Ky-Phong Tran is a public school, latch-key kid from North Long Beach, CA. He's written for the Nguoi Viet Daily News, New America Media, the Orange County Register, the San Francisco Chronicle, and of course, Hyphen, which published his short story "A Thing Called Exodus." In 2010, he was a Work-Study Fiction Scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. He holds an MA in Asian American Studies from UCLA and MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. He's into pop culture, street art, music festivals, literature, clever people, and keen ideas.
Ky-Phong Tran
K-PoP: A Modern Take on Chinese-Vietnamese History
It seems eons ago that San Francisco State and UC Berkeley students fought for Asian American Studies and Yuji Ichioka coined the term “Asian American" in the late 1960's.
Each decade of Asian America since has brought us pioneering activists, academics, and artists that have changed the paradigms of their fields and caused ripples, both large and small, across the country. So many, in fact, that I’m scared to make a Who’s Who List and leave anyone out and be lambasted on some obscure blog. (Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’s Jeff Chang is my personal favorite, however).
K-PoP: Why "Fresh Off the Boat" Matters
Fresh Off the Boat is not just about Asian America seeing itself for the first time in mainstream media. It’s that we see ourselves while other non-Asian Americans can see us at the same time, too.
K-PoP: Enter the Tiger, An Unsatisfying Evening with Amy Chua
K-PoP: Rolling Stone Cover, Dark Side of Media Moon
Controversial Rolling Stone cover -- the 21st century's first viral form of art -- questions our mercurial tolerance levels
K-PoP: The Mix Tape Commandments (Retro 90’s/Valentine’s Day edition)
Video may have killed the radio star, but Mp3's can never replace the beloved, essential, and lovingly curated mix tape.
K-PoP: Reviews iPad Mini, the Death Row Records of Tablets
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, an Apple iPad mini-review from Hyphen columnist Ky-Phong Tran.
K-PoP: Grading the Presidential Speak Easy
K-PoP matches rival speakers from the Republican and Democratic National Conventions and grades their speeches.
K-PoP: The Fuzzy Economics of Jeremy Lin
Five misconceptions about Jeremy Lin's contract, or why the New York Knicks are the New York Knicks.
K-PoP: Bruce Lee Enters the Octagon
Two professional fighters discuss Bruce Lee, mixed
martial arts, and what his devastating one-inch punch would do in the cage
K-PoP: 2011–2012 Asian American Dad of the Year
Because Daddy needs more than just the Big Piece of
Chicken: In honor of Father's Day, Hyphen columnist Ky-Phong Tran nominates finalists for the title of 2011-2012 Asian American Dad of the Year.
K-PoP: VH1's Documentary on the L.A. Riots
Club banger, but not a classic: new Hyphen blog columnist Ky-Phong Tran reviews VH1's documentary on the Los Angeles Riots.