What’s Your Normal?: A Discourse of Own Realities

Time: Saturday, June 28, 10:30am-11:30am
Location: Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Jefferson Park 10B
ALA Scheduler: http://ala13.ala.org/node/10928

Abstract

Last year, APALA launched What’s Your Normal?, a new essay series that highlights the diversity–e.g., ethnicity, language, religion, sexuality, (dis)ability, citizenship, socioeconomic status–within the Asian and Pacific American category and offers snippets of what is “normal” for the writers. With this program, we will continue and broaden the conversation and provide a forum for constructive discourse – using personal narratives as starting points, we will not only create awareness about individual realities and identities but discuss them within the larger social contexts and come up with practical and positive ideas and action items. So, what’s your normal? Let’s talk!

Description

Based on the concept of a conversation about our different definitions of what is “normal” for us, this program takes some overarching categories of diversity and serves them up for discussion, as well as for brainstorming for practical service and program ideas.

We will begin with a very brief introduction to the What’s Your Normal? essay series and how it serves as the impetus for the session’s discourse. We will then form small breakout groups, with each group focusing on a specific topic; the bulk of the session will be spent on this part. At the end, we will reconvene, share the main points and outcomes from the discussions, and prioritize ideas to be pursued.

At least three topics will be discussed at this session. The pre-determined topics are: 1) racial, ethnic, and national identities 2) gender identity and sexual orientation, and 3) health and disability status. Depending on interest and the number of attendees, one or two additional topics may be added; attendees will vote on which topics to add. Ideas for additional topics include: generational identity (age), religious affiliation and identity, immigrant and refugee status and identity, and socio-economic status; attendees are free to add their own topic ideas. While there will be facilitators for the pre-determined topics, we will need volunteers to facilitate the additional topics.

Pushing the Boundaries: LGBTQ Presentation and Representation of/by Asian/Pacific American Writers

Sunday, June 30, 2013
10:30am-11:30am
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
Jackson Park 10A
Details: ALA13 Scheduler

Sponsored by APALA and GLBTRT, this program focuses on the representation, or lack thereof, of LGBTQ members within the spectrum of the Asian/Pacific American (APA) community, particularly in literary works by APA LGBTQ writers. It also discusses the movement of presenting and representing APA LGBTQs in literature through activism and agency, whether as an individual or as a group pushing the boundaries within and outside the walls of APA and LGBTQ communities.

Program speakers include: authors Malinda Lo, Mary Anne Mohanraj, and Dwight Okita and MOONROOT zine collective members Sine Hwang Jensen and Linda Nguyễn.

Malinda Lo (Speaker) www.malindalo.com
	Malinda Lo is an award-winning journalist for her work in LGBT media. Her debut novel, Ash, was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist and a Nebula Award Finalist. Her next novel, Huntress, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and another Lambda Finalist. Malinda lives with her partner in California.
Mary Anne Moharanj (Moderator & Speaker)
	Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of BODIES IN MOTION, a Sri Lankan-American novel-in-stories (HarperCollins) and nine other titles.  BODIES IN MOTION was a finalist for the Asian American Book Awards, has been translated into six languages, and was selected for the One Book, One Truman program at Truman College.  Mohanraj was a recipient of a Breaking Barriers Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women for Asian American arts organizing, an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose, a Neff Fellowship in English, a Steffenson-Canon Fellowship in the Humanities, and the Scowcroft Prize for Fiction. Mohanraj is Clinical Assistant Professor of fiction writing and literature at the University of Illinois, Associate Coordinator of Asian and Asian American Studies and Executive Director of both DesiLit (www.desilit.org), an arts organization supporting S. Asian and diaspora literature, and the SLF (www.speclit.org), an arts organization supporting speculative fiction.
Dwight Okita (Speaker) dwightland.homestead.com
	Dwight Okita is a Chicago native and third-generation, gay Japanese American. He started out writing poems in first grade because he couldn’t write compositions. Tia Chucha Press published his poetry book CROSSING WITH THE LIGHT. He has written stage plays which were produced in Chicago including THE RAINY SEASON, RICHARD SPECK, and the collaborative play THE RADIANCE OF A THOUSAND SUNS. Okita was featured in a documentary for public TV called “Out & Proud in Chicago.” Currently, he is focusing on novels: His first novel THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards, and his second novel THE HOPE STORE is entered in the 2013 Amazon contest.
Linda Nguyễn (Speaker) www.lindanguyen.info
	Linda Nguyễn is an MLIS graduate, queer artist, and member of the MOONROOT zine collective living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Sine Hwang Jensen (Speaker)
	Sine Hwang Jensen is a graduate student, activist, and dreamer from Baltimore, MD working towards an MA in History and an MLS at the University of Maryland, College Park with a specialization in archives, records, and information management. She is passionate about cultural heritage preservation, and Asian Pacific American history. She works as a racial justice facilitator and women’s health teaching associate at Johns Hopkins University and is a member of the MOONROOT zine collective.

