Podcast appearances and mentions of Gish Jen

Tonight, Writers for Blue is offering a special opportunity to learn about writing your first pages. We'll have four award-winning authors, including myself, Aaron Hamburger, Nancy Johnson, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jayne Anne Phillips, workshopping seven first-page writing submissions in support of electing Kamala Harris, our first female president—and our 47th. We'll also hear about ways you might use your words in the upcoming election cycle, including how to write politically-charged topics, canvassing, and more, from writers Charles Coe, Rishi Reddi, Daphne Kalotay, Julia Rold, and Gish Jen.   All of these authors have donated their time, energy, and talents in support of this event. We're hoping you might follow suit and consider donating to our Writers for Blue campaign. Go to writersforblue.com to get started. And, if you're looking for specific links and resources mentioned during the event, see below.AUTHORS FEATURED:Charles Coe, author of five books of poetry and one novel, teaches in the Newport MFA writing program, and is renowned both as a writer and a performer; we are honored to have him speaking as well as kindly reading aloud our sample pages.Aaron Hamburger is author of four acclaimed books of fiction, winner of the Rome Prize and a 2023 Lambda Literary prize; his new novel HOTEL CUBA has been featured on NPR; Aaron does political activism with Swing Left and is on the faculty at Stonecoast MFA.Author of nine acclaimed books, most recently a ‘best book' choice by the Oprah Book Club, NPR and the New Yorker, Gish Jen writes about charged issues with humor and heart, as in her latest collection, THANK YOU, MR NIXON.Nancy Johnson's acclaimed debut novel THE KINDEST LIE, was a New York Times Editor's Choice and Indie Booksellers choice; Nancy's also an Emmy-nominated award-winning journalist as well as author of the forthcoming 2025 novel, PEOPLE OF MEANS.Daphne Kalotay is the author, most recently, of the story collection THE ARCHIVISTS, winner of the Grace Paley Prize, a Boston Authors Club “Notable Book” and long-listed for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and Massachusetts Book Award. National bestselling author of NIGHT SWIM and WOMEN IN BED; Jessica Keener is the Co-Chair with Randy Susan Meyers and, from the start, the driving force of Writers for Blue.From the iconic story collection BLACK TICKETS through 6 more indelible books of fiction to her 2024 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, NIGHT WATCH Jayne Anne Phillips is—as Caroline Leavitt said on A Mighty Blaze—‘everyone's literary heroine.'Rishi Reddi is the PEN New England award winning author of KARMA AND OTHER STORIES and the novel PASSAGE WEST; when not writing, she is an environmental lawyer and lobbies for sound climate policy in her day-job. Julia Rold is a writer, playwright and Novel Incubator alum who has worked on political campaigns in Massachusetts, NH, NY, Florida, and her home state of Kentucky.LINKS TO RESOURCES:DIRECT LINK TO WritersForBlue DONATION PAGE.WRITERS FOR BLUE website: https://writersforblue.com/Our partners:WRITERS FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION (WDA)A MIGHTY BLAZEMarkers for Democracy: https://markersfordemocracy.org/postcarding (get out the vote cards to Democratic voters. has a monthly writing bootcamp online)Swing Blue: https://swingbluealliance.org/ (coordinating with Working America on postcard campaign focused on Healthcare for independent voters in PA)VoteForward: https://votefwd.org/instructions (letter-writing you can download yourself. Excellent examples of positive, nonpartisan "let's go vote!" messages)More suggested messages (specifically for postcards to swing state voters), stats to support the effort, and ways to order postcards: https://turnoutpac.org/If folks are interested in supporting Dems in Arizona, Wednesday night at 7pm ET, my Swing Left group is hosting an Arizona Zoom Fundraiser. Sign up here. Door-to-door canvassing resources.Canvassing in NH:  https://www.mobilize.us/massdems/event/627702/Canvassing in PA: https://www.mobilize.us/2024pavictory/event/645465/https://www.31ststreet.org sends out weekly emails with canvassing, donating, phone banking, and letter writing opportunities. Sign up!One way of targeting critical races is to think about donating to Crimson Goes Blue. It's a Harvard group, but don't be put off by that! They do great research, and their record in giving to races that turned out to be super tight, and where money made the difference is impressive. Highly recommended! Here's a Slide with a lot of resources about door-to-door canvassing.  LISTS OF AND INFO ON BANNED BOOKS:https://socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/banned-books/SWING LEFT: VOLUNTEER IN A VARIETY OF WAYS— LETTER-WRITING, POST-CARDING, CANVASSING, PHONE-CALLING and MORE for DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT:PEN AMERICA, sponsoring many activities such as WRITING LETTERS to free political prisoners around the world and teaching writing in prisons; also programs addressing online abuse and misinformation:Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Today, we hear from listeners Lesley Téllez, Kathy Tully, and Elaine Durbach for the last of this summer's “Listener Roundups.” We hear about what they've learned from the past few episodes, what ideas they consider the most important, what questions or confusions they have, and their own advice and/or experience in dealing with the same issues. REMINDER OF OUR SPECIAL ZOOM EVENT on September 23. This is a chance for seven lucky listeners to have the first page of a piece of prose workshopped by myself as well as the authors Nancy Johnson, Aaron Hamburger, and Pulitzer Prize winner Jayne Anne Phillips. It's also a great chance for everyone who registers to learn about what makes a first page work and strategies for how to improve their own. All those who register will receive a full recording of the event. We'll also be hearing from Charles Coe, Gish Jen, Rishi Reddi, Julia Rold, and Daphne Kalotay about how writers can “Use Your Words” in the upcoming election cycle and more. The event is entirely free but we're running it support of what we hope will be our first female president, Kamala Harris. Find out more at writersforblue.com.  Watch a recording here. This audio/video version is available for one week. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.Mentioned in this episode: Philip Gerard's essay “Architecture of Light: Structuring the Novel and Story Collection” from Checkoway's Creating Fiction, Story Press, 1999. Steve Almond's “How to Write Sex Scenes Without Shame” from his craft book Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow, Zando, 2023.To find books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page. Looking for a writing community? Join our Facebook page. Lesley Téllez, a writer based in Mexico City, is a former journalist, food writer, and cookbook author, now working on a novel about Mexican food and assimilation.Kathy Shiels Tully is a freelance writer in the Boston area who, despite an insidious case of Imposter Syndrome, has written about people, food, travel, business, plus essays, in publications including: The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, The Christian Science Monitor, The Writer, the Erma Bombeck Writing Workshop, and recently, her own “Tiny Love Story” in The New York Times. Elaine Durbach, the Zimbabwean-born, New Jersey- based author of two non-fiction books and three self-published novels, was a fact-obsessed journalist for 45 years before discovering the joys of making it all up. Photo by Sammie Chaffin on Unsplash This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

