Asian American Studies Program

Lisa Kwong lectures for Asian American Studies. Her research and teaching interests include Asian Americans in Appalachia, the U.S. South, and the Midwest; Asian American literature and media, creative writing, and English composition. Her course portfolio includes AAST-A101: Introduction to Asian American Studies, AAST-A200: Asian American Literature, AAST-A201: Asian Diaspora Experience, AAST-A300: Asian Americans in Film and TV, and AAST-X490: Independent Readings and Research. A multidisciplinary educator, Kwong combines artistic expressions and scholarly research in the classroom. She speaks about Asian American Studies-related topics, including poetry and writing, in multiple venues around the IU Campus and Bloomington community.

A native of Virginia in the Appalachian region, Kwong identifies as AppalAsian and is a member of the Affrilachian Poets. Her first poetry chapbook, Becoming AppalAsian (Glass Lyre Press, 2022), is a foundational text of Asian Appalachian Literature and was nominated for the Weatherford Award, the highest honor in Appalachian Literature. Her recent poems and creative nonfiction have appeared in Untelling Magazine, Women Speak (Women of Appalachia Project), and The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume III: Contemporary Appalachia (Second Edition).Selected nationally as one of the top 50 Best New Poets in 2014, she is a 2024 recipient of the Artistic Advancement Grant from City of Bloomington Arts Commission and is currently working on two books: another collection of poetry and a memoir.