The Laomerica 50: Democracy and Diaspora exhibit continues at the Minneapolis Central Library and among the special events occurring on Saturday, September 14th is the public reading at Pohlad Hall with gathered poets from the community. Among the things they anticipate they’ll be celebrating during the occasion is the 10th anniversary of Sahtu Press and the 30th anniversary of the Hmong American literary journal, and the 5th anniversary of the SEAD Project’s first collection, Planting SEADs. A discussion is planned on the 30th anniversary of the SatJaDham Lao Literary Project in 2025.
The exhibit was installed this summer to examine the complex experiences of Minnesota’s population of Laotian refugees over the past 50 years. Over 100 objects have been presented including paintings, photographs, textiles, cultural objects, rare books, and more from local and national artists. The exhibit reflects many of the memories, traditions, and customs of Lao Minnesotans as well as their dreams and visions for their community. Lao poetry has played a significant part of the journey for many of those rebuilding over the decades but it is still a somewhat uncertain proposition for many to encourage and share in the United States.
Paradoxically, the organizers anticipate the convention being somewhat unconventional with a more free-form structure based upon who shows up and what everyone is interested in discussing, rather than forcing a particular flow of proceedings among emerging and established poets in attendance.
This gathering is particularly interested in applying a Lao-centering approach to Open Space Technology, a meeting methodology that emphasizes a method for organizing meetings or multi-day conferences where participants are invited to focus on a specific, important task or purpose. Using this method, the agenda and schedule of presentations are partly or mostly unknown until people begin arriving. Historically, the scheduling of speakers, topics, and locations is created by people attending once they arrive. A debriefing document is typically created at the end of each Open Space Technology meeting, summarizing what worked and what did not.
This method is being pursued given the outcomes of other similar literary meetings for Southeast Asian American poets that did not result in a particular expansion of Lao poets over the last 10-14 years in non-Laocentric academic, literary and cultural spaces. The Nakavi Lao Poetry Convention is free to the community, but space is limited to the first 200 participants.
You can visit the exhibit at the Cargill Gallery, located on the second floor of Minneapolis Central Library, from August 6 through September 27, 2024.
Nakavi Lao Poetry Convention Schedule
Friday 3-5 p.m. Nakavi Lao Poet Convention Welcome and Reception at Lao Center of Minnesota.
Saturday September 14, 10a.m.-12 p.m. Tour of Downtown Minneapolis
Saturday, September 14, 1-3 p.m. Nakavi Lao Poet Convention Public Reading at Minneapolis Central Library Pohlad Hall.
3-4:30 p.m. – Nakavi Lao Poet Convention Laomerica 50 Poet Tour at Minneapolis Central Library, Cargill Gallery.
Sunday, September 15, 1-4p.m. – Laomerica Film Festival at Minneapolis Central Library Pohlad Hall.
1-2 p.m. Lao American Short Films
2-4 p.m. Origin Story: The Documentary