Examine the lasting impact of opium in Chinatown and its complex influence on both the Chinese-American experience and punk rock in the 1970s.

NYPL Long-Term Fellow Alvin Eng presents a work-in-progress look at his forthcoming work of history and memoir, Urban Oracle Bones, which explores the cultural dynamic between opium and the "heroin chic" punk scene of 1970s NYC. Drawing on resources from the Library’s Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, as well as firsthand accounts of life in Lower Manhattan and Chinatown, Eng examines this period and its legacy through the dual lenses of William S. Burroughs’ character “Johnny Yen”—immortalized in Iggy Pop and David Bowie’s song “Lust for Life”—and his own grandfather’s opium overdose in Chinatown, spotlighting the forces that shaped both his life and broader cultural movements.

To join | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open around 1:30 PM. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Alvin Eng is researching a companion to his acclaimed memoir, Our Laundry, Our Town (Fordham University Press). His next nonfiction book, Urban Oracle Bones, is a stage-to-page adaptation of his acoustic punk raconteur performance piece, "Here Comes Johnny Yen Again." Both works examine the profound impact of The Opium Wars and opium on the Chinese Diaspora in NYC as well as on NYC's “heroin chic” punk/counterculture of Eng's formative years. This examination revolves around William S. Burroughs, Iggy Pop, and his own grandfather’s opium addiction in NYC’s Chinatown and The Bowery.

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ACCESSIBILITY

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Alvin Eng © Book Beat (CUNY Podcast)