We partner with the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network for an extraordinary evening of literary talent as we celebrate the book launch of Anhvu Buchanan's new book The Peeling of a Name, featuring readers Anhvu Buchanan, Truong Tran, Carolyn Ho and Irman Arcibal.

Anhvu Buchanan is the author of The Disordered (sunnyoutside press) and Backhanded Compliments & Other Ways to Say I Love You (Works on Paper Press).  He was the recipient of the James D. Phelan Award and also received an Individual Artists Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission. He received an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State. He currently teaches in San Francisco. We are celebrating the release of his new book, The Peeling of a Name published by ELJ Editions. 

Truong Tran, born in Saigon, Vietnam, is an acclaimed poet and author of several collections of poetry, including The Book of Perceptions and Four Letter Words. His works have been translated into multiple languages and he has received numerous awards, such as The American Book Award and The Poetry Center Prize. Truong is also a self-taught visual artist whose work has been exhibited in various prestigious venues. He currently resides in San Francisco and teaches at Mills College, Oakland.

Carolyn Ho, a Vietnamese American poet, artist and mother, is a Kundiman and William Dickey fellow, and has received the SF Foundation’s Phelan Award, Nomadic Press Poetry Award and an SF Arts Commission grant. Her writing explores parenthood, race and aging. Over the past decade, she has folded 90,000+ cranes, symbolizing her coping with raising a child, caring for elderly parents, the challenges of an MFA, being Asian during COVID and finding inspiration amidst exhaustion. She holds a BA from USF and an MFA and MA from SF State.

As visual artist and poet, Irman Arcibal immerses himself in broader concepts of word, breath and synchronicity. His work studies both macro and microscopic worlds, and his poetry is a rhythmic musical wordplay—a sensory experience. Arcibal earned an MFA in Art Studio from UC Davis and a BS in Biological Sciences from Cal Poly SLO. He studied art and poetry at Solano College. Currently, he teaches art at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco.

The Peeling of a Name is an exploration of the idea and the power of names, what it means to grow up Asian American, what it means to be Asian American during a time in our country with so much violence and hate towards Asians and Asian Americans. It is filled with odes to Buchanan’s family, his people, his culture, his heroes and his inspirations. The Peeling of a Name is a love poem, an apology, and an explanation, hoping you gain a better understanding of what it means to be an Asian American in the past, present and future.

Connect:  

Anhvu Buchanan - Website | Anhvu Buchanan - Instagram 

Truong Tran - Website | Truong Tran - Instagram 

Carolyn Ho - Instagram 

ELJ Editions - Website | ELJ Editions - Instagram

Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) - Website | Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) - Instagram | Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) - Twitter