![ECLIPSE. A solar eclipse is a rare event in which the moon is between Earth and the Sun, blocking the view of the sun. In other parts of the United States, the view of the Sun will be totally blocked, constituting whats called a total eclipse. A total eclipse is a completely different event that is another level of coolness. So if they [the students] have that chance, they should absolutely take the chance to see a total eclipse if they ever can. The next one in Minnesota will be the year 2099, Astronomy and Planetary Science teacher Joseph Martin said.](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Drawing-8.sketchpad.png)
![DIAGNOSIS. Emily Weinstock-Collins smiles right before undergoing surgery to diagnose endometriosis. “It was very surprising because I always thought, if I got sick, I would always get better…By the time I got my diagnosis, it was not very surprising because I knew something was wrong. Ive just been waiting a really long time for [answers],” Weinstock-Collins said. Submitted by Emily Weinstock-Collins](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WC-CROPPED-1200x1200.jpg)
![[COFFEE WITH CLARA] Ep. 5 Sydney Zimmerman recalls freshman year at boarding school](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/coffee-with-clara-cover-art-1200x686.png)
![[SPARTANS MIC’D UP] Swim with Trojans captain Rishi Bhargava](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rishi.png)
Playwright May Lee-Yang “owns her own voice” at Book Fest Assembly
More News
May Lee-Yang, Hmong playwright, poet, and performer, kicked off Book Fest on her visit to Saint Paul Academy and Summit School on November 16. “If we don’t tell our own stories, other people might do it for us. And worse than that, they might do it badly and inaccurately.”
Lee-Yang’s parents wanted to protect their children from gang membership. As a result, Lee-Yang stayed stayed home and read books, played video games, and watched movies to explore worlds outside her house.
May Lee-Yang, Hmong playwright, poet, and performer, kicked off Book Fest on her visit to Saint Paul Academy and Summit School on November 16.
Lee-Yang came to SPA to speak about “Owning Your Own Voice”. To educate (and ultimately entertain) the student audience, she owned the stage while providing a model for aspiring literary talent. Lee-Yang’s writing career began when her parents expressed their concern for their children’s potential for gang membership. Relegated to her home, Yang immersed herself in her own exciting fantasy worlds with movies, video games, and books, such as Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and Vampire Diaries.
“Through the simple act of reading, suddenly I was no longer in Frogtown, suddenly I might be in England having tea with a hot English guy, right?” Lee-Yang said, garnering laughs from the audience while explaining how her appreciation for books helped her travel beyond her Saint Paul neighborhood. “Or I might be in Los Angeles solving a mystery as a teenager,” she continued.
“Through the simple act of reading, suddenly I was no longer in Frogtown, suddenly I might be in England having tea with a hot English guy, right?”
— May Lee-Yang, Hmong playwright and performer
Lee-Yang also included books like The House on Mango Street and authors like Dean Koontz and Amanda Hocking to her list of influential literature.
Lee-Yang proceeded to share stories of her childhood, documenting her liberating transition from formal, scholarly writing to opinionated, memoir writing “with heart”. Using this approachable writing style, she has written several plays over her career. She cited Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman, Stir-Fried Pop Culture, and The Child’s House in her presentation. Since moving from a Thailand refugee camp to Saint Paul, MN as a baby, Lee-Yang has grown into an esteemed writer and performer, using her bicultural background to discuss the lives of Hmong women.
May Lee-Yang discusses her premier play “Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman”.
Twin Cities Metro Magazine hails her as “on her way to becoming one of the most powerful and colorful voices in local theater.”
More of her written work and performance can be found with producers Mu Performing Arts at the Center for Hmong Art and Talent or find May Lee-Yang on Facebook.
This is senior and Chief Visual Editor Sophie Jaro's third year on the St. Paul Academy and Summit School newspaper staff. Her love for art which she...
This is senior and Chief Visual Editor Sophie Jaro's third year on the St. Paul Academy and Summit School newspaper staff. Her love for art which she...
As Diane Huang enters her senior year at St. Paul Academy and Summit School she also settles into a familiar, yet newly titled role as Director of RubicOnline....
![ECLIPSE. A solar eclipse is a rare event in which the moon is between Earth and the Sun, blocking the view of the sun. In other parts of the United States, the view of the Sun will be totally blocked, constituting whats called a total eclipse. A total eclipse is a completely different event that is another level of coolness. So if they [the students] have that chance, they should absolutely take the chance to see a total eclipse if they ever can. The next one in Minnesota will be the year 2099, Astronomy and Planetary Science teacher Joseph Martin said.](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Drawing-8.sketchpad-600x360.png)
