U Sam Oeur grew up in a Cambodian farming family. After studying in the U.S., he served in the Cambodian government. When Pol Pot assumed power in 1975, he and his family survived the killing fields in six forced-labor camps by feigning illiteracy. His highly acclaimed book of poetry, Sacred Vows—translated into English by Ken McCullough—recalls the terror of those years and the beauty of Cambodia’s resilient culture. U Sam Oeur’s reading style is mesmerizing, emotionally charged, and operatic, combining song and chant and a range of tones. Cosponsored by UHM Center for Southeast Asian Studies, TinFish, Manoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing, Manoa Foundation, UHM Dept. of English.