Troubling Borders

Isabelle Thuy Pelaud is professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. Lan Duong is associate professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Southern California. Mariam B. Lam is associate professor of comparative literature and Southeast Asian studies, and associate vice chancellor and chief diversity officer at the University of California, Riverside. Kathy L. Nguyen is a writer and editor in San Francisco.

Juxtaposing short stories, poetry, painting, and photographs, Troubling Borders showcases the creative work of women of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Lao, Thai, and Filipino ancestry. This thematically arranged collection interrupts borders of categorization and gender, in what preface author Shirley Geok-Lin Lim describes as a "leap over the barbed fences that have kept these women apart in these, our United States of America."The sixty-two contributors have been shaped by colonization, wars, globalization, and militarization. For some of these women on the margins of the margin, crafting and showing their work is a bold act in itself. Their provocative and accessible creations tell unique stories, provide sharp contrasts to familiar stereotypes-Southeast Asian women as exotic sex symbols, dragon ladies, prostitutes, or "bar girls"-and serve as entry points for broader discussions about questions of history, memory, and identity.

Preface by Shirley Geok-lin LimAcknowledgmentsIntroduction by Mariam B. Lam, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan Duong, and Kathy L. NguyenPart One | Wombs and Wounds: Family Relations in the DiasporaKaren Llagas, OpenVi Ly, Terrain 15 and Terrain 17Karen Llagas, ManananggalVi Ly, Postpartum #5Phayvanh Luekhamhan, Rubber BandsAnn Phong, MendingAnh-Hoa Thi Nguyen, Mother ShellAnh-Hoa Thi Nguyen, Flesh of My FleshLinda Saphan, TogethernessAnh-Hoa Thi Nguyen, 30Diep Tran, VisitationJulie Thi Underhill, Tra Cang MonasteryDiep Tran, SchoolsDiep Tran, Tet 1976Kao Lee Thao, Way of LifeAnh-Thu Ngo, Profile of the Life TreeJulie Thi Underhill, GrandmaHeang Ly, The Lotus GiftAmy Lee Sanford, BrokenTran Mong Tu, Letter after ThanksgivingKou Vang, WidowPhayvanh Luekhamhan, April, 1993Kao Lee Thao, YukaiPhayvanh Luekhamhan, Foreman v. MoorerAmy Lee Sanford, SuspendedPhet Mahathongdy, Mother LoveAnne Le, SpoolPhuong M. Do, Self and AuntsChristilily Chiv, My Mother's Hands BleedKou Vang, Letter from LaosMay Lee-Yang, Correspondence from LaosTran T. Kim-Trang, Still from Epilogue: The Palpable Invisibility of LifePart Two | Coming to Voice: Language, Writing, LiteracyMarine Ky, Untitled VI (such as you are, so is the world)Jai Arun Ravine, and then entwine lesson plans, poems, knotsMarine Ky, Ted's GarmentKaren Llagas, From a Lighthouse KeeperLinda Saphan, S-21 No Flying Away 1Barbara Jane Reyes, polyglot incantationLinda Saphan, S-21 No Flying Away 2Linda Saphan, S-21 No Flying Away 3Tran Tue Quan, Cuoc noi chien cua nhung identitiesTran Tue Quan, The civil war of identitiesPhuong M. Do, Self and UnclesSouvankham Thammavongsa, The Sun in Flannery O'Connor's The Violent Bear It AwayReanne Estrada, Keep It Together #5Souvankham Thammavongsa, This Is the DirectionPart Three | Homes and HomelandsGina Osterloh, Impossible Delineation (from the series Blank Attempt)Karen Llagas, Archipelago DustGina Osterloh, Anonymous Front (from the series Copy Flat)Anne Le, In the Heart of the CountryGina Osterloh, Blind Rash (from the series Rash Room)Anne Le, The Fish Houses at Go VapTiffany Chung, Go VapVo Hong