Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay is a Lao American writer. She was born in a refugee camp in Nongkhai, Thailand and immigrated to Minnesota in 1984. Because of her unique background, her work is focused on creating tools and spaces for the amplification of refugee voices through poetry, theater, and experimental cultural production. Her plays have been presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Theater Mu, Consortium of Asian American Theater Artists, and Theater Unbound. She is a Many Voices fellow in playwriting, a Loft Literary Center Spoken Word Immersion fellow, a Theater Mu New Performance fellow, a VERVE Grant for Spoken Word Poets recipient, an Emerging Artist grant recipient from Forecast Public Art, and an Aspen Ideas Bush Foundation scholar. Her work has been possible due to support from the Jerome Foundation, Bush Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the MN State Arts Board. She holds a Master in Liberal Studies degree.