Juliana Pegues
Juliana Pegues/Pei Lu Fung was born in Taipei, Taiwan, on August 7, 1969 (Leo, year of the Rooster). A writer/poet/spoken word artist/activist/feminist/queer/person of color/Asian American/actor/artist/performer— incorporates the views from all groups she identifies with into her writing. In her writing, she addresses issues of politics, feminism, sexuality, race, and identity whether in an academic paper published online, an essay, a poem, or a spoken word piece. However, it is the way that she approaches these issues through her writing that shows her versatility and proves she doesn't fit into only one genre.
An early piece published by Pegues is "White Rice: Searching for Identity." This autobiographical piece moves from her early days at college to a more current setting. It crosses genres as the moods of the piece change in a combination of essay/memoir, prose, and poetry. Focusing on Pegues' struggle to find an identity as a mixed-race queer Chinese woman, this piece brings in issues of family, identity, sexuality, and race. She addresses these issues and honestly attempts to understand how they affect her individuality.
In "Strategies from the Field: Organizing the Asian American Feminist Movement," Pegues also writes in mixed genres. The piece is an essay; however, she uses some storytelling/flashbacks to illustrate her struggles in leftist political groups as an Asian American queer feminist. She addresses the stereotypes of Asian American women and the exoticism she and other politically active women have encountered. She also discusses the struggle in identifying between issue based, identity based, and issue based identity political groups (an "issue based" group would be a feminist group, an "identity based" group would be an Asian American group, and an "issue based identity group" would be an Asian American feminist group.) The problem is how to fit in their political agendas without being marginalized or seen as the "model minority."
Her one-person performance piece "Fifteen" was performed in Minneapolis at Intermedia Arts Center in February 2002. "Fifteen" addresses the issue of women in prison from a political and feminist perspective. The piece begins with a "truth" about Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and the kinds of legal ramifications she would have encountered as a contemporary woman of color in American society. Different female characters are embodied throughout the piece as prisoners serving time for a variety of reasons. Their voices are heard addressing issues of imprisonment, sexuality, politics, violence, and family
I had the honor of inviting Juliana Pegues to speak and perform some of her work at Hamline University during the Asian Heritage Month in spring of 2006. She has a very commanding yet calm presence through both her work and her performance(s). I believe she has both the experience and the passion to speak out about the issues that she confronts on a daily basis and represents so many different voices.
Although I don’t have her schedule of events and performances, feel free to check out more information online:
http://voices.cla.um.edu/vg/Bios/entries/pegues_juliana.html
Comments
Juliana is now a graduate student in American Studies at the U. If you take a course in AmSt she just may be your TA or your Instructor. She absolutely rocks!
Posted by: Rachel | February 12, 2007 03:35 PM