Guest Speakers
The Ethnic Studies Program has co-sponsored a number of influential writers and luminaries at Pacific who have shared their works and wisdom related to a wide range of issues.
Camille Dungy
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Richard Tenaza
In celebration of Black History Month in February 2011, the English Department and Ethnic Studies Program organized a reading by professor and poet Camille Dungy. Dr. Dungy delves into the historical experiences of African Americans, from slavery to the present day. (This event was co-sponsored by Ethnic Studies and other programs/organizations at Pacific.)
Mong-Lan
In celebration of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in April 2010, we invited Mong-Lan to give a poetry reading on campus. Mong-Lan is a poet, writer, painter and photographer who left her native Vietnam on the last day of the evacuation of Saigon. Mong-Lan's first book of poems, Song of the Cicadas, won the 2000 Juniper Prize, the 2002 Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writers Awards for Poetry and was a finalist for the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award. Her other books of poetry include Why is the Edge Always Windy?;Tango, Tangoing: Poems & Art; the Spanish / English bilingual edition, Tango, Tangueando: Poemas y Dibujos; and a chapbook, Love Poem to Tofu and Other Poems.
Samiya Bashir
In celebration of Black History Month in February 2010, the Ethnic Studies Program hosted a poetry reading by Samiya Bashir, who is known for her fierceness and boldness. Bashir is editor of "Best Black Women's Erotica 2" and co-editor of "Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art." She has published three chapbook poetry collections: "Teasing Crow," "Wearing Shorts on the First Day of Spring" and "American Visa." She is also a founding organizer of Fire & Ink, a festival for LGBT writers of African descent. (This event was co-sponsored by Ethnic Studies and other programs/organizations at Pacific.)
Students Tara Ignont and Rayven Williams, from Ethnic Studies and the Black Student Union, are introducing Samiya Bashir.