So glad this is recorded & on YouTube to watch. BK puts it succinctly when he says “poetry and prayer are similar acts”, and talks about ars poetica. Happy to hear the newer poems as well as the ones from books. Love that there’s time for discussion after the reading. THANK YOU!

So grateful to Christine Su for this review of Koan Khmer. I feel seen, heard, and understood. That’s what happens when a reviewer is also an insider, and what you get then is a review that is both academic and deeply personal. docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea/vol20...

Here's a poem about parenting in the shadow of the Khmer Rouge. #Gratitude to the editors @ Collateral Journal for publishing my work & nominating this poem for a #Pushcart. (fingers crossed!) Happy Sunday, All. www.collateraljournal.com/poetry/btuon

I'll be doing a Zoom reading next Thursday. If you are interested in poetry about family and refugee, please consider attending. I always read (and write) from the heart. Thanks to Ohio Poet Laureate, Kari Gunter-Seymour, for putting this together.

I’m recovering, slowly regaining strength. The doctor said I should be back to normal six weeks after the surgery. The other night, my family and I walked around the neighborhood looking at Halloween decorations. Getting ready to take the kids trick-or-treating tomorrow.

Maxine Chernoff is writing poetry of our times. Check out these two poems from her forthcoming book "Diary" (Quale Press 2026). Thank you. www.culturaldaily.com/maxine-chern...

I'm poetry editor at Cultural Daily, a digital arts and culture magazine. Once a week, I'm going to start posting poems that I curate for the magazine. I'll start with David Kirby's poetry: www.culturaldaily.com/david-kirby-...

I had an emergency surgery this past weekend. I’m slowly recovering. I want to express my respect and deep gratitude to the nurses, surgeon, & anesthesiologist at Ellis Hospital for saving my life. Thank you!

Here's a list of journals that folks recommended: Long Poem Magazine (UK), The Broken Spine (UK), Last Syllable, Missouri Review, Literary Imagination, Blackbird, Ploughshares (for Fall reading period), Adroit, Cincinnati Review, Lothorian Poetry Journal (1/2)

Dear Poets: Please recommend places that accept long poems. I have a ten-page poem. I'm curious what's out there for long poems and I am also hoping that this will be helpful for other poets in a similar situation. Thanks, in advance, and Happy Sunday!

Took my daughter skating. Teaching her about foot placement, pushing, carving. I got on a board too and I felt like a kid again. That’s me, a kid from the 80s.

It's an honor to have three poems chosen by Cultural Daily poetry editor @bunkong.bsky.social for publication. www.culturaldaily.com/laura-grace-...

An interview I did for my college, where I talked about learning to play fiddle tunes on guitar, skateboarding with my daughter, and fond memories of my beloved mentor, Harry Marten. Please give it a read when you have a minute. Happy Sunday, all! www.union.edu/news/stories...

I’m honored to be awarded Union College’s Stillman Prize for Faculty Excellence in Research. “Tuon writes poems, stories and personal essays that establish space for Cambodian American literature . . . ." Happy Sunday, folks! www.union.edu/news/stories...

Sometimes I catch myself parenting in the shadow of the Khmer Rouge. Thanks to @shopoetryjournal.bsky.social and its editors for publishing this poem. Happy Sunday, All!

Can't believe Koan Khmer is one year old today! This book is a summation of my thoughts, feelings & observations of an immigrant life in the States. If you haven’t done so, please consider getting a copy. I will be grateful for your support! Happy Friday! nupress.northwestern.edu/978081014743...

I always tell students to write from the heart about things that matter. Life is short, I tell them. Be true to your authentic self. (an excerpt of an interview on craft I did with Professor Khem Aryal)

Honored to have two poems chosen by @bunkong.bsky.social for Cultural Daily. “The Young Man on the Train” was written during a 26-day pilgrimage through India in 2014. “The Mountain and the Monk” is a persona poem. www.culturaldaily.com/johnny-cordo...

Last day at the beach. Dad and his daughter exercising. Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Thanks so much @pandora-books.bsky.social for your support of this Koan Khmer! Wonderful to see Khmer and Khmer American writings featured on your page. Gratitude!

The other day, talking to a student about the state of our world, I was reminded of what I need to do as a parent, the challenges of raising my kids in these turbulent times: to not let the darkness of the world infect their childhood, to keep the light in. Hugs to all this Sunday morning.

Unprompted, my son wrote “LOVE” in the sand. A message that is so much needed in this mutilated world. Love to all.

Happy 1st book birthday to DRESSING THE BEAR! It’s been such a wonderful year & to everyone who has read, uplifted, or engaged with these poems in any way, you have made me so happy & I am so very grateful! All the love to @triohousepress.org too! What a talented, tireless, and big-hearted team! 💙

When the U.S. dropped bombs on Iran, I had all these thoughts running through my head. The poem captures some of those thoughts. Thanks to editors @Rattle Poetry for choosing this poem for this week’s Poets Respond. Thank you for reading. www.rattle.com/what-the-war...

My poetry and novel are part of the Proleung Khmer exhibit at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Deep gratitude to the Khmer folks in Lowell for their generous support. I went to read in March of this year a stranger, and they welcomed me with open arms. Thank you for accepting this koan Khmer.

Happy to have a poem in the Michigan Quarterly Review. There are things that still won’t let me go. Thanks to editor Marcelo Hernandez Castillo for this incredible genre-bending, border-crossing, multimedia issue on memory and migrations. I will spend some time with it.

