The Cambodian Refugee Poetry Book & CD Project came about after the discovery of the late Venerable Ly Van's manuscripts, on the very same day of his passing on January 12, 2008. He was one of the Cambodian Buddhist monks in Lowell. Found among his belongings were Khmer handwritten manuscripts containing two lengthy poems...one autobiographical describing Ven. Ly Van's experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime, the other a biography of Sophoan Chea, a dear friend of Ly Van's who was actually his sponsor for resettlement in the U.S. The poems are beautifully written, poignant, and reflect the richness of Khmer culture. They have been translated into English and are scheduled for publication March 2010.

We titled the poetry book "O! Maha Mount Dangrek: Poetry of Cambodian Refugee Experiences," a quote that the author wrote in one the poetic stanzas, which recaptured his experience during the inhuman ordeal at mountainous plateau where some 45,000 Khmer refugees were violently shot, killed and pushed over the cliff of Mount Dangrek by the Thai soldiers in the mid-1979. The author and his family were among the victims, but fortunately survived yet another sad episode of Cambodian refugee experiences. We are so fortunate to have discovered such writing.

His writings were translated into English and published in bilingual format, with full color case bound and black and white photos inside. For writing sample, go to www.CambodianRefugeePoetry.org.

176 pages, 80 poignant illustrations.
Khmer & English Texts - from Amzon