Category Archives: The Arts

Asian American Youth Poet Laureates winning Recognitions

While Amanda Gorman has become well known for being the first US National Youth Poet Laureate and speaking at the Joe Biden presidential inauguration, cities all over the US also have Youth Poet Laureate programs, with many Asian Americans as … Continue reading

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8Books Review: Chinatown Pretty by Andria Lo and Valerie Luu

Chinatown Pretty by photographer Andria Lo and Valerie Luu is a beautiful tribute to our popos and gunggungs. The book celebrates the street styles of Chinatown’s elders in six major cities: San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and … Continue reading

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HBO APA Visionaries: 2020 Winners of Short Film Contest made available for Streaming

Every year, HBO sponsors a contest for Asian American short films and showcases the winners.  2020’s winners were recently made available for viewing on HBO Max after honoring them as part of the Virtual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. … Continue reading

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NYC Theater Review: Border People

Border People is a journalistic one-man theater piece by Dan Hoyle that dwells on the broad theme of “borders.” It’s now being performed at A.R.T. / New York Theatres in New York City. Based on in-depth conversations and interviews at … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Grass” by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim

Grass is a breathtaking graphic novel about Korean comfort women by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim and translated by Janet Hong. I know, I had the same thought you just had, a graphic novel? About comfort women? Why? But Gendry-Kim has told … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Natalie Tan’s Book of Love and Fortune” by Roselle Lim

Natalie Tan’s Book of Love and Fortune is a delightful summer read. It’s got good food, a Chinatown community, and more than enough heart to guide you through. I confess to reading it in a single day, and loving every … Continue reading

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Mamma Mia – Finding Representation in the Theater Community

Theater is another one of the mainstream entertainment arenas where finding Asian (or even minority) representation remains difficult. With the exception of dedicated Asian companies (like East West Players), it’s rare to find an Asian American in the cast of … Continue reading

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NYC Theater Review: “Fruiting Bodies” by Sam Chanse

By Timmy Pham Ma-Yi Theater Company presents Fruiting Bodies, a new play by Sam Chanse at Theatre Row in New York City until May 19. When an elderly sansei father heads off on a mushroom foraging trip alone, his two … Continue reading

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8Questions with Brian Jian

Former 8Asians writer Brian Jian has just published his very first graphic novel, Broken Toys, Extraordinary Machines, so we’re asking him the really important questions (hint: it’s the last one). 1. Your book has a pretty intense plot. What was … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “The Lonesome Bodybuilder” by Yukiko Motoya

By Timmy Pham The Lonesome Bodybuilder, by Yukiko Motoya, contains eleven stories wrapped in a dark fantasy. Drawn from a collection of stories originally in Japanese, the work was only last year translated to English by Asa Yoneda, and published … Continue reading

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8Books Review: “Blame This on the Boogie” by Rina Ayuyang

By Timmy Pham There are many things to love about Rina Ayuyang’s Blame This on the Boogie, but one that stands out to me is her waxy, crayon depiction of skin tone. In her first autobiographical comic, Ayuyang captures snippets … Continue reading

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Chopso One Year Later

In November of this year, it will be Chopso’s one-year anniversary. It’s amazing to me we’ve made it this long. But we won’t be able to go on forever unless we continue to get support from our community. I can’t … Continue reading

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