Becoming Ghost and We Were the Scenery: A Poetry Reading and Film Screening

Join us for an evening of poetry and film, featuring Cathy Linh Che's poetry book Becoming Ghost, a finalist for the National Book Award, and the short documentary film We Were the Scenery, winner of the Sundance Jury Prize for Nonfiction Short Film, shortlisted for Cinema Eye Honors and DOC NYC.

Both projects are based on Che's parents' experiences as refugees who escaped the Vietnam War and then were cast as extras in Francis Ford Coppola's film Apocalypse Now.

Becoming Ghost uses persona, speculation, and the golden shovel form as a means of moving Vietnamese voices from the periphery to the center. The speaker’s disownment raises questions about the challenges of using parents as poetic subjects, telling familial stories to a broader public, and the meaning of forgiveness. We Were the Scenery was filmed on location in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Long Beach, CA. The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025.

Doors Open: 7:00 PM I Readings & Screening: 7:30 PM

About the author

Cathy Linh Che is a writer and multidisciplinary artist. She is the author of (Washington Square Press, 2025), a Finalist for the National Book Award,  (Alice James Books) and co-author of the children’s book (Haymarket Books). Her video installation Appocalips is an Open Call commission with The Shed NY, and her film We Were the Scenery won the Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction at the Sundance Film Festival. She teaches as Core Faculty in Poetry at the low residency MFA program in Creative Writing at Antioch University in Los Angeles and works as Executive Director at Kundiman. She lives in New York City.

About Beyond Baroque

is one of the United States' leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

Livestream: If you can’t join us in person the event will be livestreamed on at the scheduled time of the event. If you are tuning in this way, no ticket purchase is necessary.

If you are attending in person, ticket purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. Please arrive early.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center