Andy Chen at the 2023 Kundiman Retreat. Photo Credit: Jess X. Snow.
Dear Friend,
Before attending my first Kundiman Retreat, I’d never had a close relationship with another Asian American writer. In high school, I grew up around very few other Asian Americans and I never read a book by an Asian American author. My sense of my own identity was defined by racist jokes, stereotypes I saw in the media, and the shame I felt in the face of all this.
That first Retreat transformed not only how I saw myself as a writer, but how I understood myself as a person. I was exposed to so many ways of being Asian. Others shared struggles like mine, but even more memorably, others shared experiences of joy and pride. The Asian American Literature Seminar, a staple of the Retreat, made me realize I was part of a beautiful, powerful, complex lineage of writers and artists. Learning from the Retreat Faculty and reading Asian American literature for the first time helped me gain a new sense of who I was and who I could be. Coming in, almost all my understanding of what being Asian meant was associated with pain and shame. I’m a different person having gone through that first Retreat and then graduating as a Fellow after attending two more.
It’s my goal to raise $2,500, the full cost of a Retreat scholarship, during our Kundiman Forever Campaign. I want to make the Retreat experience accessible for as many writers as possible, particularly those who may not have the financial resources to attend. We've already reached 84% of our goal! Please join me in raising the remaining 16% as I pledge to match $1,000 worth of donations. Whatever you donate, I will donate too.
Since graduating, I’ve returned as an Alumni Staff member to help others have the best possible Retreat experience. I’ve also since joined the Board of Trustees of Kundiman so that I may serve the organization and its community however I can. Please join me in further supporting the community that I love.
With love,
Andy Chen