Walt Whitman Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 42 (2016) Winner
Mai Der Vang
マイ・ダー・ヴァン
Mai Der Vang
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- Fresno, California, United States
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Fresno, California → New York, NY (during Columbia University)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet
- Active Years
- 2010-
- Affiliations
- Kundiman (Fellow)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Berkeley | College of Letters and Science | English | B.A. | — | United States |
| Columbia University (School of the Arts) | — | Creative Writing (Poetry) | MFA | — | United States |
University of California, Berkeley
College of Letters and Science
/ English
Degree:
B.A.
Country:
United States
Columbia University (School of the Arts)
Creative Writing (Poetry)
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Walt Whitman Award | Afterland | — | Poets & Writers | Won |
| 2017 | National Book Award for Poetry (Longlist) | Afterland | — | National Book Foundation | Longlisted |
| 2018 | Kate Tufts Discovery Award (Finalist) | Afterland | — | Claremont Graduate University | Finalist |
| 2022 | Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (Finalist) | Yellow Rain | — | Pulitzer Prizes | Finalist |
| 2017 | Lannan Literary Fellowship | — | — | Lannan Foundation | Fellowship |
| 2022 | American Book Award | — | — | Before Columbus Foundation | Won |
Walt Whitman Award
2016
Work:
Afterland
Organization:
Poets & Writers
Result:
Won
National Book Award for Poetry (Longlist)
2017
Work:
Afterland
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Longlisted
Kate Tufts Discovery Award (Finalist)
2018
Work:
Afterland
Organization:
Claremont Graduate University
Result:
Finalist
Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (Finalist)
2022
Work:
Yellow Rain
Organization:
Pulitzer Prizes
Result:
Finalist
Lannan Literary Fellowship
2017
Organization:
Lannan Foundation
Result:
Fellowship
American Book Award
2022
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
Won
Awards & Nominations
American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 43 (2022) Winner
Works
Major Works
Afterland: Poems
2017 Poetry collectionA poetry collection that addresses war, exile, and family memory; the author explores Hmong history and its reception in America through lyric and archival impulses.
diasporamemorywarfamily
Yellow Rain: Poems
2021 Poetry collectionA collection that consults archival records and testimony to reconstruct memories and histories surrounding the alleged use of 'yellow rain' chemical agents.
archivestestimonywar crimesmemory
Primordial
2025 Poetry collectionThe third collection (2025) developing themes from earlier books, probing origins and primordial memories.
originsmemoryhistory
Bibliography
- Afterland: Poems (2017)
- Yellow Rain: Poems (2021)
- Primordial (2025)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- testimonial and archival poetic approachlyrical yet analytical voice
- Recurring Motifs
- memory and lossexile and diasporadocuments and archives
Legacy
Mai Der Vang is recognized for centering Hmong American perspectives in poetry, weaving memories of war and exile with archival materials and poetic imagination. With major awards and nominations, she is considered an important voice in 21st-century American poetry.
Academic Societies
- Kundiman
Trivia
- Her parents resettled to the United States from Laos as Hmong refugees in 1981.
- Won the 2016 Walt Whitman Award for Afterland.
- Yellow Rain was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry finalist.
- Holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Columbia University.
- She is a Kundiman fellow.