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Writing Taboo: The Art in Political Subjects

Organizer: UC Berkeley Center for Southeast Asia Studies

Sunisa Manning will discuss her recent novel A Good True Thai (Epigram, 2020), which tells the story of three young people who come of age in Thailand in the 1970s, a time of turbulent change and radical politics.

Her presentation will provide background to the events she covers in her novel, how she researched the period, and how art can contribute to understanding political uncertainties. Sunisa Manning was born and raised in Bangkok by Thai and American parents. She has a B.A. in English Literature from Brown University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Her novel A Good True Thai was a finalist for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize for Southeast Asian writers. It was published in Southeast Asia in September 2020. It went into a second printing in February 2021. She is currently based in the Bay Area.

The talk will be moderated by Penny Edwards, Associate Professor of South & Southeast Asian Studies at UC Berkeley.

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