The UCLA Asian American Studies Center invites the public to join a conversation with No-No Boy via Zoom on Thursday, May 23, from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m.

This conversation is part of the course “Asian and Asian American Classical Reception” taught by Professor Kelly Nguyen (Department of Classics), who will moderate the discussion on the themes of fragmentation and creation.

Click the link here to register for the event.

Students in the course will have engaged with Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s “Dictee” and the poetry of Hoa Nguyen and Vi Khi Nao. Their conversation will discuss the legacy of the Vietnam War and the concept and consequences of the myth of Western civilization and the false binaries between East and West, especially as crafted and wielded by imperialism. No-No Boy will also share his music and experience with diaspora.

No-No Boy illuminates hidden Asian American histories through folk songs, sound pieces, live projections, and storytelling. NPR Music has hailed it as “one of the most insurgent pieces of music you’ll ever hear which re-examines americana with devastating effect… An act of revisionist subversion.”

Taking inspiration from his own family’s history living through the Vietnam War as well as many other stories of Asian American experience, Nashville-born songwriter and scholar Julian Saporiti has transformed his years of doctoral study into an innovative project that bridges a divide between art and scholarship.

No-No Boy’s third full-length LP “Empire Electric” was recently released by the Smithsonian Folkways label.

A concert scheduled for May 2 at UCLA was canceled due to campus unrest. It is hoped that a makeup concert can be arranged.

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