Download the PDF flyer:

Act now before APALA’s ALA Annual social events before early-bird pricing ends and register now!

Sign up form for both events: www.apalaweb.org/registration

Friday, June 28, 2013 (12PM–3PM)

Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial (Cambodian Association of Illinois)
2831 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Enjoy a guided visit through the Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial on Chicago’s North Side. Our visit will include South East Asian finger foods and snacks. The museum staff is excited to host us! Established in 2004, the Killing Fields Memorial is the only memorial of its kind outside of Cambodia. The museum and memorial aim to raise awareness of the Cambodian genocide, and human rights more broadly, and celebrate the renewal of Cambodian community and culture in the United States. A portion of APALA’s tour price will be donated to the museum. Additional donations are welcome.

• Early-bird registration (on/before June 10):  $20 for APALA members / $25 for non-members.
• Regular registration (June 11–June 24): $30 for non-members / $35 for non-members.
• Public transit from the Loop: Brown Line (Kimball-bound) to Francisco stop. Use Google Maps for more specific directions.
• For those interested in going to the museum together from the official APALA hotel, APALA member Paolo Gujilde will meet at 10:45AM in the lobby of the Westin River North and escort the group via public transit to the museum.

Saturday, June 29, 2013 (Begins 7PM)

APALA’s Annual 2013 Dinner
Home of Mary Anne Mohanraj

An intimate affair at the Oak Park home of writer Mary Anne Mohanraj: Enjoy a catered and home cooked buffet-style dinner of traditional Sri Lankan dishes (including vegetarian/vegan options) while mingling with friends old and new. Dr. Mohanraj is Professor of Fiction and Literature and Associate Director of Asian and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She has authored nine titles, including Bodies in Motion, and is also a translator, Asian American arts organizer, and Executive Director of DesiLit.org. Dr. Mohanraj will be cooking part of the meal and will read pieces from her writings.

• Early-bird price (before June 10, 2013): $30 for APALA members / $40 for non-members.
• Regular price (after June 10, 2013): $35 for APALA members / $45 for non-members.
• You will receive Mary Anne’s home address in your registration confirmation email.
• Public transit from the Westin River North: From the Clark/Lake stop, take the Green Line (Harlem-bound) to Harlem Green train stop. Use Google Maps for more specific directions.
• Public transit from McCormick Place: Best to take free ALA shuttle back to the hotel and catch the Green Line as explained above.
• Cab ride from downtown to Oak Park would be around $25.
• For those interested in going to Mary Anne’s home together, APALA member Paolo Gujilde will meet at 6PM in the lobby of the Westin River North and escort the group via public transit to her home.

Sign up here for both events: www.apalaweb.org/registration  

Please share with your friends, colleagues, and other people who might be interested.

Register early and take advantage of the early-bird registration option. Early registration will help us tremendously with ordering food. Thank you!

Questions? Contact Samanthi Hewakapuge, samanthi@uic.edu.

