East of the Monsoon: Southeast Asian American Poetry at USA250

The D. SEA Writers Collective read poems commemorating the USA at 250, sharing the tears, joys, and wonders of 1.5 gen. refugees&immigrants.

Dan Hong, Nico Penaranda, Dylan Tran, and Pacyinz Lyfoung are Southeast Asian American poets from Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines, bearing the cultural heritage of their Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, and Hmong ancestors. They have been reading together for over a year, and in 2026, they started to write together. They formed the D. SEA (Southeast Asian American) Writers Collective, a DC/DMV group. They revised and created poems to commemorate the quarter of a millenium anniversary of the USA, sharing the good, the bad, and other of their Southeast Asian American journeys. They will be glad to share poetry with you all, and if you would like to write your own poem too, they prepared a writing workshop to be offered after their reading. We will be meeting in Room 401-F, on the 4th Floor of the DC MLK Library.

Register here

 

DC Oral History Collaborative June Meetup

Calling all local oral historians: HumanitiesDC and the DC History Center are offering their next oral history meetup in Washington, DC! Join us at the DC History Center on Monday, June 1 at 6 pm to be in community with other oral historians. During the meetup we’ll share ideas, talk through challenges and obstacles, and celebrate successes. The first half of the evening is dedicated to small group discussion, with snacks. Then, we’ll gather for a group discussion.

You do not have to be a practicing oral historian to participate but come prepared to learn from others and to share your own thoughts, perspectives, and experiences.

Register here

 

About the DC Oral History Collaborative

The DC Oral History Collaborative, a unique partnership between HumanitiesDC and the DC Public Library, was started in 2017 to encourage Washington, DC residents to record the stories of their communities, share them with the public, and preserve them for the future. Since then, hundreds of oral history fans and practitioners have taken the Collaborative’s training, started projects, and attended oral history related events.

The Collaborative incorporates grant funding, trainings, coaching and other resources to help residents document, preserve, and celebrate the history of all DC communities, specifically through oral history.

DC Conspiracy Meet Up / Mini-Comic Swap

D.C. Conspiracy will host another Comics Creators Meet-Up! April 26. Come hang out, talk shop, and catch up with fellow cartoonists. Plus, we’re turning it into a mini-comic swap. Bring any comics you’ve made: new, old, experimental, really anything. Feel the thrill of trading your comic for something new. It’s a low-pressure hang with people who get what you do. Share your work, chat, and grab a drink. (And totally cool to come empty-handed.)

Learn more