Catzie Vilayphonh

Catzie is a Lao American writer, spoken word poet, and performance artist. She uses her work to inspire other Asian Americans, particularly Lao Americans, to embrace the arts and find new ways of preserving and documenting cultural heritage. As a member of a community marked by trauma and war, Catzie is especially interested in examining how one begins a process of remembering what another tries to forget and how first- and second-generations can connect with a country to which they can no longer return. Catzie’s poetry confronts racial stereotypes, analyzes the notions of racist love versus racist hate, and exposes the racial sexualization related to the trafficking of women and children from Asia. Her art also addresses issues such as generational divides within refugee-immigrant communities, the complications of language barriers, and being a member of an ‘unpopular’ ethnicity. As a member of the decade-old spoken word duo Yellow Rage, with partner Michelle Myers, Catzie has performed on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, at the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Spoken Word Summit, and alongside artists such as Ursula Rucker, Pharoahe Monch, Bao Phi, I Was Born With Two Tongues, amongst others. Yellow Rage received the Artist & Performance In Action Fellowship from Asian Arts Initiative, which helped fund their second CD Handle With Care, Volume 2. In August 2010, Catzie led the organization of the 1st Lao American Writers Summit in Minneapolis, which brought together established and emerging Lao American poets, authors, and playwrights. Locally, she facilitates writing and performing workshops for youth and regularly hosts and guest produces the monthly open mic series Family Style at Asian Arts Initiative. Catzie believes that by sharing what has been lost or learned in the process of emigration and assimilation that one can retell their own folktales, rewriting history along the way. She sees her art as contributing to this process, ultimately preserving and extending the legacy of Lao Americans.