Kundiman (nonprofit organization)

Kundiman is a nonprofit organization for writers and readers of Asian American literature. The organization offers an annual writing retreat, readings, workshops, a mentorship program, and a poetry prize. Kundiman was co-founded in 2004 by Asian American poets Sarah Gambito and Joseph O. Legaspi, and has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Poetry Foundation, the New York Community Trust, Philippine American Writers, PAWA, and individuals.

Kundiman and Fordham University have formed an affiliation in which Kundiman will "enhance the outreach of Fordham’s English Department," and Fordham hosts the annual Kundiman Poetry Retreat on Fordham's Rose Hill campus beginning in 2010, and host Kundiman-sponsored readings and events at the Lincoln Center Campus. Fordham also provided a total of $60,000 over three years in financial support for Kundiman's programs.

The organization’s name refers to a style of Filipino love song that served as veiled patriotism during colonial times. Kundiman Fellows have published in The Virginia Quarterly Review,The Colorado Review, Pleiades, Black Warrior Review and Crab Orchard Review." There have been over 302 books published by Kundiman fellows.

Honors given by Kundiman include The Kundiman Poetry Prize, for a book by an Asian American poet at any stage in their career. The winning manuscript is published by Tupelo Press, and according to Kundiman, "is the only poetry prize dedicated to Asian American poets in the country."

In light of "systemic bias" within the Wikipedia community, Kundiman hosts Wikipedia Edit-A-Thons in order to address the lack of visibility of Asian American writers and accuracy about their work. Kyle Lucia Wu, the programs and communications manager at Kundiman, said the idea of creating a Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon came to her when she saw that there were, at the time, only 240 names listed on Wikipedia's page for Asian American writers.

Kundiman Retreat
The Kundiman Retreat was started in 2004 by Sarah Gambito and Joseph O. Legaspi. The inaugural Retreat was hosted at the University of Virginia in 2004. It now takes place at Fordham University.

The Kundiman Retreat has received support from the National Endowment of the Arts. Starting in 2015, the retreat was opened up to fiction writers as well as poets.

Call for Board Resignation
On May 20th 2024, Kundiman fellows and community members have signed an open letter calling for the resignation of the entire Board of Trustees.

Kundiman fellows include: • Aria Aber

• George Abraham

• Jessica Abughattas

• Vidhu Aggarwal

• Neil Aitken

• Fatimah Asghar

• Tamiko Beyer

• Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

• K-Ming Chang

• Bonnie Chau

• Cathy Linh Che

• Chen Chen

• Ching-In Chen

• Franny Choi

• Tarfia Faizullah

• Pik-Shuen Fung

• Meng Jin

• Janine Joseph

• Sarah Kay

• Swati Khurana

• E.J. Koh

• Muriel Leung

• Lillian Li

• Sally Wen Mao

• Diana Khoi Nguyen

• Hieu Minh Nguyen

• Tiana Nobile

• Matthew Olzmann

• Margaret Rhee

• Purvi Shah

• Sadia Shepard

• Terisa Siagatonu

• Anthony Veasna So

• Lucy Tan

• Mai Der Vang

• Ocean Vuong

• Jackie Wang

• Jenny Xie

• Seema Yasmin

• Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Kundiman Faculty includes: • Kazim Ali

• Ryka Aoki

• Gina Apostol

• Rick Barot

• Jaswinder Bolina

• Regie Cabico

• Lan Samantha Chang

• Marilyn Chin

• Staceyann Chin

• Don Mee Choi

• Bei Dao

• Peter Ho Davies

• Eugene Gloria

• Kimiko Hahn

• Lawson Inada

• Porochista Khakpour

• Myung Mi Kim

• lê thị diễm thúy

• Karen An-hwei Lee

• Li-Young Lee

• Sandra Lim

• Tan Lin

• R. Zamora Linmark

• Megha Majumdar

• Rajiv Mohabir

• David Mura

• Sabina Murray

• Aimee Nezhukumatathil

• Bich Minh Nguyen

• Sigrid Nunez

• Michelle Naka Pierce

• Bao Phi

• Jon Pineda

• Srikanth Reddy

• Paisley Rekdal

• Lee Ann Roripaugh

• Patrick Rosal

• Matthew Salesses

• Solmaz Sharif

• Prageeta Sharma

• Sun Yung Shin

• Arthur Sze

• Lehua Taitano

• Lysley Tenorio

• Truong Tran

• Karen Tei Yamashita

• Monica Youn

• C. Dale Young