyurl.com/edulingevent. This free event is organized by Eduling International Academy and H&L Books, which are located in Pittsburgh.
Xin mời các bạn biết tiếng Việt tham gia buổi chia sẻ về thơ thiếu nhi với PGS-TS-Nhà thơ Phạm Văn Tình, TS-Nhà thơ Phạm Đình Ân, và TS Linh Phùng. Buổi chia sẻ sẽ được phát live trên Facebook ở trang này: https://fb.me/e/236eYkxj8 nhưng nếu bạn muốn vào Zoom để giao lưu nhiều hơn thì xin đăng kí tại đây: www.tinyurl.com/edulingevent. Buổi chia sẻ được tổ chức bảo Eduling International Academy và H&L Books (www.eduling.org/hl) từ Pittsburgh.
via @LunarNewYearPGH
Happy Lunar New Year! We look forward to welcoming the Year of the Tiger on February 1st with celebrations lasting for two weeks. The Year of the Tiger will be marked with big changes, risk-taking, adventure, and enthusiasm – both for ourselves and for others. Sadly, there will be no community celebrations this year due to Covid-19.The Lunar New Year parade has moved up Murray Ave. in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood since 2016, capping a couple weeks of festivities, performances, and dining specials in the area. In spite of this year's hiatus, one tourism website atop the Google results does suggest the event will run on February 1 and 2; however, this Ukraine-based website has simply copied-pasted last year's article with a suggested 2022 date.