1. A Wat Is To Temple As To Escape Is To Survive
2. A Discussion of Monsters
3. An Archaeology of Snow Forts
4, Babylon Gallery
5. Burning Eden One Branch At A Time
6. Cameos
7. DemocraCIA
8. E Pluribus Unum
9. Five Fragments
10. In The Beginning
11. Jaew: Hot Sauce
12. Japonisme, Laoisme
13. Khop Jai For Nothing, Farangs
14. Returning
15. The Buddha of Bombies
16. Ypsilanti, 1982
17. Zelkova Tree
18. Sticky Rice Blues



Artist's Statement

"These particular poems are from his new collection American Laodyssey (Sahtu Press, 2025) that features many of his most noteworthy pieces from the last 3 decades that appeared in global anthologies, newspapers and journals, exhibits, and other distinctions. This set addresses many of his concerns that emerged from a journey spent recovering the lost histories and stories from the US Secret War in Laos in the 20th century, and how we probe memory and dream, loss and opportunity in diaspora. What is the role of the imagination as a community makes a transition from centuries of a monarchy to a democracy? What happens to our innermost fantasies and hopes as refugees and immigrants?" - Bryan Thao Worra




About the Poet

Bryan Thao Worra is a Lao American poet who grew up in Michigan in the 1980s and 90s. He is the first Lao American to receive a Fellowship in Literature from the National Endowment for the Arts. From 2016-2022 he was president of the International Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association. One of the most widely-published Lao American writers in the world, he has over 20 awards for leadership and community service, and presented at the 2012 London Summer Games, the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, Poets House, the Singapore Writers Festival, and more. In October 2024 he was inducted into the Saline Area Schools Hall of Fame.



About the Coolidge-Wagner Anthology of Recorded Poetry

The Ann Arbor District Library, Fifth Avenue Studios, and 1473 are proud to present The Coolidge-Wagner Anthology of Recorded Poetry. This series was created to celebrate and document the art of poetry in recorded form. Featuring poets from Ann Arbor, metro Detroit, and beyond, we hope that this series showcases and archives the incredible poetry scene here in Ann Arbor, metro Detroit, and beyond.

The Coolidge-Wagner Anthology of Recorded Poetry is named after and dedicated to two of my high school teachers, Judi Coolidge and Tom Wagner (RIP) of Bay High School (Ohio), who encouraged in me, as well as thousands of their other students, a lifelong appreciation and open-minded love of the arts.
-Chien-An Yuan, 1473

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