I love getting writing prompts designed for diasporic writers like myself. It's generative. It triggers creative writing sprees that otherwise wouldn't happen. It helps me move forward when I'm stuck. It nudges me to think about things that I otherwise wouldn't connect to my personal story. - A. Nguyen.

 

The workshop was incredibly generative and deeply insightful to examine our family origin stories, traumas, treasured objects and even investigating, defining and connecting to love. The best about the workshop was for us to have a group of Vietnamese American writers working together to shape our individual and collective voices. - B. Jacobs

H'Rina's keen insight and creativity connected me to places in my mind I forgot existed. I loved the exercises, which generated fresh ideas and helped me write about my origin story in a more multidimensional way. The entire workshop was very enriching, and I left with new skills to strengthen my writing practice. - M.A.

 

I have been looking my whole life for this class. I learned so much about the craft of writing and received great feedback and encouragement from H'Rina and my classmates. Perhaps most meaningfully, though, H'Rina class introduced me to a world of writing where I felt understood, seen, and heard without having to explain myself or my family's experiences. That kind of affirmation is immeasurable. - K. Luk

 

I actually lost the momentum to write during the pandemic, but I gained inspiration and the motivation to continue with my writing through the MULTI-VERSES Workshop. - J. Montez

 

I've been thinking about writing for a long time, but didn't know where to start. I'm so glad that I was able to find and participate in H'Rina's workshop on immigrant origin stories, which gave me more confidence as a writer, helpful lessons on craft, and a safe space to share my writing and receive feedback from fellow writers of color. Since I'm focusing on writing personal essays and short memoir pieces on family, immigration, inheritance, and belonging, H'Rina's class was the perfect fit. I loved creating and being in community with others who are also writing on similar themes. H'Rina created a warm and welcoming space for all of us, regardless of writing experience or level, and I felt comfortable as a new writer from day one. As a result, the group provided a lot of respect and support for each other's writing and creative exploration. As an instructor, H'Rina balanced her encouragement of our work with constructive feedback to make our writing clearer and more impactful. I look forward to learning more from H'Rina in future workshops she may offer! Thank you H'Rina for sharing your craft, care, and wisdom with us!! - T. Phan

This workshop expanded my horizon and opened my eyes to a whole new world that I had never been before. It is empowering to learn about our history and hear the stories from some of our Montagnard community members. - R. Enuol

 

Apocalypse Never was such an empowering experience to highlight our indigenous stories in such a creative way. During the 7 sessions, I learned so much about our history and the tools to reimagine and recreate our narratives. I really enjoyed challenging what has already been written and connecting with other folks through their stories. I would highly recommend taking a workshop with H’Rina. She’s such a magnificent writer and instructor! Thank you for giving us a platform to be vulnerable and share your gift with us. I look forward to your future work! - S. Nie

 

I really enjoyed the Apocalypse Never workshop. Not only did it help eliminate my writer's block, but I learned about other writing techniques/styles. As a writer who normally doesn't share my work publicly, I also loved that the workshop served as a safe space where I felt comfortable sharing my writing without fear of judgment. Group and instructor feedback was very helpful! I am thankful I came across this workshop and I hope this will ignite other similar workshops in the future, especially within the Montagnard community. - A. Ksor Buonya

 

I am very thankful to H’Rina and the rest of the Apocalypse Never workshop participants. This workshop helped me grow as a writer, not to mention it provided a supportive and one-of-a-kind community of Montagnard writers. The prompts were generative and I was highly inspired by the readings, which included a Montagnard folktale and excerpts from novels written by Montagnard and Vietnamese authors. I learned so much from the feedback sessions as well. Overall, I would recommend H’Rina’s workshops to anyone  - H. Mlo

 

The Apocalypse Never workshop brings the Montagnard diaspora together through reading, writing, and sharing the unique experiences of being indigenous peoples. H'Rina guides the workshop through her fun and creative teaching style. Throughout the workshop, I was able to find my story and understand my people and our history. In addition, the workshop led me to feeling like I'm not alone as it led me to lifelong friends who come from the same background as me. Highly recommend this workshop! - H. Enuol