News

Kelly is one of the 14 Asian Pacific Islander Americans profiled in HBO’s ground-breaking mini-documentary, “East of Main Street: Asians Aloud.”

Join HBO as it celebrates Asian Heritage Month by presenting “East of Main Street: Asians Aloud,” a collection of stories and perspectives from a diverse group of Asian Americans – recent immigrants, 1st & 2nd generation, East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian. From religion to politics, from cultural identity to ethnic identity, the documentary is an exploration into perspectives and lives of not only Asians who left their lives half a world away to come to the US, but also those who have always called America home.

Join HBO as we examine the rich, broad and unique experiences of the Asian American journey; from young to old, from East, to West.

Starting on May 3rd and continuing throughout the month, enjoy the premiere of “East of Main Street: Asians Aloud” along with the line-up of movies and short films featured HBO On Demand. You can find them all on the ”Asian Heritage” tab in the ”Movies” category.

Moving Earth Productions LLC is proud to announce that Kelly was listed as one of Angry Asian Man.Com’s “30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30″ alongside individuals like Youtube.com Founder Steve Chen, student activist Lori Phanachone, special assistant to the President Eugene Kang, the Disney Channel’s Brenda Song, and more! To check out the article on Kelly on AngryAsianMan.com:

http://www.angryasianman.com/2009/05/30-under-30-kelly-zen-yie-tsai.html

Kelly just joined Twitter! If you’d like to follow Kelly’s daily haiku blog (that’s right — all tweets are in haiku) plus her latest show update details, join her Twitter friends at:

http://www.twitter.com/yellowgurlpoet

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s thinkTank 2009 “American Ethnic” written and performed by Usman Ally, Idris Goodwin, and Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, directed by Nick Sandys, opened to sold-out crowds on the first three nights of its run! “American Ethnic” was also cited as a Recommended pick by New City theater critic Nina Metz. Metz writes:

“…this is one helluva show. Three writer-performers occupy the stage like they’re standing on the ledge of a building…Ally and Tsai perform with an exuberance that draws you in; Goodwin’s energy is muted and it’s an effective counterbalance…The production has a short run—just two weekends left-with good-for-you post-show discussions scheduled after each performance. I’m sorry, but this show is too cool for that.”

To get tickets for the last two weekends, 8 shows of “American Ethnic” in Chicago 3/19-3/29, Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 PM, Sun. 2:30 PM, go to http://www.remybumppo.org (use discount code SLAM for $5 off online purchases) or call 773-40-GREEN (404-7336). Group discounts are available.

To read Metz’s full review of “American Ethnic, go to: http://newcitystage.com/2009/03/14/review-american-ethnicremy-bumppo-theatre-company/

Kelly and her work were recently profiled in:

-PBS’ “Asian America,” the leading public television program on Asian and Asian American issues. With stand-up comic Jen Kwok. Hosted by Taiyo Na (Coming online soon!).

-Chi-Town Daily News’ “American Ethnic explores, encourages dialogue about questionable media images” by Tasneem Nomanbhai. With Usman Ally & Idris Goodwin re: thinkTANK 2009 “American Ethnic.”

-Vocalo 89.5′s “thinkTANK 2009 American Ethnic” by Brian Johnson. Featuring performance excerpts and podcast interview with Usman Ally, Idris Goodwin, & Nick Sandys re: thinkTANK 2009 “American Ethnic.”

-Boston Progress Radio Live’s “Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai at ECAASU 2009″ by Albert Liau. Featuring excerpts of Kelly’s workshop at the East Coast Asian American Student Union Conference (ECAASU 2009), plus podcast interview.

To check out these articles, podcasts, and more, go to http://www.yellowgurl.com/press!

Kelly will be a 2009 Hedgebrook Writer-in-Residence, joining the ranks of over 1,000 women have been awarded a Hedgebrook residency since the Writer-in-Residence program debuted in 1988. The Hedgebrook Foundation located on Whidbey Island (thirty-five miles northwest of Seattle, situated on 48-acres of forest and meadow facing Puget Sound) invests in women writers from all over the world providing them with space and time to create significant work, in solitude and community, and by developing an international network to connect writers and audiences. Kelly will be working on her poetry manuscript, Skygirls, a collection of persona poems explore the lives, idiosyncrasies, and critical impact of diverse women of the Chinese diaspora stretched across geography, perspective, and time.

For more info on the Hedgebrook Foundation, click here.

Moving Earth Press is proud to announce the release of Kelly’s latest chapbook No Sugar Please: Poems on Love, Sex, and Other Mysteries (2008) now available online and at all of her upcoming tour dates. To order your copy online, click on the icon below:

$7.00 includes shipping and handling. Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.

The chapbook features 13 poems written from 2006-2008: Today, Real Women I Know, Weapons of Mass Creation, Grey Matter, Our House, Letter to Lauryn Hill, Resolve, Black White Whatever, Every Edge of the Ocean, Addicted, Exercise for a Heart, Dear Lonely Heart of the Industrially Advantaged World, and 80 Year Old Kells to 30 Year Old Kells.

You can also purchase the entire collection of Kelly’s chapbooks (Inside Outside Outside Inside (2004), Thought Crimes (2005), No Sugar Please (2008), and CD Infinity Breaks (2006) via the Move This Earth Collection also available at www.yellowgurl.com/store.

Written originally for the anthology We Don’t Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists (Ed. Melody Berger), Kelly’s poem “Real Women I Know” serves as the foundation for her fifth spoken word video collaboration. The poem’s invitation to acknowledge, support, and celebrate the idiosyncrasies of everywoman will be captured in New York. The video will reveal intimate portraits of what “real” women experience, endure, and overcome on a daily basis. To contribute to this project, click here.

Moving Earth Productions proudly presents its first independently produced spoken word video “Black, White, Whatever…” by Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, directed by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, and produced by Alli Maxwell.

The video was launched online on October 3rd, 2008, to a rapid response of over 200,000 views on Youtube.com in the following weeks in addition to a feature on Kelly and “Black, White, Whatever…” on NPR’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.”

Moving Earth Productions wants to give mad love and massive shout outs to all the dedicated bloggers, URL’s, listserves, individuals, and Facebook addicts that featured the video including: 

8Asians, Akila Worksongs, Asian Americans for Obama, Angry Asian Man, Asian Arts Alliance, Asian American Action Fund, Beyond Race Magazine, Black Lava, Color Lines Racewire, The Curvature, Dope Swan, Feministing, GirlsRhyme, Global Grind, Idealist in NYC, Jack & Jill Politics, Jeff Chang, Hip Hop Theater Festival, Hyphen Magazine, I Love U People, Media That Matters, NAASCON, OCA, Post No Ills, Racialicious, Remy Bumppo thinkTank 2009,  Scheme Magazine, Social Footprint, TaiwaneseAmerican, Teen Voices, Thick Witness, Urban Word NYC, We Got Issues!, Wiretap Magazine, Young People For, Youth Noise, and many many more!

To check out the interview on NPR’s “The Brian Lehrer Show,” click here. (Note: Advance Podcast to 43:22.)

To check out the interview with Shyree Mezick for Post No Ills, click here.