“Even the muzzle over my mouth / could not kill me”
ANNA MAY WONG x SALLY WEN MAO
The AMW x SWM postcard series honors the life of film icon Anna May Wong by pairing images from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery collections with poetry by celebrated contemporary poet Sally Wen Mao.
Wong’s film and television career spanned from 1919 to 1960, and included numerous star turns, transnational celebrity, and an array of firsts for an Asian American actress. It was also a career forged in the shadow of—and in defiance of—widespread xenophobia, leaving a legacy that takes on a new cast and consequence today, in an era of COVID-19 and virulent anti-Asian racism.
We invite you to download the postcard series, watch a short video by Sally Wen Mao about her “patron saint,” check out instructions for making your own postcards, dive into a Smithsonian Learning Lab collection about Anna May Wong, and send someone a message inspired by the film icon.
Make Your Own Postcard Instructions
Postcards have been used as an efficient way to send messages to loved ones since the 1840s. Whether mailed from a faraway place while on vacation or sent as a quick pick-me-up, postcards are an easy way to show someone that you are thinking of them. Using the Anna May Wong postcard images provided, print out your own postcards and drop in the mail.
Supplies:
Glue
Pen/pencil
1 piece of blank 8.5” x 11” paper
1 First Class postage stamp
Printer
Scissors
1 thin cardboard box (i.e. cereal box)
Directions:
1. Print out the front and back images of your chosen postcard on blank 8.5” x 11” paper. Cut out both images along the dashed black lines.
2. Glue one of the two postcard images to the thin cardboard. Cut the cardboard to the same size as the postcard image. Glue the second of the postcard images to the other side of the cardboard, carefully aligning all edges. Trim as needed.
3. On the three horizontal lines to the right of the vertical line, write the address of the recipient. Remember, postcards do not require return addresses like letters do. Any brief, personalized message you would like to include should fit in the space above the recipient’s address.
4. Attach a stamp on the rectangular box above the address lines and drop in your local collection mailbox.
Glue
Pen/pencil
1 piece of blank 8.5” x 11” paper
1 First Class postage stamp
Printer
Scissors
1 thin cardboard box (i.e. cereal box)
1. Print out the front and back images of your chosen postcard on blank 8.5” x 11” paper. Cut out both images along the dashed black lines.
2. Glue one of the two postcard images to the thin cardboard. Cut the cardboard to the same size as the postcard image. Glue the second of the postcard images to the other side of the cardboard, carefully aligning all edges. Trim as needed.
3. On the three horizontal lines to the right of the vertical line, write the address of the recipient. Remember, postcards do not require return addresses like letters do. Any brief, personalized message you would like to include should fit in the space above the recipient’s address.
4. Attach a stamp on the rectangular box above the address lines and drop in your local collection mailbox.
How can you be a changemaker in society?
Anna May Wong was a changemaker in Hollywood as the first Asian American movie star, but her rise to fame came with many obstacles. If you are interested in learning more about the life and legacy of Anna May Wong, check out this topical Learning Lab collection for access to short videos, articles, and objects from the Smithsonian collections to guide your learning.
Sally Wen Mao is the author of Oculus (Graywolf Press, 2019), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 and one of Book Marks’ Best Reviewed Poetry Books of 2019. Mao is also the author of Mad Honey Symposium (Alice James Books, 2014), and the winner of an Amy Award, a Pushcart Prize, and others. She was a 2016-2017 Cullman fellow at the New York Public Library and the 2017-2018 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington at George Washington University. Her poems, fiction, and essays have recently been published in Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, A Public Space, Tin House, Nylon, and Harpers Bazaar, among others.
Sally Wen Mao is the author of Oculus (Graywolf Press, 2019), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 and one of Book Marks’ Best Reviewed Poetry Books of 2019. Mao is also the author of Mad Honey Symposium (Alice James Books, 2014), and the winner of an Amy Award, a Pushcart Prize, and others. She was a 2016-2017 Cullman fellow at the New York Public Library and the 2017-2018 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington at George Washington University. Her poems, fiction, and essays have recently been published in Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, A Public Space, Tin House, Nylon, and Harpers Bazaar, among others.
Brought to you through a partnership between the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, National Portrait Gallery, and National Postal Museum.