Download PDF flyer of APALA events at ALA13:

Download your copy now: APALA Newsletter Spring 2013 [PDF, 3.1 MB]

Please make plans to attend one or both of APALA’s social events at Annual 2013! We’re pleased to announce that online registration is now open!

Friday, June 28, 2013
Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial – Cambodian Association of Illinois
2831 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
12PM–3PM – Enjoy a guided visit through the Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial on Chicago’s North Side. Our visit will include South East Asian finger foods and snacks. The museum staff is excited to host us! Established in 2004, the Killing Fields Memorial is the only memorial of its kind outside of Cambodia. The museum and memorial aim to raise awareness of the Cambodian genocide, and human rights more broadly, and celebrate the renewal of Cambodian community and culture in the United States. A portion of APALA’s tour price will be donated to the museum. Additional donations are welcome.

• Early-bird registration (on/before June 10):  $20 for APALA members / $25 for non-members.
• Regular registration (June 11–June 24): $30 for non-members / $35 for non-members.
• Public transit from the Loop: Brown Line (Kimball-bound) to Francisco stop. Use Google Maps for more specific directions.
• For those interested in going to the museum together from the official APALA hotel, APALA member Paolo Gujilde will meet at 10:45AM in the lobby of the Westin River North and escort the group via public transit to the museum.

Saturday, June 29, 2013
Begins 7PM – APALA’s Annual 2013 dinner will be an intimate affair at the Oak Park home of writer Mary Anne Mohanraj. Enjoy a catered and home cooked buffet-style dinner of traditional Sri Lankan dishes (including vegetarian/vegan options) while mingling with friends old and new. Dr. Mohanraj is Professor of Fiction and Literature and Associate Director of Asian and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She has authored nine titles, including Bodies in Motion, and is also a translator, Asian American arts organizer, and Executive Director of DesiLit.org. Dr. Mohanraj will be cooking part of the meal and will read pieces from her writings.

• Early-bird price (before June 10, 2013): $30 for APALA members / $40 for non-members.
• Regular price (after June 10, 2013): $35 for APALA members / $45 for non-members.
• You will receive Mary Anne’s home address in your registration confirmation email.
• Public transit from the Westin River North: From the Clark/Lake stop, take the Green Line (Harlem-bound) to Harlem Green train stop. Use Google Maps for more specific directions.
• Public transit from McCormick Place: Best to take free ALA shuttle back to the hotel and catch the Green Line as explained above.
• Cab ride from downtown to Oak Park would be around $25.
• For those interested in going to Mary Anne’s home together, APALA member Paolo Gujilde will meet at 6PM in the lobby of the Westin River North and escort the group via public transit to her home.

Sign up here for both events: www.apalaweb.org/registration  

Please share with your friends, colleagues, and other people who might be interested.
Register early and take advantage of the early-bird registration option. Early registration will help us tremendously with ordering food. Thank you!

Questions? Contact Samanthi Hewakapuge, samanthi@uic.edu.

Download PDF flyer of APALA events at ALA13:

Heawon has been an APALA member since 1998 (or 1999). She served as APALA president in 2004-2005. Since then, she has been part of APALA’s Scholarship Awards Committee, as both member and chair, and the Mentoring Committee as a mentor. Heawon currently serves as the chair of the APALA Publicity Committee.

Since 2004, Heawon has been the branch manager of John Muir Branch, then of Junipero Serra Branch Library of the Los Angeles Public Library, a public library system in Southern California that is 72-branches large. Heawon’s branch, Junipero Serra, is in South Central Los Angeles, which is only a short distance south of downtown Los Angeles.

Of her MLIS education, Heawon writes:

I studied at Maryville College for one and a half years then was going to go back to Korea, but decided against it.  Then I went to University of Tennessee, Knoxville for my MLIS degree.

