Hometown: A Writing Workshop Series

Where is your hometown? What do the words ‘home’ and ‘hometown’ mean to you? When we ask the question ‘where’s home?,’ are we asking something different than ‘where are you from?’ What’s your impression of the place(s) you call ‘hometown’? How has your hometown shaped you and your loved ones (and hated ones too, perhaps)? How would you introduce it to a stranger, and how would you discuss it differently in front of someone who knows you well? And if you have ever spent time away from it, how did you scrutinize it from a distance? How does the idea of homecoming/homegoing – temporary or permanent – make you feel?

An immigrant himself, Tony Hao has always considered the themes of ‘hometown’ and ‘movement’ core to his creative practice. Over the past few years, as he slowly emerged in the field of literary translation and connected with writers and artists from various places that might be called ‘the margins,’ he has observed many unexpected similarities between people’s hometowns – northeastern Taiwan, rural Georgia, the redwood forests in northern California, and so on – many of which have become throughlines of their oeuvres. 

In this workshop series, Tony hopes to explore the questions that have perturbed yet also inspired him and his colleagues, and will introduce writers to a few niches of contemporary Sinophone literature – as well as the historical and sociocultural moments behind them – through a selection of recent and forthcoming translations. 

Workshops will be presented in twos, with the first focused on reflecting on and writing to prompts based on the selected readings, and the second a casual creative writing session. Students are encouraged to attend all four sessions, but can sign up for individual sessions if doing the whole series is not an option.

Hometown: An Introduction (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 17, 10-11:30am 

For the first session, we will read “Hometown” 故鄉 by Tong Wei-Ger 童偉格, reflect on our hometowns, and do some writing to a variety of prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Hometown: An Introduction, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, January 18, 10-11:30am

More writing, based on the reading in the first class. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 31, 10-11:30am 

Readings will include passages from Anti-Gravity 反重力 by Huang Chong-Kai 黃崇凱; participants will dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, February 1, 10-11:30am

Participants will further reflect on the reading in the previous class and dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Class fee: Each class session is $15, with a 10% discount for Catamount Arts members and high school students. We are committed to offering quality arts education programming to all, regardless of ability to pay; if you need financial assistance, please contact Anne Campbell at 802-748-2600 ext. 109. 

Please register at least 2 days ahead, as Tony would like you to read a couple of writing excerpts and do a little writing prior to class.

Tony Hao is a CT-based literary translator and writer, and Catamount Arts’ current 560 Railroad Community Artist. He has translated the work of several writers, including Taiwanese novelist Ton Wei-Ger 童偉格, Chinese essayist and poet Xiao Hai 小海, Taiwanese transgender poet and writer Liu Chen-Chun 劉宸君, and Chinese short story writer Ban Yu 班宇. His works have appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. His debut book-length translation Adrift in the South, a memoir by Chinese worker-poet Xiao Hai 小海, is forthcoming in May 2026. His work has been recognized by the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, Art Omi Writers: Translation Lab, the Vermont Studio Center, and others. When he isn’t translating, he runs, cooks, follows sports, and teaches and tutors high school students in creative writing. 

Hometown: A Writing Workshop Series

Where is your hometown? What do the words ‘home’ and ‘hometown’ mean to you? When we ask the question ‘where’s home?,’ are we asking something different than ‘where are you from?’ What’s your impression of the place(s) you call ‘hometown’? How has your hometown shaped you and your loved ones (and hated ones too, perhaps)? How would you introduce it to a stranger, and how would you discuss it differently in front of someone who knows you well? And if you have ever spent time away from it, how did you scrutinize it from a distance? How does the idea of homecoming/homegoing – temporary or permanent – make you feel?

An immigrant himself, Tony Hao has always considered the themes of ‘hometown’ and ‘movement’ core to his creative practice. Over the past few years, as he slowly emerged in the field of literary translation and connected with writers and artists from various places that might be called ‘the margins,’ he has observed many unexpected similarities between people’s hometowns – northeastern Taiwan, rural Georgia, the redwood forests in northern California, and so on – many of which have become throughlines of their oeuvres. 

In this workshop series, Tony hopes to explore the questions that have perturbed yet also inspired him and his colleagues, and will introduce writers to a few niches of contemporary Sinophone literature – as well as the historical and sociocultural moments behind them – through a selection of recent and forthcoming translations. 

Workshops will be presented in twos, with the first focused on reflecting on and writing to prompts based on the selected readings, and the second a casual creative writing session. Students are encouraged to attend all four sessions, but can sign up for individual sessions if doing the whole series is not an option.

Hometown: An Introduction (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 17, 10-11:30am 

For the first session, we will read “Hometown” 故鄉 by Tong Wei-Ger 童偉格, reflect on our hometowns, and do some writing to a variety of prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Hometown: An Introduction, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, January 18, 10-11:30am

More writing, based on the reading in the first class. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 31, 10-11:30am 

Readings will include passages from Anti-Gravity 反重力 by Huang Chong-Kai 黃崇凱; participants will dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, February 1, 10-11:30am

Participants will further reflect on the reading in the previous class and dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Class fee: Each class session is $15, with a 10% discount for Catamount Arts members and high school students. We are committed to offering quality arts education programming to all, regardless of ability to pay; if you need financial assistance, please contact Anne Campbell at 802-748-2600 ext. 109. 

