Kundiman: 15 Years of Supporting Asian American Writers

We are Kundiman, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting generations of Asian American writers of literature and poetry.

[kundimanforever]

Postcard Poems from Jane Lin.

[kundimanforever]

Postcard Poem from Elaine Wang. 

[kundimanforever]

Watercolor Postcard Poems by Michelle Lin. 

[kundimanforever]

“When will you pause and survey what to plant?” 

Postcard Poem by Suman Chhabra.

[kundimanforever]

Poem about THINGS THAT RISE by Elaine Wang. 

[kundimanforever]

Postcard Poem from DJ Kim. 

If you’re stressed, bored, or anxious being cooped up inside during these difficult times, join our #PoetryCoalition Postcard Project by writing your own poems of protest. Snap a photo, post it on your social media, using hashtags #PoetryCoalition, #PoetryandProtest & #KundimanCards! 

[kundimanforever]

“I don’t know what to say anymore now that I’ve finally admitted to myself: I don’t pray. Sending love, sending hugs — good vibes — nothing feels the same as “praying for you.” But is a hollow prayer better than no prayer? By what degree? What do I send when I think of you fondly? When I wish I could hold your hand in my own?” 

Postcard poem from Michelle Peñaloza. 

[kundimanforever]

“They began with beams spaced to give the illusion of the wall because it could not be imagined. A raven perched nearby eating last fall’s plums dried on the branch. The deer picked up their heads to stare. The frozen earth held their cloven steps from wetter days. The white girders shimmered like glass in the distance. Song birds fell in their imagination.” 

Postcard poem from Jane Lin. 

[kundimanforever]

“Things My Father Would Never Say (cont.) / ‘at the end of the day, / it’s such a privilege to be a dad’”

Postcard poem from Elaine Wang. 

[kundimanforever]

“the poem appeared / as a flash / an elk / sipping / at the milk pond / I hurried not to forget / the taste.” 

Postcard poems from Sahar Muradi.

[kundimanforever]

“Our sisterhood can be so heavy, and tonight their hands seem extra small in mine.”

From a postcard poem by Michelle Lin.

[kundimanforever]

"Every day I am breaking the previous version of self." 

From a postcard poem by Suman Chhabra.

[kundimanforever]

“I’m stricken, oh I’m stricken, by the quickness of things and with silence about death,” by Michelle Lin.

[kundimanforever]

“My mother viewed everything I did as a rebellion.”

The opening line from a postcard poem by Alaine Wayne.

[kundimanforever]

“And so we declared it beautiful,

this broken world we inherited

and couldn’t put back together again.”

Tamiko Beyer, “Yonsei Reality Check.” 

[kundimanforever]

“She was right but, tongue like a knife, she wasn’t trying to help.” 

A postcard poem by Kyle Lucia Wu. Read about our postcard project here! 

[kundimanforever]

“When I wanted to say something important, nothing came." 

By Sarah Gambito. You can view other poetry postcards over on our blog.