Evento

When Everything Was Everything Release Party

Full Circle Publishing invites the community to celebrate Minnesota's first Lao-American picture book.

4-5pm VIP Preview - $50/ticket
5-7pm Community Celebration - free and open to all. please reserve ticket(s)

Join us! We will celebrate with food, drink, a reading by Saymoukda and an artist talk-back with Cori. Food will be available through Minnesota's first Lao food truck, Soul Lao and Khmer-women owned, Spinning Wylde, will provide fun and Cotton Candy.

VIP PREVIEW:
$50 Ticket includes...
- One copy of When Everything was Everything, signed by both the author & the illustrator
- Dish from Soul Lao
- Cotton Candy Pufftub from Spinning Wylde
- Champagne toast
- Three raffle tickets for Original Book Art

ABOUT THE BOOK
Award-winning Lao American poets first picture book is a love song to the Lao diaspora, survivors of the Vietnam War, and the city of Saint Paul.

With sparse, poetic language and lush watercolor illustrations, When Everything Was Everything written by Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, illustrated by Cori Nakamura Lin, with a forward by Bao Phi (Full Circle Publishing, $18.95) explores the Lao refugee experience with uncommon tenderness, humor and wit, painting an indelible picture of resilience, endurance and love.

The Lao diaspora still grapples with misrepresentation or no representation at all in popular and historical narratives, school curriculums, community conversations, and the arts. As a trans-generational narrative, When Everything Was Everything signifies a turning point for Lao American refugee stories. Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet feels a resonance with the story, Ive never read a childrens book where I have shared so much with the author, from the streets we lived on, the haircuts we had, the cucumber fields we walked, right down to the food shelves and the wars we come from. Sun Yung Shin, author of Cooper's Lesson, a bilingual Korean-English illustrated book for children, calls the story a beautiful and detailed unfolding of memories.