Please register at least 2 days ahead, as Tony would like you to read a couple of writing excerpts and do a little writing prior to class.

Tony Hao is a CT-based literary translator and writer, and Catamount Arts’ current 560 Railroad Community Artist. He has translated the work of several writers, including Taiwanese novelist Ton Wei-Ger 童偉格, Chinese essayist and poet Xiao Hai 小海, Taiwanese transgender poet and writer Liu Chen-Chun 劉宸君, and Chinese short story writer Ban Yu 班宇. His works have appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. His debut book-length translation Adrift in the South, a memoir by Chinese worker-poet Xiao Hai 小海, is forthcoming in May 2026. His work has been recognized by the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, Art Omi Writers: Translation Lab, the Vermont Studio Center, and others. When he isn’t translating, he runs, cooks, follows sports, and teaches and tutors high school students in creative writing. 

Hometown: A Writing Workshop Series

Where is your hometown? What do the words ‘home’ and ‘hometown’ mean to you? When we ask the question ‘where’s home?,’ are we asking something different than ‘where are you from?’ What’s your impression of the place(s) you call ‘hometown’? How has your hometown shaped you and your loved ones (and hated ones too, perhaps)? How would you introduce it to a stranger, and how would you discuss it differently in front of someone who knows you well? And if you have ever spent time away from it, how did you scrutinize it from a distance? How does the idea of homecoming/homegoing – temporary or permanent – make you feel?

An immigrant himself, Tony Hao has always considered the themes of ‘hometown’ and ‘movement’ core to his creative practice. Over the past few years, as he slowly emerged in the field of literary translation and connected with writers and artists from various places that might be called ‘the margins,’ he has observed many unexpected similarities between people’s hometowns – northeastern Taiwan, rural Georgia, the redwood forests in northern California, and so on – many of which have become throughlines of their oeuvres. 

In this workshop series, Tony hopes to explore the questions that have perturbed yet also inspired him and his colleagues, and will introduce writers to a few niches of contemporary Sinophone literature – as well as the historical and sociocultural moments behind them – through a selection of recent and forthcoming translations. 

Workshops will be presented in twos, with the first focused on reflecting on and writing to prompts based on the selected readings, and the second a casual creative writing session. Students are encouraged to attend all four sessions, but can sign up for individual sessions if doing the whole series is not an option.

Hometown: An Introduction (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 17, 10-11:30am 

For the first session, we will read “Hometown” 故鄉 by Tong Wei-Ger 童偉格, reflect on our hometowns, and do some writing to a variety of prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Hometown: An Introduction, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, January 18, 10-11:30am

More writing, based on the reading in the first class. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 31, 10-11:30am 

Readings will include passages from Anti-Gravity 反重力 by Huang Chong-Kai 黃崇凱; participants will dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, February 1, 10-11:30am

Participants will further reflect on the reading in the previous class and dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Class fee: Each class session is $15, with a 10% discount for Catamount Arts members and high school students. We are committed to offering quality arts education programming to all, regardless of ability to pay; if you need financial assistance, please contact Anne Campbell at 802-748-2600 ext. 109. 

Please register at least 2 days ahead, as Tony would like you to read a couple of writing excerpts and do a little writing prior to class.

Tony Hao is a CT-based literary translator and writer, and Catamount Arts’ current 560 Railroad Community Artist. He has translated the work of several writers, including Taiwanese novelist Ton Wei-Ger 童偉格, Chinese essayist and poet Xiao Hai 小海, Taiwanese transgender poet and writer Liu Chen-Chun 劉宸君, and Chinese short story writer Ban Yu 班宇. His works have appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. His debut book-length translation Adrift in the South, a memoir by Chinese worker-poet Xiao Hai 小海, is forthcoming in May 2026. His work has been recognized by the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, Art Omi Writers: Translation Lab, the Vermont Studio Center, and others. When he isn’t translating, he runs, cooks, follows sports, and teaches and tutors high school students in creative writing. 

Hometown: A Writing Workshop Series

Where is your hometown? What do the words ‘home’ and ‘hometown’ mean to you? When we ask the question ‘where’s home?,’ are we asking something different than ‘where are you from?’ What’s your impression of the place(s) you call ‘hometown’? How has your hometown shaped you and your loved ones (and hated ones too, perhaps)? How would you introduce it to a stranger, and how would you discuss it differently in front of someone who knows you well? And if you have ever spent time away from it, how did you scrutinize it from a distance? How does the idea of homecoming/homegoing – temporary or permanent – make you feel?

