Bangkok Noir

Alex Kerr (born 1952) is an American writer based in Japan and Thailand. He is well known for his book Lost Japan (1994), which describes the changes he witnessed in the country where he has lived on and off for decades since childhood. Alex originally wrote Lost Japan in Japanese, for which he was the first foreigner to be awarded the Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for the best work of non-fiction published in Japan. His later book Dogs and Demons (2002), addresses issues of environmental degradation and loss of native culture in the wake of modernization and Westernization. Since the 1980’s, Alex has made Bangkok his second home, establishing in 2005 the Origin Program to introduce traditional Thai arts to foreign visitors. His most recent work is Bangkok Found (2010), which explores the cultural themes of his Japan writing within the Thai context.