Alex Dang never realized the power of poetry until he found himself one night, hoping to practice a rap he wrote, in high school at a poetry slam. "I just fell in love with this art form where it was the same kind of writing that you see in theater and hip hop," Dang told NBC News. "It was so poetic, it was heightened, it was elevated, it was dense."
Dang began to explore poetry and spoken word, and began to explore topics related to identity, penning a powerful piece titled "What Kind of Asian Are You?" that went viral.
Look for new "Life Stories" videos published on Thursdays beginning in May and through September. Episodes can be watched on NBCAsianAmerica.com, NBC Asian America's Facebook page, NBC News' official YouTube channel, and the NBC News app available on mobile devices, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
"Life Stories" is part of "NBC Asian America Presents...," a new video channel that will feature documentaries centered around themes and voices found in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Catch up on more videos online at NBCAsianAmericaPresents.com.
WATCH MORE "LIFE STORIES":
- Episode 1: Liang Chow
- Episode 2: Rini Sampath
- Episode 3: The Filharmonic
- Episode 4: Vivek Murthy
- Episode 5: Common Kings
- Episode 6: Vanessa Na
- Episode 7: Martin Yan
- Episode 8: Simran Jeet Singh
- Episode 9: Alice Wong
- Episode 10: Gene Luen Yang
- Episode 11: Kristen Kish
- Episode 12: Faiza Patel
- Episode 13: Alex Dang
- Episode 14: Stella Abrera
- Episode 15: Eugene Lee Yang
- Episode 16: Anh Luu
- Episode 17: Jenn Fang
- Episode 18: Hollis Wong-Wear
- Episode 19: Chris Her-Xiong
- Episode 20: Sam Choy
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