"Where are you from? Where are you really from?"

If you're an Asian American writer, "Where are you from?" is a question that probably puts you instantly on edge. That's because you're anticipating the all-too-common followup—"Where are you really from?"—a question that assumes that you are not from here; that nobody who looks like you can really be from here. It's uncomfortable because you're forced to see that you are seen as uncanny. Neither fish nor fowl. Not quite American. Disguised. Suspect.

But the uncanny has power. What if we used that power? What if we held up a mirror to the quote unquote canny?

In this workshop, we will craft such mirrors out of the uncanny genre of the zuihitsu—not quite essay, not quite poem, partaking of the strengths of both. Students will leave class with a basic understanding of the genre and its history, as well as a rough draft of a zuihitsu of their own.

This free generative creative writing workshop will be presented by Kundiman Mountain West in collaboration with We Write Las Vegas on Friday, November 7th from 5:00 - 6:30 pm PST.

Register here and sign up for updates from a Kundiman region near you.

About Sam Cha, Instructor

Sam Cha was born in Korea. He earned his MFA from UMass Boston. A Pushcart Prize winner, he's been published and anthologized widely. https://www.samcha.info/

About Sheila Navarro, Facilitator

Sheila Navarro is an educator and writer in Las Vegas, Nevada. She earned an MFA from Mills College and her writing has been supported by VONA, PAWA, Black Mountain Institute, and Litquake SF. She is on the Nevada Arts Council Teaching Artist Roster for Literary Arts.