Author, actor, and filmmaker Jean-Baptiste Phou presents two autobiographical works that address the presence and image of Cambodian/Asian men in the modern context, sexuality, and pressing questions of trauma, alienation, and survival. First, an excerpt from Phou’s stage adaptation of L’anarchiste, a novel by Cambodian author Soth Polin, will be screened. The screening will be followed by a reading from Phou’s recently translated memoir, Coming Out of My Skin (Seagull Books, 2023, trans. Edward Gauvin).

After the reading, Phou and Professor Karl Britto from the Departments of French and Comparative Literature will bring these two works into conversation to expand on their shared themes and provocations.