Amy Lam

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http://byamylam.comAmy Lam is a writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon and Oxford, Mississippi. She is a Kundiman fellow and the John & Renee Grisham fellow at the University of Mississippi where she is an MFA candidate. She is a contributing editor and cohost of Backtalk podcast at Bitch Media, the deputy editor at diaCRITICS, and the former editorial lead at On She Goes exploring the world of women of color and travel. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Tin House, Gay Mag, Indiana Review Pacifica Literary Review, and more. She is a former punk kid, who penned a long-running column in Razorcake, the only non-profit music magazine in the US.
DVAN News
Vietnamese & SE Asian American Writers: Call for Manuscripts
Amy Lam -
DVAN is excited to announce the launch of a new literary publishing series in partnership with Texas Tech University Press to support talented Vietnamese and Southeast Asian American writers.
Film
A Deep Gulf: Q&A with Filmmaker Tim Tsai on His Documentary, “Seadrift”
Amy Lam -
A tragedy is at the the center of Tim Tsai's documentary about a small coastal Texan town. It's a tragedy of a life lost, a divided community, and of how some Vietnamese refugees were never able to make a home in Seadrift, Texas.
Art
Making a Universe: Christine Nguyen & the Nature of Her Art
Amy Lam -
"One of my goals is to have the viewers to slow down and put themselves in this imaginary world and think about their own natural environment, experience my imaginary one, and appreciate nature more."
Film
Filmmaker Adele Pham & Nailed It Documentary Explore Vietnamese American History
Amy Lam -
Nailed It is an origin story of the rise of Vietnamese manicurists in what has grown to a multi-million dollar industry. We spoke with filmmaker Adele Pham about the process of making the film, how it's important to record the history of the women and men in an industry that's not often treated with respect, and the balance between making a documentary that "sparks joy" while still sticking to the facts.
Art
Reimagining Futurity: An Online Exhibition of Tuan Andrew Nguyen
Amy Lam -
It is memory that builds our understanding of the world, and within that larger understanding, it is memory that helps us construct an identity, to build a sense of self.
Film
SXSW Jury Winner- “No Crying at the Dinner Table” Streaming Now
Amy Lam -
Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker Carol Nguyen's short documentary, "No Crying at the Dinner Table" has received many accolades, including the grand jury award at SXSW. The moving film explores the layers of grief and what has been left unsaid in a family who share a part of themselves to one another at the dinner table.
Poetry
Writing Into Existence: Artist Profile of Kimberly Nguyen
Amy Lam -
A goal of my poetry is to explore each complicated avenue of my identity as it manifests and conflicts with another avenue, to acknowledge all the problems and joys being Vietnamese-American. I can mourn for the loss of a homeland and empathize with my mother’s loss of country at the same time I can keep in mind the South Vietnamese persecution of Buddhists.
Essays
Dismantling the Old Boys’ Club: Thuc Doan Nguyen & Hollywood
Amy Lam -
I think Hollywood has and still most of the time employs their friends from “the old boys’ club,” people who look alike and think alike and have similar views about women. This will only change when Hollywood actually values true inclusion, especially when so many studies and articles show doing right by marginalized groups equals a ton more loot at the box office.
Film
In Full Bloom: A Short Film on the Black Hole of Grief
Amy Lam -
Filmmaker Maegan Houang explains that "In Full Bloom" tells the story of Cecile, an elderly Vietnamese hoarder, whose life is upended when worms open a black hole in her house.