Trust the Process: An Interview Poet Bao Phi

Award-winning poet opens up about his latest collection 'Thousand Star Hotel.' By tk lê.


Photo Credit: Anna Min
Bao Phi is a performance poet and writer based in Minneapolis. His second poetry collection, Thousand Star Hotel skillfully weaves a range of topics -- police brutality, Asian American representation, masculinity, fatherhood, and his immigrant experience growing up in Minnesota, to name just a few. In this interview, Bao talks in-depth about what the process of writing this book has been for him and elaborates on some of the heavier subject matter. Also, kittens.

Q & A with SPA NIGHT Director Andrew Ahn

By tk Lê.'


Joe Seo in Spa Night
What comes to mind when you think of the spa? Luxury, relaxation, cleansing, discomfort, family, sex, adventure, the Korean death scrub? And while we're at it, is the spa a gay thing, a Korean thing, or a Korean American thing? For Andrew Ahn, the director of Spa Night, it is all of the things, all at the same time. It's a place where the main character, David Cho, bonds with his family, keeps his parents safe, and explores his sexuality.

I sat with Andrew Ahn to chat about Koreatown, queerness, and the pitfalls of authenticity. The interview has been edited for clarity. [Warning! This interview is full of spoilers.]

Protect L.A.'s Koreatown

Guest Post by tk lê



I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's one from tk lê, Angry Asian Intern.

I love Koreatown. From Far East Movement to Parker (aka Dumbfoundead) to Roy Choi and the entire cast of Ktown -- as many before me have said and shown, the neighborhood is filled with small businesses to satiate practically any of my child-of-immigrant cravings, and at any time of the day. The local mail store that opens before the post office does, the bar down the street that lets me bring my own mixers, and the endless fried and spicy things to cure all that ails me... Yes, I love Ktown for all these things.

I also love the community here. As one of the densest populations in all of Los Angeles, Ktown is filled with people. Workers who catch the bus before sunrise, God-fearers who worship with megaphones, gardeners who harvest fresh vegetables between brick and concrete. People -- mostly working class people of color -- exist here, they live and they thrive and they struggle. They play and they work and they party.

Ktown is not, as a developer named Mike Hakim has said, a community full of "rapists" and "pedophiles." (This is on public record. Go to the 11-minute mark.)