Anarchy in Asian America: Sex, Punk, and Transgressive Cinema

Panel Discussion and Concert with the original "bad boys of Asian American cinema, March 24 at USC



If you're in Los Angeles, Kaya Press and USC Visions and Voices invite you to Anarchy in Asian America: Sex, Punk, and Transgressive Cinema, a unique panel discussion with the original "bad boys" of Asian American cinema, Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, Marcus Hu, and Jon Moritsugu.

They'll be discussing a wide range of topics related to filmmaking including the influence of punk on their work and how their transgression of racial, sexual, and cultural norms transformed our notions of both cinema and Asian American film. Afterward, they're throwing a punk afterparty/concert featuring performances by twisted glam rock/garage/punk band Low on High and the indie dark wave sounds of SISU.

It's happening Friday, March 24 at 7pm at the University of Southern California. Here are some more details:

Kaya Press presents Mehfil Massive

Wednesday, April 23 at USC's Bovard Auditorium



Los Angeles! The good folks at Kaya Press are bringing you Mehfil Massive: South Asian Religions Remixed Through Poetry and Music on Wednesday, April 23 at USC's Bovard Auditorium.

South Asian artists from around the country and from India are coming to share one stage and celebrate National Poetry Month. The event is free! Check out this rad trailer:

Lament in the Night Book Launch, February 23

Hey, Los Angeles. This Saturday, February 23, make a trip out to the Japanese American National Museum for a reading of Lament in the Night, a book about the dark underbelly of Little Tokyo in the 1920s. Originally written by Shoson Nagahara, it's been published in English for the first time ever by Kaya Press.

Actors Tamlyn Tomita and Gedde Watanabe will read excerpts from the book, followed by a discussion and Q&A with LA Times book critic David Ulin and translator Andrew Leong. The event is free and open to the public. Swing by Far Bar afterward for the reception, which will include free food and music. Here's more info:

What to Read: Lament in the Night by Shōson Nagahara

Looking for some good reading? Consider Lament in the Night, written by Shōson Nagahara and translated into English for the first time by Andrew Leong, recently published on paperback from Kaya Press.

Originally published in 1925, and touted as a naturalist noir masterpiece, the book is a collection of two dark novellas that reveal the gritty realities in 1920s Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Here's the publisher's description: