CLC to host Hmong poet Mai Der Vang

Verse Like Water: The visiting poet program of Central Lakes College presents Hmong poet Mai Der Vang for a poetry reading at noon on February 21 in the Chalberg Theatre, Brainerd campus. A book signing and informal craft talk will follow at 1:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.  

Vang is a much acclaimed rising star in American literature, and her book “Yellow Rain” was runner up for the Pulitzer Prize. The daughter of refugee parents who walked from Laos to Thailand to escape the chaos strewn by the Vietnam War in 1975, she has many things to tell us about her long suffering, indigenous people, displacement, and the idea of exile. For this literary event, Gray Wolf Press has donated a copy of her book “Afterland” for all attending high school students.