In Celebration of: Put It On Record

Join AAWW in-person and online for a celebration of Cambodian author and opera librettist Sokunthary Svay’s, Put It On Record: A Memoir-Archive. This collection of essays and photographs explores the past present and future of Cambodian literature. Rejoice in this incredible book with an evening woven of word, song, and dance. Featuring esteemed guests Anthony Lanni and allia abdullah-matta.
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Sokunthary Svay is a Cambodian poet, essayist and librettist from New York City. A founding member of the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association (CALAA), she has received fellowships from the American Opera Project, Poets House, Willow Books, and CUNY, as well as commissions from Washington National Opera, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, the Chautauqua Institution, and ISSUE Project Room. She is a doctoral candidate in English at the CUNY Graduate Center and a Lecturer at CCNY in Harlem. Author of a poetry collection and three opera libretti, her hybrid memoir, Put it on Record: A Memoir-Archive, is now available from Willow Books.

Anthony Lanni is a New York City based 6 & 7-string guitarist with a focus on Brazilian and Italian music. As a soloist, Anthony performs his own instrumental, solo guitar arrangements of traditional Brazilian songs; including arrangements of compositions by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Baden Powell, Vinicius de Moraes, Milton Nascimento, Ary Barroso, and more. Anthony is also band leader of the Brazil inspired “American Samba” band, Os Clavelitos. Anthony has composed music and lyrics for several tunes on Os Clavelitos’ debut album, “Arriving”, which reached #1 on the Roots Music Report Top 50 World Chart. His band’s original music celebrates Brazil’s rich musical heritage, combining Brazilian rhythms with English lyrics.

allia abdullah-matta is a poet and Professor of English at CUNY LaGuardia. She writes about the culture, and history of Black women and explores the presence of Black bodies and voices in fine art and poetry. Her poetry has been published in Newtown Literary, Promethean, Marsh Hawk Review, Mom Egg Review, Vox, Global City Review, the Jam Journal Issue of Push/Pull, and Queensbound 2024. Her do-si-do double chapbook, washed clean & blues politico was published by harlequin creatures (hcx) 2021. She is working on a poetry/hybrid collection of poems and images entitled blackprint.
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Founded in 1991, Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW) is devoted to creating, publishing, developing and disseminating creative writing by Asian Americans, and to providing an alternative literary arts space at the intersection of migration, race, and social justice.