We begin Episode 204 with the announcement of our second quarter readalong in our year of reading romance and end with a delightful conversation with author Allison Pataki about her fabulous new novel, FINDING MARGARET FULLER. Since our last episode, Emily has continued with her intention of reading a short story every Monday. She read “Lot” by Bryan Washington from the story collection LOT: Stories and “Postcards from Heaven” from REUNION BEACH: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank. Chris also read a short story, “Consequences” by Willa Cather from the story collection UNCLE VALENTINE AND OTHER STORIES. We each read an excellent novel – we're talking Top 10 contenders! Emily read THE FROZEN RIVERr by Ariel Lawhon and Chris finished WE GOT THE BEAT by Jenna Miller. In Biblio Adventures, Chris has rekindled a childhood fascination with Mary Stuart (aka Mary I of Scotland or Mary, Queen of Scots). She watched two movies: Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave, and Mary Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan based on John Guy's biography QUEEN OF SCOTS: The True Life of Mary Stuart. She plans to read Antonia Fraser's biography, Mary, Queen of Scots for Big Book Summer. Emily took a trip to Wilmington, NC where she tried unsuccessfully to shop at Papercuts Bookshop because it was closed for inventory. She did find two Little Free Libraries where she picked up THIRTEEN MOONS by Charles Frazier, INTIMACIES by Katie Kitamura, and EACH PEACH PEAR PLUM by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Back in CT, Emily went to the North Haven public library where she purchased LOTt: Stories by Bryan Washington and WHO'S IRISH?: Stories by Gish Jen from the Friends of the Library sale, and attended a presentation with Linda Civitello author of BAKING POWDER WARS: The Cutthroat Food Fight That Revolutionized Cooking.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that ask the big, basic questions: Who? What? Where?  The characters resonate, the situations are intriguing, and each offers a fully realized world.  In “What Animal Are You?,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Willem Dafoe, a celebrity writer and his son play themselves for the media. In Rumaan Alam's “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” performed by Nathan Hinton, a man goes into sensory overdrive.  And a fierce and traditional grandmother tries to find her place in a new world and a new family in Gish Jen's “Who's Irish?” performed by Frieda Foh Shen. 

