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Dr. Juk Bhattacharyya, UW-Whitewater Professor of Geology, received a Tommy G. Thompson Center Speaker Event grant to bring author Kao Kalia Yang to UW-Whitewater on November 9^th, 2023.  As part of her visit, the UWW-LEARN Center is partnering with Dr. Bhattacharyya to sponsor a community read of Yang’s latest book, Somewhere in the Unknown World: A Collective Refugee Memoir.  A copy of the book will be provided to on-campus participants via campus mail.  Book copies for community participants can be picked up at the Irving L. Young Public Library during regular hours starting September 30^th.  Book club details and registration information is provided below:

Meetings:  12-1pm on 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, and 11/8

Delivery Method:  In-person on the UW-Whitewater Campus, Anderson Hall, Room 2254, or online (links will be sent after attendees register)

Registration Closes:  September 29, 2023

Somewhere in the Unknown World is a collection of powerful stories of refugees who have found new lives in the midwest, told by the award-winning author of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet.  All over this country, there are refugees. But beyond the headlines, few know who they are, how they live, or what they have lost. Here are the stories of people who found the strength and courage to rebuild after leaving all they hold dear. Awo and her mother, who escaped from Somalia, reunite with her father on the phone every Saturday, across the span of continents and decades. Tommy, born to refugees from Cambodia, cannot escape the war that his parents carry inside. Mr. Truong brings pho from Vietnam to Frogtown in St. Paul, reviving a crumbling block as well as his own family.  In Yang’s exquisite, necessary telling, these fourteen stories of refugee journeys restore history and humanity to America's long tradition of refugee welcoming.

NOTE:  Author Kao Kalia Yang will be visiting the UW-Whitewater campus as a guest artist on Thursday, November 9th.  From 1-3pm in UC 0069 she will be moderating a Q&A on her book Somewhere in the Unknown World (a webex link will also be available to registrants).  From 4-5pm in Timmerman Auditorium she will be delivering an author talk entitled "Leading the Way from Stangers to Neighbors."  A webex link will be available and the session will be recorded for later viewing.  More informaiton and registration for these events can be found by following the links below:

Author Q&A with Kao Kalia Yang

Link to more information for UWW Staff and Students:  http://my.uww.edu/SignUp/Registration/Details/17536

Link to more information for Community members:  http://my.uww.edu/SignUp/Public/Register/17536

"Leading the Way from Strangers to Neighbors" Kao Kalia Yang 

Link to more information for UWW Staff and Students:  http://my.uww.edu/SignUp/Registration/Details/17537

Link to more information for Community members:  http://my.uww.edu/SignUp/Public/Register/17537