In Context: My Lai

Shining Light on My Lai (BAM blog)
A look at how US Army pilot Hugh Thompson’s moral conflict and response to the civilian massacre inspired My Lai composer Jonathan Berger and David Harrington of Kronos Quartet.

Article
How to Write About a Massacre (Literary Hub)
Librettist Harriet Scott Chessman describes researching the haunted aftermath of Thompson’s story and the emotional compass that guided her.

Article
U.S. action in Syria: Another war for virtue? (The Washington Post)
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Vietnam Veteran Henry Allen reflects on America’s love of war, our “Calvinist itch” for moral purity, and the virtuous narratives we supply to justify foreign interventionism.

Watch & Listen
My Lai Pilot Hugh Thompson (NPR)
On the day of Thompson’s death, All Things Considered host Michele Norris recounts the Army pilot's heroic tale of breaking rank and interviews author Trent Angers on the ostracism that followed.

Video
Vân Ánh Vanessa Võ: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (YouTube)
Vietnamese musician Vân Ánh Võ performs original compositions and an East-meets-West Erik Satie cover. See her introduce two traditional instruments that she plays onstage in My Lai: the one-string đàn bầu at 4:36 and the đàn tranh, a bamboo xylophone, at 11:24.

Interactive
Inside the Quartet (The New York Times)
Kronos Quartet explores the mystery of how quartets communicate, narrating digital recordings that visually render the players in accordance with their participation in the music.

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