An immigrant himself, Tony Hao has always considered the themes of ‘hometown’ and ‘movement’ core to his creative practice. Over the past few years, as he slowly emerged in the field of literary translation and connected with writers and artists from various places that might be called ‘the margins,’ he has observed many unexpected similarities between people’s hometowns – northeastern Taiwan, rural Georgia, the redwood forests in northern California, and so on – many of which have become throughlines of their oeuvres. 

In this workshop series, Tony hopes to explore the questions that have perturbed yet also inspired him and his colleagues, and will introduce writers to a few niches of contemporary Sinophone literature – as well as the historical and sociocultural moments behind them – through a selection of recent and forthcoming translations. 

Workshops will be presented in twos, with the first focused on reflecting on and writing to prompts based on the selected readings, and the second a casual creative writing session. Students are encouraged to attend all four sessions, but can sign up for individual sessions if doing the whole series is not an option.

Hometown: An Introduction (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 17, 10-11:30am 

For the first session, we will read “Hometown” 故鄉 by Tong Wei-Ger 童偉格, reflect on our hometowns, and do some writing to a variety of prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Hometown: An Introduction, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, January 18, 10-11:30am

More writing, based on the reading in the first class. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar (adults and high school students)

Saturday, January 31, 10-11:30am 

Readings will include passages from Anti-Gravity 反重力 by Huang Chong-Kai 黃崇凱; participants will dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Homesickness from Afar, part 2 (adults and high school students)

Sunday, February 1, 10-11:30am

Participants will further reflect on the reading in the previous class and dig deeper into their memories and feelings about their hometown through a variety of writing prompts. Participants have the option of signing up for “office hours” to discuss their writing with Tony after the class. Please register at least one week prior to the start of the series so that we can send you the readings in advance. 

Class fee: Each class session is $15, with a 10% discount for Catamount Arts members and high school students. We are committed to offering quality arts education programming to all, regardless of ability to pay; if you need financial assistance, please contact Anne Campbell at 802-748-2600 ext. 109. 

Please register at least 2 days ahead, as Tony would like you to read a couple of writing excerpts and do a little writing prior to class.

Tony Hao is a CT-based literary translator and writer, and Catamount Arts’ current 560 Railroad Community Artist. He has translated the work of several writers, including Taiwanese novelist Ton Wei-Ger 童偉格, Chinese essayist and poet Xiao Hai 小海, Taiwanese transgender poet and writer Liu Chen-Chun 劉宸君, and Chinese short story writer Ban Yu 班宇. His works have appeared in Granta, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. His debut book-length translation Adrift in the South, a memoir by Chinese worker-poet Xiao Hai 小海, is forthcoming in May 2026. His work has been recognized by the Granum Foundation Translation Prize, Art Omi Writers: Translation Lab, the Vermont Studio Center, and others. When he isn’t translating, he runs, cooks, follows sports, and teaches and tutors high school students in creative writing. 

Sunday, Feb. 15, 1-3pm

Catamount Arts Center, 115 Eastern Avenue, St Johnsbury

FREE (donations welcome)

While admission is free, please register to ensure you have a space.

Join 560 Railroad Community Artist JP Morrison Lans for a grown-up show and tell. Morrison Lans is conducting a research project on the power of everyday objects within our lives.

What is an Animistic Object?

Animism is the belief that all things - plants, rocks, rivers, handiwork, tools, toys, paintbrushes etc. - possess their own distinct psyche. When we apply this idea to everyday items we’ve collected or used, they become unique entities within our lives. Perhaps you have a family heirloom that holds the feeling of a dearly departed loved one. Maybe you’ve become attached to a tool that you have used for many years and shows its wear, or are still haunted by an item you lost years ago. Even a rock picked up on a hike that couldn't be put back down is a good example. Sometimes animistic objects can become insidious and contribute to hoarding tendencies (something the artist has dealt with within her own family). These items can be blessings or burdens and often both.

JP would love to have community members join her to share and discuss how certain objects have affected us. If you don’t have an object to bring because your chosen item is lost or inaccessible to you, please bring the story of your object. If time allows, we may play with some ideas of drawing or copying an item, to see if this amplifies or diminishes its power.

JP Morrison Lans is a Tulsa-based artist whose figurative work blends realism and abstraction to explore how the interior self processes the perplexities of the external world. Her paintings center her own body, family, and symbolic forms—hands, mouths, and inverted figures—as metaphors for desire, self-preservation, introspection, motherhood and recently the dark humor of middle-age womanhood. At age eleven, a visit to the Carole Laroche Gallery in Santa Fe ignited Morrison Lans’ desire to create an art practice, leading to her first solo exhibition at the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition in the year 2000. Since earning her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2007, she has exhibited nationally and internationally, with recent solo shows in San Francisco and Santa Fe. Her work is held in public and private collections, including the Bundaberg Regional Gallery (Australia) and NBC Bank (Oklahoma). Morrison Lans has held residencies at the School of Visual Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Truro Art Center, and in Menorca, Spain; she is also a member of the international artist collective Teleportal.Gallery. Morrison Lans and her child can typically be found experimenting with encaustic and Lego, respectively, in their backyard studio.