Woman. Warrior. Writer. 3-2022

Debra Kang Dean Vol. 3 No. 6 Tuesday March 1, 2022

Aloha,

Meet Woman Warrior Writer Debra Kang Dean!

Debra Kang Dean is the author of two prize-winning chapbooks and three full-length books of poetry. Totem: America, her most recent book, was shortlisted for the 2020 Indiana Authors Award in Poetry. Long engaged with taijiquan, she is on the poetry faculty of the Sena Naslund-Karen Mann School of Writing.

How did you come to author your life?

Although the words “woman,” “warrior,” and “writer” separately apply to different facets of my being, it might be truer to say that life keeps authoring me—not as subject but in terms of the kind of writer I am. Widowed at fifty, I find those words rearranging themselves, each taking its turn as a verb. I have never forgotten reading how some post-menopausal women became ambiguous figures in one tribal society and so were able to move in the spaces between conventional boundaries—not an especially good fit for our very gendered, youth-oriented culture, but one that has helped me to keep the self that creates intact and persist through changing inner and outer weather. The struggle is real, but remember: This work is no small thing.

Intersectionality: Manuscript Workshop

You are cordially invited to meet Caroline Kim the author of Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories who will be zooming into Intersectionality: Manuscript Workshop (HST) March 1 TUESDAY @1PM (HST).

Sessions are never recorded. This is a live event designed to foster candid live discussion.

Summer 2022 features an 8-week Intersectionality: Writing Workshop for June 7-July 26. Instructor permission only. Please contact writer@drstephaniehan.com

WOMEN’S CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP Thursdays March 24-April 21 from 8-10AM (HST)

This five-week mixed level cross-genre workshop focuses on voice, craft skills, and creative process. Write your story in a supportive environment! Explore, experiment, and generate new material!

Guest writers: Toni Ann Johnson and Gail Vida Hamburg

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS may input the code LOCAL for 10% off!

PEN PARENTIS

Excited to be reading at PEN Parentis! This is a much-needed organization and given its organizing principle, very much serves the needs of women writers. See you there! I’ll be reading new work!

BREAK: FREE Write Your Divorce Story THURSDAY March 10 2-3PM (HST)

This is a FREE class designed to introduce you to Divorce Story Structure. This framework will help you write your story for your legal/personal file.

I designed this framework for all women—you do not have to be a writer to use it. Remember the 5-paragraph essay you learned to write in school? Divorce Story Structure also has 5 steps and is easy to learn. This class is for women who are at any stage of the divorce process who have not yet enrolled in a class @drstephaniehan.com

This class includes a creative process exercise led by Ahran Lee.

To those who are unable to make this FREE class, you can view an explanation of the main framework of Divorce Story Structure on my Youtube channel.

GODS AND PINEAPPLES

2023 marks the 120th anniversary of Korean immigration to the territory of Hawai’i.  March 1, 1919 kicked off a series of protests against Japanese colonialism in Korea and around the globe. Women were ardent participants.

Here are a few images in Hawai’i, firstly of the Korean Women’s Relief Society and then of Great Aunty Marie (Choi) Namkoong (behind) and my grandma Salome Choi Han (front) — twin sisters and stepdaughters of the fierce Ahn Hyun-Kyung, a passionate Korean nationalist who was one of the earliest participants in Korea’s Shanghai Provisional government.

BOOKS – NEW and GREATEST HITS

I want to recommend Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger by Soraya Chemaly as it fills an important gap in non-fiction. There are numerous books in the field of Women’s Studies, but in order for us to reconsider the position of women, we need people to author books that are accessible (READABLE) to the general population. This book fills this gap.

How were you trained to react in particular ways? How does society respond to women who show anger? I think it’s great for book clubs as it invites conversation and self-reflection.

I’ve been thinking about the value of self-help books and at the same time, how they sometimes avoid addressing structural inequalities that serve as a larger reason for women’s challenges. Rage Becomes Her is not a self-help book, and yet it offers insight into personal behavior. I liked it.  

Writing, like all art, is rooted in rebellion and expression. We must strive to have our words shift the status quo. Why not? Aim high.

It will take women 250 years to reach economic parity. Let us do what we can to chip away at that number.

UKRAINE

Maps prompt us to ponder conflict differently.

MERCHANDISE

Woman. Warrior. Writer. Masks and T-shirts.

I am getting rid of my stock of masks and T-shirts (sizes MLXL only). These are two for one deals now!

·      Buy a single mask ($20) and I will send you two ($40) masks.

·      Buy a single T-shirt ($25) and I will send you two ($50) T-shirts.

·      Buy a single mask ($20) and T-shirt ($25) bundle for $25.

Write NEWSLETTER in your order. Proceeds of Woman. Warrior. Writer. products go to scholarships/financial aid.

Please inquire about payment plans and aid here: writer@drstephaniehan.com

I look forward to seeing you in class or online. Cheers, Stephanie