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Julian Saporiti aka No-No Boy, the Vietnamese American artist and historian, writes about his new song inspired by the fall of Afghanistan—which you can listen to exclusively here.
Julian Saporiti is a Vietnamese-American songwriter and scholar born in Nashville, Tennessee. His multimedia work "No-No Boy" has transformed his doctoral research on Asian American history into concerts, albums and films which have reached a broad and diverse public audience. His latest album 1975, released through Smithsonian Folkways, has been hailed by NPR as "one of the most insurgent pieces of music you'll ever hear" which "re-examines americana with devastating effect," and American Songwriter called it "insanely listenable and gorgeous." By using art to dive into highly divisive issues such as race, refugees and immigration, Saporiti aims to allow audience members to sit with complication as music and visuals open doorways to difficult histories.
Saporiti currently lives in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher, he has taught courses in songwriting, music, literature, history, Asian American Studies, and ethnic studies at the University of Wyoming, Colorado College, Brown University and has served as artist/scholar in residence at many universities and high schools across the country. Saporiti holds degrees from Berklee College of Music, University of Wyoming and Brown University, and has been commissioned by cultural institutions such as Lincoln Center, the LA Philharmonic, the National Parks, and Carnegie Hall.