If you have been following the news in recent years i imagine that you like me have found it difficult to ignore the topic of refugees. This is an image of a jerefugee experience in communist vietnam in 1975, but in many ways it reminds us of images that we might see on the news today. Its hard to ignore the human stories of families perishing at icet, refugees suffocating in meat trucks. Theyre crowding onto leaking boats, theyre drowning the bodies of those unable to cross to safety are washing up. And refugees have been in the news for the past few years particularly related to the crisis in syria, but refugees are being up rooted by conflict all around the world. Were not just talking about refugees coming from syria but from other war torn regions. Especially in the past couple of years it has been very difficult to ignore the public response to refugees. And Refugee Resettlements like so many other topics today has become a polarizing topic. On one hand opposition has been fierce
Read book so people across the country are able to have conversations about that experience, Kao Kalia Yang is one of the best to take us there. Her new book the song poet, a nice companion piece to a memoir about her father and his role in keeping history alive through the oral tradition. I thought both books were moving, giving me such insight into the role of culture and family life, made me think about how it works. Without further a do, help me welcome Kao Kalia Yang. [applause] can you all see me . Okay. Can you all hear me . Even if you cant see me. Thank you for being here. Im delighted to be back. Two years ago i was here with the late home, her and i am glad to bring you the song poet. I am incredibly proud of this. Im working on speaking slower. People told me i speak too fast. You give me some feedback afterwards, okay . The song poet came out of a conversation i had with my father a few years ago. I asked my dad how does a song poet become . He looked at me a little bit an
Can you all see me . Okay. Can you all hear me . Even if you cant see me. Thank you for being here. Im delighted to be back. Two today im excited to bring you this book. Im incredibly proud of it. Im working on speaking slower. People. People have to me that i speak too fast. So you can give me some feedback on how this goes afterwards. Okay. The songbook came out of a conversation i had with my father two years ago. I. I asked my dad, i said how does the song point become he looked at me for a little bit and said when i was young there is few people who said beautiful things to me. My father died when i was two years old. My mother took to the mountainside to see her nine children. Ld i was two years old. Growing up i always wish for a father, i used to go to the house of one number neighbor to the next collecting the beat of the things people had to say to each other. One day was speaking to myself, and the song was born. I thought those beautiful. So i said to my dad, i said, maybe
They are both going to be downstairs signing and selling the books. I wrote a book about gps and pinpoint how gps is changing culture and mind and i think i will be signing books. They definitely will. E] [applause] [inaudible conversations] and youre watching cspan2. The next author panel will begin in about ten minutes or so and its an author panel on immigration. We will be back in just a fewilb minutes. [inaudible conversations] book tv just covered a live panel on cspan2. The conversation on Political Parties and the election and that included ralph nadir, thomas frank and the three authors signing books right now, having conversations, they werent able to take q a, questions and answers duringue Panel Discussion so this is the opportunity for festival goers to ask some questions and getto their books signed. A Beautiful Day out here in brooklyn new, new york, cspan is live all day. We have three more Panel Discussions left. One is happening right now upstairs. Thomas frank. Say,
American story. Visit cspan. Org history for more information. We traveled to the Minnesota Historical society and hear about the 1920s and 30s gangster era. Bank robbers were seen as kind of anti heroes who were evening the score after the depression which is totally untrue. They were killers who wanted money, but the public saw the gangsters and a more romantic light. And you knew as you drank with them that they wouldnt kill you because they all had the deal between the cops and crooks. We start with a look at the influence st. Paul had on f. Scott fitzgeralds. You want to understand the modern world and where we are today there is no better place to start them looking at f. Scott fitzgerald because he was so complex, dealing with the complexity of American Life and that still resonates today. St. Paul, texas, a huge impact on fitzgeralds and he had an impact on st. Paul. St. Paul was the most important town of adam Scott Fitzgeralds legacy. He lived all over the world but the vast