“Even the muzzle over my mouth / could not kill me”
ANNA MAY WONG x SALLY WEN MAO
The AMW x SWM postcard series honors the life of film icon Anna May Wong by pairing images from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery collections with poetry by celebrated contemporary poet Sally Wen Mao.
Wong’s film and television career spanned from 1919 to 1960, and included numerous star turns, transnational celebrity, and an array of firsts for an Asian American actress. It was also a career forged in the shadow of—and in defiance of—widespread xenophobia, leaving a legacy that takes on a new cast and consequence today, in an era of COVID-19 and virulent anti-Asian racism.
We invite you to download the postcard series, watch a short video by Sally Wen Mao about her “patron saint,” check out instructions for making your own postcards, dive into a Smithsonian Learning Lab collection about Anna May Wong, and send someone a message inspired by the film icon.
Make Your Own Postcard Instructions
Postcards have been used as an efficient way to send messages to loved ones since the 1840s. Whether mailed from a faraway place while on vacation or sent as a quick pick-me-up, postcards are an easy way to show someone that you are thinking of them. Using the Anna May Wong postcard images provided, print out your own postcards and drop in the mail.
Supplies:
Glue
Pen/pencil
1 piece of blank 8.5” x 11” paper
1 First Class postage stamp
Printer
Scissors
1 thin cardboard box (i.e. cereal box)
Directions:
1. Print out the front and back images of your chosen postcard on blank 8.5” x 11” paper. Cut out both images along the dashed black lines.
2. Glue one of the two postcard images to the thin cardboard. Cut the cardboard to the same size as the postcard image. Glue the second of the postcard images to the other side of the cardboard, carefully aligning all edges. Trim as needed.
3. On the three horizontal lines to the right of the vertical line, write the address of the recipient. Remember, postcards do not require return addresses like letters do. Any brief, personalized message you would like to include should fit in the space above the recipient’s address.
4. Attach a stamp on the rectangular box above the address lines and drop in your local collection mailbox.
Glue
Pen/pencil
1 piece of blank 8.5” x 11” paper
1 First Class postage stamp
Printer
Scissors
1 thin cardboard box (i.e. cereal box)
1. Print out the front and back images of your chosen postcard on blank 8.5” x 11” paper. Cut out both images along the dashed black lines.
2. Glue one of the two postcard images to the thin cardboard. Cut the cardboard to the same size as the postcard image. Glue the second of the postcard images to the other side of the cardboard, carefully aligning all edges. Trim as needed.
3. On the three horizontal lines to the right of the vertical line, write the address of the recipient. Remember, postcards do not require return addresses like letters do. Any brief, personalized message you would like to include should fit in the space above the recipient’s address.
4. Attach a stamp on the rectangular box above the address lines and drop in your local collection mailbox.
How can you be a changemaker in society?
Anna May Wong was a changemaker in Hollywood as the first Asian American movie star, but her rise to fame came with many obstacles. If you are interested in learning more about the life and legacy of Anna May Wong, check out this topical Learning Lab collection for access to short videos, articles, and objects from the Smithsonian collections to guide your learning.
Sally Wen Mao is the author of Oculus (Graywolf Press, 2019), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 and one of Book Marks’ Best Reviewed Poetry Books of 2019. Mao is also the author of Mad Honey Symposium (Alice James Books, 2014), and the winner of an Amy Award, a Pushcart Prize, and others. She was a 2016-2017 Cullman fellow at the New York Public Library and the 2017-2018 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington at George Washington University. Her poems, fiction, and essays have recently been published in Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, A Public Space, Tin House, Nylon, and Harpers Bazaar, among others.
Sally Wen Mao is the author of Oculus (Graywolf Press, 2019), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 and one of Book Marks’ Best Reviewed Poetry Books of 2019. Mao is also the author of Mad Honey Symposium (Alice James Books, 2014), and the winner of an Amy Award, a Pushcart Prize, and others. She was a 2016-2017 Cullman fellow at the New York Public Library and the 2017-2018 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington at George Washington University. Her poems, fiction, and essays have recently been published in Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, A Public Space, Tin House, Nylon, and Harpers Bazaar, among others.
Brought to you through a partnership between the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, National Portrait Gallery, and National Postal Museum.
