Laotian-American writer will present book on campus

On April 10 in the Phoenix Lounge, at 8 p.m., Bryan Thao Worra, a Laotian-American writer, will read and present his newest book, "On the Other Side of the Eye," to UW-Green Bay students as part of the American Intercultural Center's Asian-Pacific-American month long festival. Thao Worra, a native of Laos, has created poetry since he was very young. However it wasn't until 1991 that Thao Worra realized that he wanted to do this for the rest of his life. "I had a talent and a real skill for it, and was not necessarily sure that I wanted to be a poet, but I knew I wanted to write," Thao Worra said. According to members.aol.com/thaoworra/about.htm, Thao Worra's official Web site, he is internationally accomplished, in places like, Australia, Singapore, Germany, England and across the United States. In addition to being a writer, poet, and essayist, he is also a freelance writer for the Asian American Press. Thao Worra has many cultural ties to America. He has been the Program Coordinator for the Hmong National Development, which deals with more than 200 other organizations to properly establish any incoming refugees of Southeast Asia and their settling in the United States. Thao Worra said he was responsible for improving the economic, education, and social conditions for the Hmong community, as a part of the Hmong National Development. Having a poet express the meaning of their culture to an audience is a way to influence outside cultures. That is why Thao Worra won't only be reading, but presenting his poems in a way for people of outside cultures to experience generations of Laotian-America. "There are many ways that people can enter into a culture. People can stop into an ethnic restaurant or read books about them, yet it depends on how deep they want to go into it. For example by reading my poetry, you can read the surface, or you can study a poem and understand how I incorporate my culture into it," Thao Worra said. He has also affiliated with National Youth Leadership Council, Asian Media Access, and Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly. Thao Worra said his book, "The Tuk-Tuk Diaries: My Dinner With Cluster Bombs and Touching Detonations," was " remarked as a major change and a major transition in how my style of writing was progressing." With publications in different magazines such as "Defenestration Magazine" and features in "Bamboo among the Oaks," Minnesota Historical Society Press, Thao Worra has had published written work since 1991. "As times go on, more and more goes on within a culture, therefore there are many accounts and many stories, to explain to people. Like the Hmong community, there is over 4000 years of complexities, and the more people who want to become part of the community by learning the culture, the more people will appreciate it and understand it," Thao Worra said. According to Thao Worra's Web site, his first full-length book of poetry was published last year. The title of the book is "On the Other Side of the Eye". In the book he incorporates his culture and "the transient nature of identity and home." "I perceive my book as a swimming pool, everyone can go in and splash around, yet it depends how deep you want to go," Thao Worra said. "There are many ways people are able to read into a new culture, understanding how we think, and how we work, is the way it will happen."