Thank you for the shoutout, @clmporg.bsky.social! shopoetryjournal.com/apa-heritage... @arahko.bsky.social @sati-m.bsky.social @jessnirvanapoet.bsky.social @eylieblue.bsky.social @itsmelktea.bsky.social @bunkong.bsky.social @theoceanisgay.bsky.social

Stoked to have my debut novel reviewed in World Literature Today. Thanks for Charles Rammelkamp for this wonderful review and @worldlittoday.bsky.social for their continued support. (1/2) worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/may/koa...

And I am so grateful to the wonderful poets who blurbed for me!! Most recently, Laura Foley and @bunkong.bsky.social Also, will never stop thanking James Crews, @dseuss.bsky.social , @mkdordiggsy.bsky.social and the lovely others for past books’ blurbs. “Blessings” as some prefer to call them.

Ty to @bunkong.bsky.social for pre-reading FATHER TECTONIC. You can pick up a copy all hand-made and tactile poem-book-object here at the endlessly amazing delicate and ferocious ETHEL ZINE www.ethelzine.com/shop/father-...

Just in case I have followers from Southern California. I have several readings this weekend and a CSULB event on Monday, Apr. 14 (12:30-1:45 in SPA 209). It's been a long time since I last set foot in Southern California. I consider it the place of my rebirth! The prodigal son’s return.

She stays in her room all day, drawing, sketching, being with her own thoughts. She has her art displayed in the state museum. She is my daughter. I’m proud of her.

Super excited to return to Lowell, MA, next week to introduce my debute novel, Koan Khmer, to the city with the second largest Cambodian population in the U.S. Thanks to Christine Su for her kind & generous support. I’m very honored to do this.

Super happy to see "Wanting Kids" on Verse Daily this morning. Thanks to Bear for his continued support and @domkeykong.bsky.social & @johnnycordova.bsky.social for originally publishing the poem in @shopoetryjournal.bsky.social. Thanks, everyone. Happy Sunday! www.versedaily.org/2025/wanting...

by @bunkong.bsky.social www.versedaily.org/2025/wanting...

I am the featured reader at the historic Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs next week (March 5, a Wednesday). Dylan performed at Caffe Lena in '61 & '62. Quite an honor to be standing on the same stage. Please drop by and participate in the open mic. Happy Saturday!

Thanks to Alden Jones for this wonderful interview at the Rumblr, where I discuss why I wrote Koan Khmer, different approaches to trauma, the interplay between fiction & nonfiction, and spirituality in the novel. Please give it a read when you have a minute. Thanks! www.tumblr.com/therumpus/77...

I had a great time reading at Stockton University. The students were listening deeply to my stories and poems & asking smart, terrific questions afterward. Thanks @adammiyashiro.bsky.social for being a wonderful host!

I pray so that I could go back in time when I was young and my grandmother was still alive. I pray to be close to my Lok-Yeay. Huge thanks to @rgvaughan.bsky.social & @bendinggenres.bsky.social for publishing "Praying while Driving." Happy Sunday, All! bendinggenres.com/praying-whil...

So grateful to be published by Bending Genres today! And in the company of a such an multicultural and innovative collection of writers “flying the blue sky” bendinggenres.com/suburban-swi... @bunkong.bsky.social @ahmedmehreen.bsky.social @kelliborges2.bsky.social @amymarques.bsky.social

"I don’t think complete healing is possible, but I think writing helps." What Happened After the War? Alden Jones interviews @bunkong.bsky.social about Koan Khmer (Curbstone Press). ➡️ https://buff.ly/4gulHmJ

Here is a great interview by Phoebe Chan, who asks smart, thoughtful questions about my debut novel, Koan Khmer. Thanks @fullstopmag for publishing it. Please give it a read when you have a minute. Thank you. And Happy Friday, All! www.full-stop.net/2025/02/04/i...

I have a few poems in the current issue of the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement. “Pomegranate” is for my son. Thanks to editor Bryan Thao Worra for his support. Please give it a read when you have a minute. Thanks! And Happy Sunday! docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea/vol20...

If you're sending out work this weekend, please keep us in mind. • Payment is one contributor copy • We nominate for Best New Poets, Best Spiritual Lit, and the Pushcart Prize • We award $150 each for best poem in issue and best poem by an emerging poet • Average response time is 2 weeks

Super happy that “Wanting Kids” is a runner-up for @shopoetryjournal.bsky.social Prize. Huge thanks to editors @domkeykong.bsky.social and @johnnycordova.bsky.social The world depicted in this poem is no longer mine. It’s like it’s somebody else’s life. Strange, dreamlike, so carefree.

In this craft essay, I was thinking of “What Is Left” and how that poem “is a kind of memory that speaks. . . a common theme in my writing about the Cambodian genocide.” Huge gratitude to @markdanowsky.bsky.social for publishing the essay in Cleaver Magazine. www.cleavermagazine.com/on-writing-w...

Congratulations to the runners-up of our inaugural poetry prizes, Ranudi Gunawardena and Bunkong Tuon (@bunkong.bsky.social)! Their poems appear in our new issue, Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/25): bit.ly/shono6

My daughter took this photo. Have a brilliant and beautiful New Year, friends!

2024 has been a good year in terms of writing. I had two books out: a chapbook and a debut novel. I also won a Pushcart prize, which I thought I would never win in a million years. Over this winter break, I was able to sit and read the 2025 Pushcart anthology, (1/2) #Pushcart #CambodianAmerican

She is somewhere between innocence and knowledge, picking up on what kids at school say about Santa & deciding what to do with that info. She tells us: whoever says that Santa doesn’t exist are party poopers. Like previous years, she wrote her letter to Santa. #ChristmasEve