In launching the Kavad program in 2010, Kundiman is combining two important aspects of its mission – giving voice to the past and fostering the next generation of poets. Kavad will not only preserve the personal histories of Asian American immigrants, but also re-invigorate them through the power of creative writing.

Through the program, Asian Americans poets will conduct oral history interviews, usually with family members or senior Asian American literary figures. They then, through poetry, will add their voices to complement these personal stories. The interviews and the poems will be recorded and archived in audio and visual form to be made available to the public over the internet and on the Kundiman website.

The filmed segments and poetry will be featured in public presentations and enriched through historical and cultural context provided by humanities scholars. The schedule of presentations will be listed on the website in Fall 2010.