PS4 - Ka Vang (Powerful Stories #4)
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin
Ka Vang is a Hmong-American writer born in Laos and raised in Minnesota. Her work moves between memory and migration, exploring belonging, inheritance, and the quiet negotiations of citizenship. As a Hmong-American storyteller and journalist, she exposes her culture and her experiences so they may be seen. It is telling, then, that the current situation in Minnesota finds her hoping to become invisible, at least to those sowing hatred and chaos in the streets.
She is the author of Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon, as well as numerous essays and stories featured in anthologies and literary publications. She is currently a contributing columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune, the state's largest daily newspaper.
Ka Vang
Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon (Amazon link)
A recent column from the Minnesota Star Tribune
SHOW CREDITS
SP/FS Producer & Host: Christopher Wurst
Opening Voices: Dmitri Wurst, Elena Wurst, Kjara Wurst, Christopher Wurst
Voice of Dubious Aunt Deb: Cathy Zielske
Cold Open Music: BWM – The Brina Band
Episode Music:
In Paler Skies – Blue Dot Sessions
Running Eiskrokodil – Lobo Loco
Step In Step Out – Blue Dot Sessions
Flutter – Jahzzar
Bloom – Jahzzar
Plate Grayscale – Blue Dot Sessions
New England is Interesting – BOPD
Cass County Beauty Queen – Alan Singley
Interview date: March 6, 2026