When asked about the satisfaction she derives from her professional position as a librarian, Heawon asserts getting great satisfaction in guiding and supporting her professional and paraprofessional staff to excellence. It is little wonder that Heawon states mentoring as among her greatest professional interests.

I want to see future potential leaders succeed in their career path… push them and guide them into that direction.

Someday, Heawon would like to work as the director of a library system, in which she can make a greater difference in the lives of library patrons and staff members.

Heawon is an avid reader and movie viewer, especially of British mysteries. She has an extensive personal collection of novels and DVDs. Though Heawon enjoys company over a nice meal or afternoon tea, she admits to also enjoying quiet time at home. Driving long distances is one of the things she avoids when she can. However, the prospect of being with valued friends and colleagues makes such effort worthwhile to her.

Heawon is definitely among the most approachable, interesting and engaging members of APALA. Be sure to say hello when you see her in library conferences, meetings, and social gatherings.

We would like to thank the following companies:

2013 Bronze Level

Sponsor of the APALA President’s Program at 2013 ALA Conference: Pushing the Boundaries: Presentation and Representation of LGBTQ Members of/by Asian/Pacific American Writers, Authors

Founded in 2000, Alexander Street Press specializes in publishing large-scale and high quality digital collections in the humanities and social sciences. In 2012 they partnered with Asia Pacific Films to create Asian Studies in Video.

Visit Alexander Street Press at: http://alexanderstreet.com

Sponsor of the APALA Emerging Leaders Scholarship

Founded in 1842, Springer publishes information in the fields of science, technology, and medicine. Their major platforms include SpringerLink and Springer eBooks. Their ebooks are DRM free!

Visit Springer at: http://www.springer.com

Founded in 1880, Elsevier is the world’s leading provider of science, technology, and health information. Examples of their products include ScienceDirect, SciVerse, Scopus, and MD Consult. Elsevier is a founding publisher of global programs that provide free or low-cost access to science and health information in developing countries.

Visit Elsevier at: http://www.elsevier.com

Founded in 1965, SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media in the areas of business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine.

Visit Sage at: http://www.sagepub.com

It’s kind of infectious, you see. I do my best to empower people around me because that’s what I seem to be good at. I love inspiring and motivating people to do their best because I believe in them, I see that they can do their best, and they deserve to be recognized for that. They, in turn, do the same for others.

However, this is ironic because I also see that I am unable to empower or inspire myself. I am constantly discontented and  largely dissatisfied with myself. I see, all too clearly, how my life turned out differently from my own vision, which was largely borrowed from my parents. It seems that I have set an almost impossibly and invisibly high bamboo ceiling of expectations that no one can see or break, even myself. I don’t know, maybe it’s how I was raised: a defense or survival mechanism?

The drive to succeed and be “overly” or “super” ambitious is quite a common “gene” in Asians and Asian Americans. It is not a totally exaggerated stereotype in popular culture. There’s some truth to it. We were natured and nurtured to be workaholics of perfectionism, or at least in the eyes of our parents.

Like most Asian immigrant parents raising Asian American children, my parents expected my “academic and behavioral perfectionism” as forms of “normalcy” or “normality” or “normativity.” It is normal to get 100s in calculus exams, write perfect essays on literary epistemology of Victorian novels, and to greet and pay respects to your grandparents, even after the derision and irrelevant criticism you receive from them. On the contrary, it is not normal to refute your parents’ wishes, not normal to not go to Ivy League schools, not normal to not go to law or medical school, not normal to not be perfect.

Anything less than the ideal perfection is an insult to your family history and reputation. It questions your identity, the very essence of who we are. I learned to cope with that the best I could. The ever-present voices in my mind say: “You are not good enough. You will never be good enough. Now get back to work. Don’t waste any more time.” Those voices belonged to my parents, but I have now “embraced” them as my own. Maybe I like playing librarian because helping people allows me to escape from my own personal misery, self-loathing, and defeatist attitude?