Chyong-Dai, National Highway 1 (Vietnam, December 1996)Hong-An Truong, Description #3 (Three Clocks)Vo Hong Chyong-Dai, The Corner of Nguyen B¿nh Khiem and Tue T¿nh (Ha Noi, 2005)Kou Vang, ForgottenVo Hong Chyong-Dai, Across the ocean and beyond the mindAnida Yoeu Ali, Palimpsest for Generation 1.5 (performance)Phayvanh Luekhamhan, I Think of This Every Time I Think of MountainsAzizah Ahmad, HomelessGina Osterloh, Looking Back, I Accepted Your Invitation (from the series Somewhere Tropical)Anh Thang Dao, Song for a Lost HomeAnh Thang Dao, The Pigeon ScandalJenifer K. Wofford, Point of Departure (Nurse with Cap)Jenifer K. Wofford, Curtain Nurse IPart Four | Loving Sex/Sexing LoveAngela Narciso Torres, CardiacDebbie Nguyen, Dark GreenConnie Pham, The Story of Pomegranate Told in Three PiecesDebbie Nguyen, PlumLian Guow, First and Last TimesKao-Ly Yang, Three Pearls Facing UnfaithfulnessDebbie Nguyen, WoodChau Nguyen, Kisses of HeatTran T. Kim-Trang, Still from KoreMong-Lan, On the Tango and Buenos AiresPart Five | Militarized LivesYer Yang, Virgin Land, Virgin BodyHong-An Truong, Still from Wheel in the SkyAimee Phan, Excerpt from The Reeducation of Cherry TruongAnida Yoeu Ali, Palimpsest for Generation 1.5 (performance)Pimone Triplett, The Rumor of NecessityHong-An Truong, Florida 1979 (Love You, Miss You a Lot)Gayle Romasanta, NutDriverHong-An Truong, Florida 1978 (Goes to Heaven)Kathy L. Nguyen, Excerpt from The InheritorsBarbara Jane Reyes, Call It Talisman (If You Must)Part Six | Asians in AmericaLin + Lam, This Is Not MeAzizah Ahmad, A Letter to Asian AmericaMelba L. Abela, God Bless AmericaAzizah Ahmad, San FranciscoAnne Le, ChinatownJulie Thi Underhill, Progress ReportLinda Tran, The Flea MarketAnn Phong, Box of Water 2Melba L. Abela, San Francisco Ab(ove) Normal, 1967-2007Marsha C. Galicia-Monroe, #6-Other FemaleAnn Phong, BoatsPart Seven | Race, Roots, ReligionNalyne Lunati, Sea GhostBarbara Jane Reyes, In the City, a New Congregation Finds HerHong-An Truong, Description #4 (Three Figurines)Davorn Sisavath, The Value of a Catholic EducationNalyne Lunati, Kranok 1Julie Thi Underhill, Corner ShoreNalyne Lunati, Vihara of the MindReanne Estrada, General Tri-Corn (6)Pimone Triplett, MotherlandEliza O. Barrios, Industry of Yoga seriesGrace Talusan, Boobie CakesEliza O. Barrios, PendingPart Eight | Travel Narratives and Narratives That TravelLinda Saphan, Amey on BikeChi Vu, SuitcasesJulie Thi Underhill, Fear of AmbivalenceMai Der Vang, The Sounds of LeavingRachel Quý Collier, Salt LakeReanne Estrada, Tenuous (tentatively titled)Pang Houa Moua Toy, Leaving HomeAnida Yoeu Ali, Palimpsest for Generation 1.5 (installation view)Mai Der Vang, From Within, a ViewPart Nine | Speech Acts: Labor, Activism, ResistanceMail Order Brides / M.O.B., Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride (Flowers)Connie Pham, Quarterlife Crisis: A Quiet ActivismEmily P. Lawsin, No Moments of Silence (In Memory of Joseph Ileto, Fong Lee, and Chon Buri Xiong)Linda Saphan, Incognito 31Emily P. Lawsin, Where I Am From (Freewrite Remix)Melba L. Abela, International WorkerTiffany Chung, Here We GoGrace Kong, I Demand RespectTiffany Chung, Bubble Shooter and FriendsGrace Kong, Miss BossMail Order Brides / M.O.B., Education ReformKaren Llagas, ImeldaLin + Lam, Stills from Unidentified Viet Nam No. 18Leakhena Leng, Give Me Your Best Performance PieceLin + Lam, Stills from Unidentified Viet Nam No. 18Leakhena Leng, Breathing Fire Performance PieceMail Order Brides / M.O.B., Through the Looking GlassEpilogueAbout the Contributors and Editors