Rooted in Poetics is a podcast centering diaspora stories from residents of Long Beach’s Cambodia Town, and from folks who have a deep connection to the neighborhood. This is a project that I have wanted to begin for awhile now, and choosing to incubate this idea as my Urban Futures Lab capstone project provided the opportunity to dive into my passion for storytelling, and lift up what is often left out of community narratives.

Being a second generation Khmer American, I grew up listening to fragmented stories, struggling to piece together the entirety of my family’s experience, and my community’s experiences too. The intergenerational trauma that has passed down is a legacy of the Khmer Rouge that is very real, and is still in the process of healing. I believe that in order to cultivate collective healing, it is important to acknowledge and understand our shared histories on both an intimate and communal level.

The launch of Rooted in Poetics serves as an introduction to Long Beach, the Cambodia Town neighborhood, and some of the key community leaders that I’ve personally gotten to develop deeper relationships with over the past several years. I hope to keep on nurturing Rooted in Poetics so that it may grow into a fluid, community generated archive for shared histories and as a platform for exploring collective healing and intergenerational wisdom.

Update as of August 20th, 2021

Hello community:

Thank you so much for following and supporting this project. It’s been a minute since there have been any updates, and I want to be transparent about what’s been going on with Rooted in Poetics.

Unfortunately, due to family matters and circumstances beyond my control, I had to put the entire project on pause since early April. I’ve been in touch with the folx I’ve interviewed about this update, and want to share this out with all of you too.

I read an article earlier this year about “resilience burnout,” which is defined as “exhaustion from having to meet daily adversity and stress with strength.” This is a feeling I didn’t have a name, or the language for until I read about it. I’ve grown quite familiar with it, and have always just tried to push through the best I could as I’m sure many of you have as well.

But that is also not sustainable in the long term, and time for rest is overdue and much needed.

Before the end of this year, I intend to carve out time + space to properly tend to myself, so that I can return to Rooted in Poetics✨

I’ve been deeply craving to share and honor the stories of these amazing community members. About Cambodia Town. About Long Beach.

Wherever you are, I hope you can soak up some sun, and take some deep breaths. Remember to nourish yourself. Spend time in community, and in the company of good friends.

I’ll be posting here again once I am able. Look out for more updates as they come.

With love and care,
Sabrina ❤️