b. July 11, 1948 Oroville, California, grew up in Paradise, California
studied at the Nanga School in Kyoto
mentor was Nirakushi Toriumi
married Kazuko Nakane, an artist and art historian, from Kyoto
B.A. in Art 1976, University of California Santa Cruz
Alan Lau Pages at Francine Seders Gallery
Alan Lau at WaterBridge Review
Alan Lau at Elliott Bay Book Company
Alan Lau interviews Johsel Namkung
WINDOW SHOPPING girl bought behind a window of twinkling xmas lights you could have been cigarettes chocolate kisses from the p.x. the gaiety in your eyes imported all the way from hershey pennsylvania your english was that good the pendant of buddha hung between breasts showed faith spritely grandmother offerings of spittle collect on the stem of your cigar as a girl squats by your side after a "short time" armed with a water hose just one spray and the shellings of men's frustrations drip off the back porch onto foliage in the parlour sit leftover girls intent over a movie magazine flipping thru the pages bruce lee still leaps out old men bowls of moonlight on their heads trickle in after shops close fingers clipped, hair scented with oil flowers deck the altar above buddha a portrait of the king and queen at this temple the head priest extends a smile a copy of "true confessions" this his only english book with a request to translate a story i was a topless darling at california's sin college "i wanted just to touch to be touched..." Alan Chong Lau from Talking Back to Buddha