Paj Ntaub Voice
Encyclopedia
The Paj Ntaub Voice is the longest-running literary arts journal focused on Hmong
art and culture, containing original literary and visual artwork as well as criticism.
Established in 1994, its mission is to support Hmong writers and artists by providing a community forum to foster Hmong writing and art, thus nurturing the continual growth and celebration of Hmong heritage.
The purpose is to blend the old with new documentation techniques to reflect the artistic soul of the Hmong
community. Paj Ntaub Voice’s project goals include:
Building a body of Hmong writers and artists, promoting writing by Hmong writers as well as writing about the Hmong, and creating a community forum to engage in discussions on issues that affect the Hmong, and to celebrate and affirm Hmong writers in public readings.
The Paj Ntaub Voice initially began as a youth project of Hmong American Partnership before its organizers began to form a new organization, the Center for Hmong Arts And Talent in Saint Paul
, Minnesota
. In 2003, the Paj Ntaub Voice editors and staff left the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent and became a program under the newly formed Hmong American Institute for Learning.
In October 2002, the Minnesota Historical Society
Press published an anthology collecting both original and previously published examples of work from contributors to the Paj Ntaub Voice called Bamboo Among the Oaks, which, despite initial skepticism quickly sold out its first printing within a year. It continues to be taught in several classrooms across the country.
The Paj Ntaub Voice has changed formats over the years. Originally it appeared as a 12-page collection of tabloid-sized photocopies, but eventually grew into a saddle-stitched journal with cardstock covers during the later years at Hmong American Partnership. In 1999, when the Paj Ntaub Voice became a project under the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent, the journal became a full-sized, perfect bound magazine with a glossy full-color cover. In 2003, the Hmong American Institute for Learning introduced the Paj Ntaub Voice in a new, perfect-bound, digest-sized format.
An average of 15 to 25 writers appear in each issue. The Paj Ntaub Voice typically comes out twice a year. Since the initial publication of the Paj Ntaub Voice, a number of highly active writers and artists have emerged, including May Lee Yang
, Mai Neng Moua
, Ka Vang
, Soul Vang, Cy Thao
, Lee Vang, Peter Yang
, Bee Cha, Dia Cha
, Pacyinz Lyfoung, Yeng Lor, Kou Vang, Song Yang, Shoua Lee, May Pahou Ly, Tou Saiko Lee, Noukou Thao, Sandi Ci Moua
, Gary Yia Lee
and others.
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
art and culture, containing original literary and visual artwork as well as criticism.
Established in 1994, its mission is to support Hmong writers and artists by providing a community forum to foster Hmong writing and art, thus nurturing the continual growth and celebration of Hmong heritage.
The purpose is to blend the old with new documentation techniques to reflect the artistic soul of the Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
community. Paj Ntaub Voice’s project goals include:
Building a body of Hmong writers and artists, promoting writing by Hmong writers as well as writing about the Hmong, and creating a community forum to engage in discussions on issues that affect the Hmong, and to celebrate and affirm Hmong writers in public readings.
The Paj Ntaub Voice initially began as a youth project of Hmong American Partnership before its organizers began to form a new organization, the Center for Hmong Arts And Talent in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. In 2003, the Paj Ntaub Voice editors and staff left the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent and became a program under the newly formed Hmong American Institute for Learning.
In October 2002, the Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
Press published an anthology collecting both original and previously published examples of work from contributors to the Paj Ntaub Voice called Bamboo Among the Oaks, which, despite initial skepticism quickly sold out its first printing within a year. It continues to be taught in several classrooms across the country.
The Paj Ntaub Voice has changed formats over the years. Originally it appeared as a 12-page collection of tabloid-sized photocopies, but eventually grew into a saddle-stitched journal with cardstock covers during the later years at Hmong American Partnership. In 1999, when the Paj Ntaub Voice became a project under the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent, the journal became a full-sized, perfect bound magazine with a glossy full-color cover. In 2003, the Hmong American Institute for Learning introduced the Paj Ntaub Voice in a new, perfect-bound, digest-sized format.
An average of 15 to 25 writers appear in each issue. The Paj Ntaub Voice typically comes out twice a year. Since the initial publication of the Paj Ntaub Voice, a number of highly active writers and artists have emerged, including May Lee Yang
May Lee Yang
May Lee, also known as May Lee Yang, is a Hmong playwright, poet, prose writer, performance artist and community activist living in Minnesota, United States.-Theater:...
, Mai Neng Moua
Mai Neng Moua
Mai Neng Moua is a Hmong writer and a founder of the Paj Ntaub Voice, a Hmong literary magazine. She is also the editor of the first anthology of Hmong American writers, Bamboo Among the Oaks...
, Ka Vang
Ka Vang
Ka Vang is a Hmong writer in the United States. Vang was born in Long Cheng, Laos, in April, 1975. A playwright, fiction writer and poet, she is a recipient of the Archibald Bush Artist Fellowship and several other artistic and leadership awards...
, Soul Vang, Cy Thao
Cy Thao
Cy Thao is a Laotian-born Hmong politician from Minnesota and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 65A, which includes portions of the city of Saint Paul. A Democrat, he was first elected in 2002...
, Lee Vang, Peter Yang
Peter Yang
Peter Yang Kwan or Peter Yang was a Hong Kong martial artist film actor, film producer and director, best known for his appearances in Hong Kong action cinema of the 1970s and 1980s....
, Bee Cha, Dia Cha
Dia Cha
Dia Cha is currently Associate Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at St. Cloud State University, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she teaches courses in cultural anthropology, ethnic studies, Southeast Asian communities, Asian American studies, and Hmong studies...
, Pacyinz Lyfoung, Yeng Lor, Kou Vang, Song Yang, Shoua Lee, May Pahou Ly, Tou Saiko Lee, Noukou Thao, Sandi Ci Moua
Sandi Ci Moua
Sandi Ci Moua, also spelled Nkauj Vwm Taws, is a Hmong actress in Saint Paul, Minnesota and a community activist, and has starred in some of the first contemporary Hmong plays in the world including From Shadows To Light and Hmong! The CIA's Secret Army. She frequently works with Theater Mu and...
, Gary Yia Lee
Gary Yia Lee
Gary Yia Lee is a Hmong anthropologist and author based in Australia. Lee was born in Ban Houei Kouang, Muong Mok, Xieng Khouang, Laos. In 1961, his family was displaced by the civil war and they joined other Hmong refugees in the city of Vientiane. He excelled in a Lao school system run by the...
and others.