CTFF And Rumduol Presents: Beyond Trauma Narratives: Modern Khmer American Writing (Free Event)
Join us for an exciting session highlighting Khmer American writers.
Each author will share some of their work, followed by a
moderated panel and book signing. All are welcome.
FEATURE AUTHORS
PICHCHENDA BAO, SAMPHORS CHHUN, SANARY PHEN
PANEL MODERATOR: DR. CHRISTINE SU
In this panel presentation and discussion, we will consider language as a portal to the past, present, and future. We address the question: How do we use writing to challenge and nurture the ongoing conversation about our history while also recognizing the evolution of Cambodian American identities? Join us as we listen to the words of three amazing Khmer authors who have navigated their refugee journeys and transformed trauma into triumph through writing, and reflect on how you can enhance your personal journey by putting pen to paper. Please join us for a Q&A and book signing after the panel.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2025 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM @ ART THEATRE of LONG BEACH (CLICK HERE FOR FREE TICKETS)
PICHCHENDA BAO
An infant survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, daughter of refugees, and feminist stay at home mother, Pichchenda Bao is a poet and prose writer based in New York City.
Her work weaves together grief, resilience, survivor’s guilt, generational divides, wonder, and the everyday.
SAMPHORS CHHUN
Samphors Chhun was born during the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, and came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1982. Now a San Francisco Bay Area-based lawyer, Samphors takes readers into the realm of detective fiction with her debut work, The Aloha Murder Mystery.
SANARY PHEN
Poet, freelance writer, activist, and storyteller, Sanary was born in a refugee camp in Thailand following the Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia. She and her family emigrated to
the U.S. and resettled in Lowell, MA, where she is active in the literary arts community.
MODERATOR, DR. CHRSTINE SU
Dr. Christine Su is an educator, historian, writer, and community activist. The biracial daughter of a Khmer father and a Scottish mother, her research efforts focus on multiracial and transnational identity and Southeast Asian diasporic history and culture. She is the author of Voices of a New Generation: Cambodian Americans in the Creative Arts (2021), and Kroeung: Cambodian Cooking with Chef T (2022). She is one of the authors of the Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum (CASMC) project launched nationwide in 2025. The CASMC provides teachers with lesson plans, primary documents, and teaching strategies to integrate Cambodian culture history and curriculum into their classrooms. Dr. Su is currently Visiting Faculty of Southeast Asian History and Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
