Thien-bao Thuc Phi Education B.A.: Macalester College St. Paul, MN 1997 Major: English (Creative Writing) Minor: Sociology GPA: 3.62/4.0 Honor's Thesis : "Home", a 74 page collection of poetry exploring the concept of place. Study Abroad: Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, 1996.
Coursework included intensive study of Vietnamese language and culture, as well as independent project "Peel", a 35 page collection of poetry and photography.
Honors
Cum Laude, Dean's List, 1997 Presidential Student Leadership Award, The Academy of American Poets College Prize 1994 and 1997, The Livingston-Patnode Prize 1997, The Lowell Thomas Endowed Prize 1997, SASE/Jerome Fellowship 1997, Wallin Scholarship, The Ardis Wheeler Prize for International Study 1996. Winner of numerous poetry slam competitions and titles including Undefeated Slam Champ of Macalester College, two consecutive Minnesota Grand Poetry Slam championships, two Nuyorican Poets Café slams, and individual finalist at the 2000 National Poetry Slam. Nominated for a Minnesota Music Award for Best Spoken Word Artist, 2000.
Language Skills
Fluent in English, Proficient in Vietnamese
Experience Asian American Renaissance: St. Paul, Minnesota
Member, Editorial Board of AAR's literary journal, 1996, 1997 and 1999. Critiqued and selected poems for two journals. Worked with Can Cung, Vietnamese poet who needed his work translated from Vietnamese to English.
Writing Mentor, Writing for Tomorrow Program, 1997.
Interviewed applicants for inclusion in program, co-created and co-taught five week curriculum of photography/creative writing for Asian American teens.
Artistic Curator and Creator, "Missed Sigh Gone Cabaret"
Independent Workshop Teacher: Local and National Schools
Guest workshop teacher and lecturer, Asian American Literature Class 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000, as well as Hubert H. Humphrey VOICES current events class, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998, at South High School. Workshop creator and facilitator on Asian American Male representation, Listen the Silence Conference, Stanford University. Have also taught creative writing at North High School, Patrick Henry High School, Upward Bound, the Mt. Airy Unit of the Boys' and Girls' Club, WOC, the Loft, and numerous local and national schools. Funded by above organizations, as well as SASE and Asian American Renaissance.
Asian Student Alliance of Macalester College: Member 93-97, Co-Chair 1996-1997
Outreach to Asian American students and Asian American community at large. Liaison between Asian, African American, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, Queer, and International Student Organizations; Conceptualizer and Organizer of such events as of Getting Visible I and II: Asian American Performing Arts, Writing and Music Conference, 1996 and 1997.
Guest Curator
Curated a show about the similarities and differences between Asian American men and African American women, co-sponsored by Penumbra Theatre and SASE, 2000. This will hopefully become a series. Curated a show of Asian American artists to raise awareness for Dr. Wen Ho Lee, co-sponsored by Macalester College and the Minnesota Organization of Chinese Americans, 2000.
Activities
Acted in various one-acts and stage productions, including "In the Petrified Forest" at Cheap Theatre, and "City Rhapsody" at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, which featured my poetry. Wrote a one act produced by Theatre Mu, "Mid-Autumn Memories". Feature and guest poet/performer at numerous events locally and nationally, such as Yellow Technicolor in Chicago, Millenium Stage in Washington, D.C., Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, Listen to the Silence Conference at Stanford, Exposures Series (Patrick's Cabaret) and Festival of One Person Shows in Minneapolis. Toured with The Lyrical Assault Tour (Red Lights and Poetry) as well as Bilinkwellz, a national Asian American spoken word collective. Performed and read at UCLA's Asian American Graduation Ceremony, 2002.
Other Interests
Photography, Film Studies, Martial Arts, Literature of American Minorities, Cooking, Dancing, Acting, DJ'ing, Cultural Criticism, Playwriting.
Publications and Recordings
Published in the Asian American Renaissance Literary Journals. Anthologized in From Both Sides Now: The Vietnam War and It's And It's Aftermath in Poetry, edited by Philip Mahony, published by Scribner, a division of Simon and Schuster, 1998. Anthologized in Legacy to Liberation: Writings from Revolutionary Asian America, edited by Fred Ho, published by Big Red Media, 2000 and Bum Rush The Page! Def Poetry Jam Anthology, edited by Tony Medina and Louis Reyes Rivera, published by Three Rivers Press, 2001. Produced Flares, a CD combining music with self-written and performed spoken word poetry. Included on Words Will Heal the Wound, a compilation of Minnesota Spoken Word artists.
Best American Poetry 2006
Edited by Billy Collins
Scribner, 2006
Saint Paul Almanac
Edited by Kimberly Nightingale
Arcata Press, 2006
Michigan Quarterly Review: Viet Nam: Beyond the Frame
Edited by Rebekah Linh Collins
University of Michigan, Winter 2005
Hop Luu Literary Journal: The Generation After the War
Edited by Nguyen-Vo Thu-huong
Volume 69: 1, 2004
Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images
Edited by M. Evelina Galang
Coffeehouse Press, 2003
Amerasia Journal: Diaspora & Dimensions
Edited by Professor Linda Vo
UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press, Volume 29 No.1, 2003
XCP: Cross Cultural Poetics
Edited by Mark Nowak
College of St. Catherine, No.12, 2003
Drumvoices Review: Words from 15 Cities: Poetic Voices of Contemporary Urban Cultures
SUIE and EBR Writers Club, 2002
Bum Rush The Page! Def Poetry Jam Anthology
Edited by Tony Medina and Louis Reyes Rivera
Three Rivers Press, 2001
Asian Pacific American Journal
Asian American Writer's Workshop
Volume 9, No. 2, 2001
Body of Stories
Journal of the Asian American Renaissance
Volume 5, 2001
Legacy to Liberation: Writings from Revolutionary Asian America
Edited by Fred Ho
Big Red Media, 2000
From Both Sides Now: The Vietnam War and Its Aftermath in Poetry
Edited by Phillip Mahony
Scribner, 1998
Sexual ORIENTations
Journal of the Asian American Renaissance
Volume 3, 1998
Roots East, Roots West
Journal of the Asian American Renaissance
Volume 2, 1997
Sticky Rice
Journal of the Asian American Renaissance
Volume 1, 1995
Current Occupation
Programming Associate, the Loft Literary Center. Created and curating EQUILIBRIUM, a spoken word series featuring artists of color. Board member, Asian American Renaissance. Numerous teaching, speaking and performance engagements, locally and nationally.
