Mai Neng Moua
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Mai Neng Moua ( RPA: ''Maiv Neeb Moua'',
Pahawh Pahawh Hmong (Romanized Popular Alphabet, RPA: Phaj hauj Hmoob , Pahawh: ; known also as ''Ntawv Pahawh, Ntawv Keeb, Ntawv Caub Fab, Ntawv Soob Lwj'') is an indigenous Semi-syllabary, semi-syllabic writing system, script, invented in 1959 by Sh ...
: '; born May 5, 1974) is a
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...
-American writer and a founder of the '' Paj Ntaub Voice'', a Hmong literary magazine. She is also the editor of the first
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
of Hmong American writers, '' Bamboo Among the Oaks''.


Early life

Moua was born in
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. She has two brothers, one older and one younger. In 1977, when Moua was 3 years old, her father died in the
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
war. Moua's family lived in Thailand as refugees until the family was able to move to the United States. They initially emigrated to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, until finally settling in
St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, which has the largest Hmong population in the United States. Moua's mother worked in the local farmer's market, selling vegetables to support the family. In 1995, Moua graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from
St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...
in Northfield,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. From 1997 to 1999, she attended the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
.


Career

When Moua was diagnosed with endstage
renal disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can b ...
as a junior at
St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...
, she searched for inspiration and comfort in writing by her fellow Hmong-Americans. This experience inspired Moua to publish the first edition of ''Paj Ntuab Voice'' and to edit ''Bamboo Among the Oaks''. Predominantly a creative non-fiction writer, she has been published in ''How do I Begin?'', ''Where One Voice Ends, Another Begins'', ''Healing by Heart'', '' Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin'', the ''
Minneapolis Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the seventh-largest in the United States by circula ...
'', and ''We Are the Freedom People''. Her literary awards include the Bush Artists Fellowship, the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, the Jerome Travel Grant, and the Loft Literary Center's Mentor Series. She has taught creative writing to youth through the Jane Addams School for Democracy, COMPAS, and Success Beyond the Classroom. Moua was also a pivotal figure in the creation of the Hmong American Institute for Learning, a non-profit organization based in Minnesota that focused on Hmong oral histories, the literary arts and the continued publication of the ''Paj Ntaub Voice Hmoob Literary Journal''. Moua currently works for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as a Rapid Response Specialist. Her previous jobs include being the program coordinator for the Kellogg Action Lab at Fieldstone Alliance and the public policy coordinator for The Institute for New Americans. Moua has won a Bush Foundation Research Grant and was awarded an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. In 2017, Moua published The bride price : a Hmong wedding story, an autobiographical account of her cross-cultural wedding traditions and experiences.


Personal life

Moua resides in
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. She is married to Blong Yang. They have two daughters.


Bibliography

* Moua, Mai Neng.
The Undocumented People
" ''Paj Ntaub Voice.'' Vol. 1, No. 1. St. Paul, MN: Hmong American Partnership, 1994. * Moua, Mai Neng. "Gender and Identity." ''Paj Ntaub Voice.'' Vol. 6, No. 1. St. Paul, MN: Hmong American Institute for Learning, 1999. * Moua, Mai Neng. "End-Stage." ''Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin.'' 45, no. 1: 53-55. 2001. * Moua, Mai Neng. "Silence." ''Paj Ntaub Voice.'' Vol. 7, No. 2. St. Paul, MN: Hmong American Institute for Learning, Winter 2001. * Moua, Mai Neng. "Visions for the Future." ''Paj Ntaub Voice.'' Vol. 8, No. 1. St. Paul, MN: Hmong American Institute for Learning, Summer 2001. * Moua, Mai Neng.
Bamboo Among the Oaks Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans.
' St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002. * Yang, Song, Teng L. Moua, and Mai Neng Moua. "Becoming American: The Hmong American Story." ''Paj Ntaub Voice.'' Vol. 10, No. 1. Minneapolis, MN: Hmong American Institute for Learning, 2004. * Moua, Teng L., Song Yang, Bryan Thao Worra, and Mai Neng Moua. "Loss and Separation." ''Paj Ntaub Voice.'' Vol. 10, No. 2. St. Paul, MN: Hmong American Institute for Learning, 2005. * Moua, Mai Neng, Kou Lor, Ka Vang, and Bryan Thao Worra. ''Bamboo Among the Oaks Book Discussion.'' Wausau, WI: University of Wisconsin Marathon County, 2007. DVD. Panel discussion recorded September 25, 2007 at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County Theater in Wausau, Wisconsin. Part of University of Wisconsin Marathon County's Journey to American Identities series. * Moua, Mai Neng. ''Culturally Intelligent Leadership: Leading Through Intercultural Interactions.'' New York, NY: Business Expert Press, 2010. * Moua, Mai Neng. ''The Bride Price : A Hmong Wedding Story''. Saint Paul MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2017. OCLC


See also

* '' Paj Ntaub Voice'' * '' Bamboo Among the Oaks'' *
Hmong people The Hmong people ( RPA: , CHV: ''Hmôngz'', Nyiakeng Puachue: , Pahawh Hmong: , , zh, c=苗族蒙人) are an indigenous group in East Asia and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. Th ...
*
Hmong American Hmong Americans ( RPA: ''Hmoob Mes Kas'', Pahawh Hmong: "") are Americans of Hmong ancestry. Many Hmong Americans immigrated to the United States as refugees in the late 1970s, with a second wave in the 1980s and 1990s. Over half of the Hmong ...
* History of the Hmong in Minneapolis–Saint Paul


References


Further reading

* Bo Thao; Mai Vang Thao; Mao Thao Yang; Mai Neng Moua; Yer Moua; Ong Vang Xiong; May Yang Hang; You Vang Yang; Nhia Vang; MayKao Hang; Sua Vu Yang; See Lee; Pacyinz Lyfoung; Maykeu Vang Lyfoung; Mao Song Lyfoung Vang; Bao Vang; Kim Yang; Sia Yang Taho; Khias Yang.
Hmong Women's Action Team Oral History Project: Oral history interviews of the Hmong Women's Action Team Oral History Project = Hmoob Thaj Yeeb Oral History Project.
' Minnesota Historical Society, 1999. 23 audio cassettes. **


External links


Mai Neng Moua
at Voices from the Gaps,
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Mai Neng Moua profile at Hmong Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moua, Mai 1974 births Living people American writers of Hmong descent St. Olaf College alumni Humphrey School of Public Affairs alumni Laotian women writers Writers from Minnesota Laotian emigrants to the United States 21st-century Laotian women 21st-century American women writers Hmong women 21st-century American writers Hmong American people from Minneapolis–Saint Paul