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Thavrith J. Bunkasem

Thavrith Bunkasem was born in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia and spent his teenage years surviving the Cambodian Communist regime. He lived as a refugee in a camp surrounded by barbed wire, mines, and spies. He was a prisoner in his own country for four years and lived as a refugee for three more before coming to America.

When he arrived in America, he was amazed at the sight of the skyscrapers and blonde-haired, white-skinned people. He did not speak a word of English; the only language he and his family could communicate was "smile"--the universal language. However, he found out that not many people speak the "smile" language either.

After they settled in Minnesota, he was placed in tenth grade. The only course he studied was English (ESL) for the first year, but because he was fascinated by foreign languages, he studied French, German, Spanish, Italian, and English.

After studying in France, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a BA in Francophone Literature. In July 1992, another big adventure began for him when he joined the Peace Corps; he was sent to serve as a volunteer in Chad, Central Africa, where he taught English and French. Returning to the U.S., he was employed as a counselor for at-risk youth. He remembered that writing helped him discover himself and sort out his emotions. He started teaching a creative writing class and had his students write stories and poems about their experiences. Soon, this developed into Khmer Voice: The Cambodian Literary connection.

Currently, Mr. Bunkasem is a System Engineer and a freelance Information Technology Instructor.

Works by Thavrith Bunkasem

1. A Child Worker of Angkar 2. Imagine 3. Ah, c'est ça la vie! 4. La première neige (The first snow) 5. The Beauty of the Night 7. Nicaragua 8. La Revolution 9. I'll be gone 10. Notes from Africa... 11. Who's To Blame