#34 Luk Lao

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement Volume 17 Issue 1 Article 2 2022 #34 Luk Lao Victoria Gill Lesley University, victoria.s.gill@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, and the Language and Literacy Education Commons Recommended Citation Gill, Victoria (2022) "#34 Luk Lao," Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement: Vol. 17 : Iss. 1, Article 2. DOI: 10.7771/2153-8999.1247 Available at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea/vol17/iss1/2 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact epubs@purdue.edu for additional information. This is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. 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This journal is covered under the CC BY-NC-ND license. Gill: #34 Luk Lao Vol. 17 Iss. 1 (2022) www.JSAAEA.org Creative and Literary Works “#34 Luk Lao” Victoria Gill Lesley University “Mung ouk jak hee Lao, mung thong vao Lao” You came out of a Lao pussy, you have to speak Lao “Maa Lao, luk Lao thuoa” Lao mother means a Lao child, of course These were my mother’s battle cries We not only survive, we toil to thrive School is where the head is Keep your Lao aside Home is where the heart is Keep your English outside Knowing when to use which words where Keeps us alive I am of her blood and bones survival warriors of the unknown of refugee camps, of clashing thrones of the Khmer genocide there’s nothing for me to decide I embrace her unwillingness to hide dutifully I abide Khoun Maa, Lao Isaan Fought for her life and now We fight for her language for I am luk Lao I hold on to it tight —this legacy it is the air I need to breathe In this way, we, she, and our ancestors Remain in existence —in immortality Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute this article, as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. More details of this Creative Commons license are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JSAAEA. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement, Vol. 17. Iss. 1. (2022) ISSN: 2153-8999 Published by Purdue e-Pubs, 2022 1 Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, Vol. 17 [2022], Iss. 1, Art. 2 About the Author Dr. Victoria Gill is a first-generation, Lao Punjabi American poet, practitioner-scholar, and Assistant Professor in the Language and Literacy department at Lesley University’s Graduate School of Education. She obtained her doctorate in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania. Having long been passionate about issues of power and identity, she investigates their intersections and how they relate to literacies and pedagogies in ways that create pathways for teachers to build inclusive classrooms that center historically excluded perspectives and voices. Her current research examines how teaching can be impacted by understanding and using the theory of Intersectionality with aims for equity and agency with a focus on Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Southeast Asian representation in secondary English Language Arts classes. Dr. Gill’s research/poetry has been published in The English Journal, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE, LEARNing Landscapes, Writing & Pedagogy, and the Urban Education journal. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea/vol17/iss1/2 DOI: 10.7771/2153-8999.1247 2 Gill: #34 Luk Lao Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement Vol.17 Iss.1 (2022) www.JSAAEA.org Editor Dr. Wayne E. Wright Purdue University Associate Editors Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry University of Hawaii at Manoa Dr. Phitsamay Sychitkokhong Uy University of Massachusetts, Lowell Book Review Editor Dr. Vichet Chhuon University of Minnesota Creative Works Editor Bryan Thao Worra Lao Assistance Center Journal Manager Vikrant Chap Purdue University Editorial Review Board Dr. Steve Arounsack California State University, Stanislaus Dr. Sovicheth Boun Salem State University Dr. Virak Chan Purdue University Published by Purdue e-Pubs, 2022 Dr. Carl L. Bankston III Tulane University Dr. Phala Chea Lowell Public Schools Dr. George Chigas University of Massachusetts, Lowell 3 Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, Vol. 17 [2022], Iss. 1, Art. 2 Dr. Loan Dao University of Massachusetts Boston Dr. Linh Dang KIPP DC Headquarters Dr. Sophal Ear Occidental College Dr. Vincent K. Her University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire Dr. Nancy H. 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Lee San Francisco State University Dr. Monirith Ly Royal University of Phnom Penh Dr. Sue Needham California State University, Dominguez Hills Dr. Max Niedzwiecki Daylight Consulting Group Dr. Clara Park California State University, Northridge Dr. Giang Pham University of Massachusetts Amherst Dr. Malaphone Phommasa University of California Santa Barbara Dr. Kalyani Rai University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Dr. Cathy J. Schlund-Vials University of Connecticut, Storrs Dr. Nancy J. Smith-Hefner Boston University Dr. Yer J. Thao Portland State University Dr. Monica M. Trieu Purdue University Dr. Silvy Un Saint Paul Public Schools Dr. Linda Trinh Vo University of California, Irvine Dr. Varaxy Yi Borromeo California State University, Fresno Dr. Yang Sao Xiong The University of Wisconsin-Madison 4 Gill: #34 Luk Lao Dr. Zha Blong Xiong University of Minnesota Doctoral Student Editorial Review Board Diana Chandara University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Bao Diep University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Vanessa Sovanika Na University of California San Diego Khoi Nguyen George Mason University Hoa Nha Nguyen Boston College Linda Marie Pheng University of Wisconsin-Madison Latana Thaviseth University of California Los Angeles Melissa Vang San Diego State University Kassandra Chhay University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Annie BichLoan Duong San Joaquin County Office of Education Nielson Hul Cornell University Dung Minh Mao University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Thien-Huong Ninh University of Southern California Krissyvan Truong Claremont Graduate University Mai Vang University of Massachusetts Boston Thong Vang University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Soua Xiong San Diego State University Claremont Graduate University Published by Purdue e-Pubs, 2022 5