THIS may sound crazy, but this chick kicks ass! if you doubt me, check this out. or consider the fact that avant-jazz madman henry threadgill caught a gig of wu man's back in the early '90s, soon after she'd arrived in the states from china, and asked her to play on his next record.today i have a piece in the LATimes on wu, who plays the pipa, a two-thousand-year-old string instrument, a sort of … [Read more...]
Yiyun Li, "The Vagrants" and China’s Cultural Revolution
This sunday i have a piece in the LAT on author Yiyun Li, a native of China now living in Oakland -- and her new novel, "The Vagrants," which is quite beautifully observed as well as brutal in the tale it tells. some of you may know her from her exquisite short stories, which have a bit of william trevor to them.interested to read a bit of the book? this will take you to an excerpt published on … [Read more...]