i was born in vietnam in the wake of a war. i am the daughter of writers; i am also the daughter of a political prisoner. in 1975 i followed my mother - we crossed oceans & slept under tents & wore clothing given us by strangers - & i grew up in a land i was led to believe had rescued us. it was years before i dared ask what it was we had been rescued from. i did not always want to be a writer but felt it inevitable because of my mother - her stories & the stories she didn't tell.... she did not tell; i did not know what or how to ask; so i wrote. i found my singing voice only after i became a mother myself. my father still tells stories of our motherland vietnam & her darknesses not yet brought to light, but they are in a language i have lost. i am a traveler trying to find my way back to my true name: tieu-dao. everywhere i go i plant another 'seed in the ashes'...

dao strom was born in saigon, vietnam, the daughter of writers and politically active journalists. she fled vietnam with her mother in 1975; her father stayed behind and was imprisoned by the communists for the following ten years. these events - the aftermath of war, separation, exodus, and the interplay of art and personal experience - still inform dao's creative work to this day.

dao grew up in the sierra nevada foothills of northern california. she is the author of the gentle order of girls & boys (counterpoint press, 2006) and grass roof, tin roof (houghton mifflin/mariner books, 2003), two critically acclaimed works of fiction. she is a graduate of the iowa writers workshop and has been the recipient of a national endowment for the arts literature fellowship, a james michener fellowship, and the chicago tribune's nelson algren award, among other honors. she is also a writer of songs. she bought her first guitar in new york city and stepped onto her first stage in austin, texas, where she released her debut album send me home (2004), produced by brian beattie (okkervil river, shearwater, daniel johnston), to striking critical acclaim.

dao has been featured in no depression magazine, texas monthly, 3rd coast music, and has made live appearances on prestigious radio programs KUT, KPIG, WNYC, among others. dao was a "critic's pick" (austin360.com, austin chronicle) at SXSW 2006. her music has received radio airplay and reviews nationally and internationally. she self-released a second album of original songs, everything that blooms wrecks me, in 2008.

most recently dao resided in juneau, alaska, where she spent the long winter nights at work on a third book of fiction and new songs. she is re-locating this summer to portland, oregon with her husband and 10-year old son. but first, in july 2009, she will appear at the 12th annual woody guthrie folk festival in okemah, oklahoma, as well other venues in the midwest and texas.

her current work-in-progress is a narrative song-cycle having to do with vietnam, war, migration experiences, and myth. she collaborates with austin, texas producer/composer darwin smith (aimee bobruk, nathan hamilton, jenny gillespie).

dao's cds are available for purchase on this website and at cdbaby.com.

dao's books are available for purchase via amazon and at bookstores nationwide. (please request them at your local independent bookstore if you wish to support independent booksellers).

thank you for your interest in dao's work!

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