May Lee Yang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May Lee, also known as May Lee Yang, is a Hmong writer and community activist living in Minnesota, United States.
Her work has appeared in the Paj Ntaub Voice Hmong literary journal, Unarmed, the Bamboo Among the Oaks anthology, and Hmong Movement. Her play Stir-Fried Pop Culture was given a staged reading at Mu Performing Arts' New Eyes Festival in April, 2005 in Minneapolis.
She was a member of the Hmong and Lao spoken word group, F.I.R.E. (Free Inspiring Rising Elements) and performed regularly at several Minnesota venues including the Fringe Festival, Intermedia Arts, Hmong Fest, Patrick’s Cabaret, the Loft Literary Center, and local universities and colleges.
May Lee has also been an actress and performed for Pom Siab Hmoob Theatre (currently a part of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent) in the play, Hmong Tapestry: Voices from the Cloth. Venues for the play included schools, college campuses, conferences, and community sites throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Kansas from 1997 through 2001.
May Lee was the winner of the Loft Literary Center’s Mentorship Program in Non-Ficton (2005). She was also a recipient of the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant (2004), the Playwright Center’s Many Voices Residency Fellowship (2002), the University of Minnesota’s Anna Augusta von Helmholtz Phelan Scholarship for Creative Writing (2001)and the University of Minnesota Undergraduate Research Project grant to write a book-length project entitled Anatomy of An Asian Girl (2001).
She curated the show, Unveiled: Hmong Writers on Sex in February 2003. She also curated Our Times, Our Voices, Our Visions, a day-long celebration of the talents of Hmong young adults featuring works in the genres of literature, music, visual artwork, film, and theatre in November, 2002.
May Lee studied English at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities during the late 1990s and early 2000s. She had also studied at Carleton College.
May Lee co-founded Portraits of Boiled Thoughts, a Hmong creative writing group at the University of MN in 2001, as well as organized, co-wrote, and directed the short play, Holding Your Breath with Hmong teens around teen pregnancy prevention in that same year.
She worked with teens from the Hmong Peace Program to develop a 30-minute play about violence prevention in the Hmong community in 1999. She was a co-founder and member of the Hmong LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) Task Force.
May Lee was a founder and co-chair of VISION, an annual Hmong youth conference. The name is an acronym for "Validating and Inspiring Successful Initiatives for Outreach and Network" The purpose of the conference was to provide Hmong social activists with resources, skills, and network opportunities (100 yearly attendance). It features an arts slam to validate and inspire others in the community (typically 300 in attendance). The VISION members also organize an Awards Show to honor the works of the unsung heroes in the Hmong community.
May Lee continues to perform actively around the community. LINKS
[1] May Lee Yang Interview
[2] May Lee Yang and VISION article in Hmong Today
[3] May Lee Yang article in Hmong Times
