Born in Vietnam, along with her family, she left her beloved Saigon one day before its evacuation. Having been educated in the United States, she returned to Vietnam for the first time in 1995.

from publishers note" "In Mong-Lan's new collection of poems, One Thousand Minds Brimming: poems & art, desire, love and mayhem lay bare reality's vicissitudes. Mong-Lan's observations about personal history and past wars in Vietnam and Cambodia are poignant, indeed heartbreaking. These poems defy gravity and darkness, and emerge undiminished; more so, like diamonds. They illuminate the spirit, and dissect the human heart with grace, humor and clarity. Mong-Lan's artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States such as the Dallas Museum of Art, and in public exhibitions in Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Seoul and Bali. ". . . A true original, unafraid of sentiment and at the height of her artistic prowess, Mong-Lan's new book proves she remains one of our leading poets."-Ravi Shankar, editor of Drunken Boat. ". . . I praise these poems of praise which collapse distance and makes us feel, as O'Hara seemed to say, poetry is just a telephone call away."-David Shapiro."

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