Mentor Series Reading: Kao Kalia Yang

The 2014–15 Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose presents nonfiction mentor Kao Kalia Yang reading along with program participants Rhea Davison-Edwards (poetry) and Kinzy Janssen (nonfiction). Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Latehomecomer, is the co-founder of a company dedicated to helping immigrants with writing, translating, and business services. Yang is a graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University. She is currently working on her second manuscript, Still, Fluttering Heart: The Second Album. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kao Kalia Yang is a teacher, public speaker, and writer. Rhea Davison-Edwards has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from Minnesota State University-Mankato. In her writing, she seeks to write honestly and openly about real-life struggles, while also creating and sustaining hope. She has primarily worked in nonfiction and fiction, but she’s thrilled to have the opportunity to focus on the art and craft of poetry, with the help of great mentors and the company of fellow mentees. Kinzy Janssen is an editor, blogger, and poet living in Saint Paul whose work has been published in Wisconsin People & Ideas, Volume One, and Innisfree Poetry Journal. She is currently social media editor at The Riveter Magazine. She’s always in the mood for karaoke and craft beer, and fancies herself a gardener after one semi-successful year. She loves musing about the Midwest and its boundaries, regionalisms, and weather.