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Nor Sanavongsay | |
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| Born | Norrarak Sanavongsay February 28, 1975 Mukdahan, Thailand |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Short Story, Children's picture books, Comic strips |
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Nor Sanavongsay (born February 28, 1975) is an American writer and illustrator in the San Francisco Bay area and the founder of Sahtu Press, Inc.
The Sanavongsay family came to the United States in the aftermath of the Laotian Civil War. Nor Sanavongsay initially resettled with his parents, one brother, and one sister in the town of Kingsport, Tennessee in 1979. He was four years old at the time. They were sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Kingsport, Tennessee. In August 1979 they relocated to Elgin, Illinois, where he would spend the next 30 years.
He grew up watching Transformers , Bruce Lee movies, Thundercats , and other cartoons of the 1980s. He also had a fascination with comic books and graphic novels. He began drawing at the age of six with his uncle as a mentor. He honed his artistic skills as the years passed by, and he initially went to Northern Illinois University to study to be an illustrator. He eventually changed his major to web design, graduating in 1998.
He has actively been involved as a volunteer with the SatJaDham Lao Literary Project, the National Lao American Writers Summit, the Lao Artists Festival of Elgin, Legacies of War, the Center for Lao Studies, the Lao Heritage Foundation, Laos in the House, and the Kinnaly Dance Troupe, among many others. In 2013, he founded Sahtu Press, Inc., a nonprofit publishing company with the mission to promote Lao literature.
Professionally, he has worked for companies including Encyclopædia Britannica, Sears, Zoosk, Barnes & Noble and currently Workday, Inc.
He is the author of the 2013 children's book A Sticky Mess inspired by classic Lao folktales, particularly that of the folk hero Xieng Mieng. In interviews he noted that it took nearly 14 years to finally get the book to publication and that it had gone through many iterations. He has announced intentions for a three-book series over the next ten years. The first run of the book's publication was funded through Kickstarter.
Nor Sanavongsay is also at work developing the children's book series Kiwi the Green Koala with Dr. Poe Phetthongsy, a graphic novel and a website to help people learn about storytelling.
Recently, he has been sharing examples of his work depicting the classical Lao legends of the Kinnaly, his original characters and concepts, some fan art and most things Lao related on various Social Media platform.
Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, which constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state, dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians—associated with the Hoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of Southeast Asia to this day. The subsequent Austroasiatic and Austronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.
Wat Xieng Thong is a Buddhist temple on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Prabang, Laos. Built between 1559 and 1560 by King Setthathirath, Wat Xieng Thong is one of the most important of Lao monasteries and remains a significant monument to the spirit of religion, royalty and traditional art.
Brigadier-General Thao Ma (1931–1973) was a Laotian military and political figure of the Laotian Civil War and the Vietnam War. Thao Ma began his military career as a paratrooper in the French Union Army, when France administered the Kingdom of Laos. He switched to aviation, first as a transport pilot, then as a fighter-bomber pilot. From 1959 to 1966, Thao Ma was the commander of the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF), and was noted for his charisma and aggressiveness. However, his dedication to soldierly virtues put him at odds with other Laotian generals who were involved in the drug trade. As a result, he made three futile attempts to seize control of the Laotian military and the Royal Lao Government. During the last of these attempted coups, in 1973, he was executed without trial at age 42.
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Laotian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans. The major immigrant generation were generally refugees who escaped Laos during the warfare and disruption of the 1970s, and entered refugee camps in Thailand across the Mekong River. They emigrated to the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.
Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population of roughly 6.4 million spread over 236,800 km2, yielding one of the lowest population densities in Asia. Yet the country of Laos has an official count of over forty-seven ethnicities divided into 149 sub-groups and 80 different languages. The Lao Loum have throughout the country's history comprised the ethnic and linguistic majority. In Southeast Asia, traditional Lao culture is considered one of the Indic cultures.
Bryan Thao Worra is a Laotian American writer and poet.
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Major Lee Lue was a Laotian Hmong fighter bomber pilot notable for flying more combat missions than any other pilot in the Kingdom of Laos. Lee Lue flew continuously, as many as 10 missions a day and averaging 120 combat missions a month to build a total of more than 5,000 sorties. Lee Lue was the leader of the special group of Hmong pilots flying T-28Ds from Long Tieng against the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese positions. The group was funded by the CIA and was part of the regular Royal Lao Air Force, but took orders directly from MR2 Commander Gen. Vang Pao. His T-28 was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Muang Soui, crashing in a mountainous area near Ban Phou Pheung Noi on July 12, 1969. At the time of his death, he had flown more combat missions than any other pilot in history.
Big Brother Mouse is a not-for-profit publishing project in Laos.
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Ketmani Kouanchao is a Lao American educator and writer.
Chanida Phaengdara Potter is a Lao American writer, activist and community development strategist in the Lao American and Southeast Asian diaspora communities. She is well known for her work as the founding editor of the internationally acclaimed online publication, Little Laos on the Prairie where voice and visibility of the Lao diaspora experience are amplified. She is the executive director of The SEAD Project , an organization based in Minnesota and Laos aimed at empowering Southeast Asian diaspora communities by bridging the access gap to community, storytelling, languages, heritages and cross-cultural connections and knowledge-sharing through creative workshops and communication tools. She has worked in the nonprofit field on organizing, public affairs, community development, and human rights advocacy.
Krysada Panusith Phounsiri is a Lao-American artist and engineer based in San Diego, California.
The 1966 Laotian coup d'état was brought about by political infighting concerning control of the Royal Lao Air Force, and use of its transports for smuggling. General Thao Ma, who wished to reserve the transports for strictly military use, was forced into exile on 22 October 1966 by fellow generals angling to use the transports for smuggling opium and gold.
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Chay Douangphouxay is a Lao-Khmer American artist and activist from Minneapolis. Douangphouxay is a spoken word artist known for covering topics such as race and gender. Through her art, she has sought to redefine the image of Asian-Americans.
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Souvanna Banlang (1455-1486) was king of Lan Xang from 1479 to 1486 taking the regnal name Samdach Brhat-Anya Chao Suvarna Panya Lankara Raja Sri Sadhana Kanayudha. His reign was marked as a period of peace and reconstruction, following a massive invasion by the Đại Việt forces of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông. He became king in 1479 after the abdication of his father Chakkaphat Phaen Phaeo, who had fled the capital of Muang Sua ahead of the Đại Việt armies. Prior to his accession he served as Governor of Muang Dansai, according to the Lao chronicles he commanded Lao forces at the Battle of Pakphun where the invading forces were halted and forced to retreat to Vietnam.
Ban Phou Pheung Noi is a Laotian village located at the peak of Phou Pheung mountain in the Xieng Khouang province of Laos. Phou Pheung mountain is approximately 916 m (3,005 ft). During the Vietnam War, combat between the American allies, the Hmong, and the Pathet Lao, The Laos Marxist government, and the Communist North Vietnamese People's Army took place on the mountain. Phou Pheung mountain runs from east to west and is rocky, and is covered in tropical forests. It is south of Muang Soui - Nongtang-Nato, and west of Phou Douk, Muang Phuan, Phonsavan and Plain of Jars. To the east, about 10 miles from Ban Phou Pheung Noi, is the Num Ngum 4 hydroelectric dam.