From time to time, I think I did something right with my life at one point, though I did not fulfill my parents’ expectations. I didn’t go to Ivy League schools. I am not a doctor, lawyer, or investment banker. I am not making six figures now or having children at the moment. Those factors are not important to me, but somehow I feel I am missing something here. Maybe I feel like a “loser” because I’ve disrespected my parents and that makes me lack something–self-dignity, perhaps?

Is it normal to feel lost or strayed from your parents’ idealization of your life or am I simply living a normal life beyond the confines of my parents’ expectations? I don’t know and I don’t think I really want to know.

Amy Chua’s work, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, sparked a lot of anger and debate over the years. The infamous Tiger Mom. Yes, my parents were indeed Tiger Parents. I don’t need to say more about that.

If I have kids in the future, I’d drive them insane, too.  I am not here to put the blame on my parents. They are who they are. They probably went through a similar hell with their parents, too, for all I know. I don’t pry, but I do theorize: is there a perpetual cycle of parental condescension from one generation to the next? Maybe or maybe not. It also doesn’t help that I think like an American, but embrace my Chinese cultural roots. I am an amphibian. I can switch my mind from Chinese to American to Chinese again, but I do not share the same mindset with my parents.

This reflective essay is not supposed to heal or relieve myself or anyone else’s emotional burdens from their childhood roots. It is to illustrate that we may or may not share similar life experiences. Our parallel memories and experiences define who we are and our relationships to our parents and to each other.

If this somehow made you question or at least made you concur with what I had written, then I’ve said what I needed to say. I’ve “contexualized” my “normal life” experience and perspective to best fit the reader’s needs and understandings of life, or at least the life that I have. It is and isn’t normal, depending on when you ask me.

So far, life as a librarian is quite a “normal” life because I like the work. I get to help people (anyone, really) in an extraordinarily (non-social, work-like) way: I empower and encourage them to read, research, and think differently about things beyond their own horizon.

Raymond (Ray) Pun is a writer, librarian, and thinker in New York. He has written essays for The Huffington Post, Colleges and Research Libraries News, World History Bulletin, Business and Finance Bulletin, and more.

Resources

Some Resources on the Asian American Experience Worth Checking Out:

Asian American Biography edited by Helen Zia and Susan B. Gall

Asian American Literature: An Introduction to the Writings and Their Social Context by Elaine H. Kim.

Asian American Psychology: The Science of Lives in Context edited by Gordon C. Nagayama Hall and Sumie Okazaki.

Asian American Youth: Culture, Identity, and Ethnicity edited by Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

Language, Identity, and Stereotype among Southeast Asian American Youth: the Other Asian by Angela Reyes

The Asian American Movement by William Wei

Asian-American Pacific Heritage Month: History and Resources at The NYPL by Raymond Pun

Are you a creative individual with a knack for creating eye-catching designs? Can you develop a clever library tagline? Would you like to see your design modeled by APALA members and supporters nationwide? Take a chance and show off your creative side! The winning design will receive a $100 gift card and one-year APALA membership.

Submission Guidelines:

• Designs must incorporate the APALA logo (Logo available via email.)
• Designs for both the front and back of the T-shirt are welcome
• Designs should appeal to a broad audience and be marketable to all library supporters
• Multiple submission will be accepted
• File format should be in PNG (Portable Network Graphics) between 100 to 300 DPI

Eligibility:

• APALA welcomes all submissions
• An appointed jury will select the winning design
• Submit your designs and questions to Varaxy Yi <varaxy@gmail.com>

Prize:

The designer of the winning logo receives a $100 gift card and a one-year APALA membership. Sales from the winning T-shirt help support APALA scholarships and grants.

Deadline:  Extended to May 20, 2013

Thank you,
APALA Fundraising Committee

Download: PDF of APALA 2013 T-shirt Design Contest Flyer

APALA: http://www.apalaweb.org/contribute
or
OC REFORMA: http://reformaoc.org/index.html

Every $$$ you donate will give us the boost we need on this grueling 5K Run/Dash!

Thank you for your support!