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories featuring famous villains, real and fictional. A woman writes a letter to a former president—now residing in Hell—in “Thank You, Mr. Nixon,” by Gish Jen, performed by Cindy Cheung. And a man in recovery faces off against a former Roman leader with a really bad rep in "Playing Ping-Pong with Pontius Pilate" by Greg Ames, performed by Nate Corddry. Finally, Moby Dick has a say in its own epic in “Captain Ahab, A Novel by the White Whale,” by Paul West, performed by Diane Venora. Author Gish Jen provides on-stage commentary about her work.

This week we're celebrating two of our more accomplished guests of last year. Grant and Brooke talk about the joy of interviewing authors we've long admired, and highlight these two fabulous shows with Gish Jen and Peggy Orenstein, two authors at the top of their game. These are great shows to revisit for their insights from writers who've been at their craft for a while, and have a thing or two to impart to writers at all stages of their career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building tension in stories is part of writing good fiction writing, but that doesn't mean it's easy to do—and it also requires writers to be conscious of the tensions they're trying to mine. In this week's show, tension is at the forefront, as Brooke and Grant explore with storytelling master Gish Jen how she thinks about tension, what life experiences she brings to her fiction as a member of the Chinese diaspora and daughter of immigrants, and so much more. We're talking about short stories and celebrating Jen's latest collection, Thank You, Mr. Nixon, and thinking more broadly about the way tension raises the stakes when it comes to good story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Wolf and Eric Newman are joined by author De'Shawn Charles Winslow to speak about his novel, Decent People. The book is set in the fictional small town of West Mills, North Carolina, and takes place in 1976, when West Mill is still segregated. It focuses on a crime: the calculated murder of three siblings in their home. Marian, Marva, and Lazarus Harmon have been found dead, and there are plenty of people to suspect of having wanted to kill them, including their half-brother Lymp, whose fiancé Jo is determined to prove his innocence; Eunice, an acquaintance from church whose teenage son Marian has wronged; Savannah, who was close friends with Marva and shared a drug habit with her; and Savannah's father, Ted, who served as the landlord of the siblings' pediatric practice in town. Alternating perspectives between many of these characters, the novel untangles the tightly knit and interrelated stories of people in a community who know each other intimately—sometimes too intimately for comfort—and considers the ways in which the need for privacy and autonomy can corrode into secrecy, even conspiracy, as well as the harmful effects of racism and homophobia across decades. Also, Kathryn Ma, author of The Chinese Groove, returns to recommend Gish Jen's short story collection Thank You, Mr. Nixon.

Kate Wolf and Eric Newman are joined by author De'Shawn Charles Winslow to speak about his novel, Decent People. The book is set in the fictional small town of West Mills, North Carolina, and takes place in 1976, when West Mill is still segregated. It focuses on a crime: the calculated murder of three siblings in their home. Marian, Marva, and Lazarus Harmon have been found dead, and there are plenty of people to suspect of having wanted to kill them, including their half-brother Lymp, whose fiancé Jo is determined to prove his innocence; Eunice, an acquaintance from church whose teenage son Marian has wronged; Savannah, who was close friends with Marva and shared a drug habit with her; and Savannah's father, Ted, who served as the landlord of the siblings' pediatric practice in town. Alternating perspectives between many of these characters, the novel untangles the tightly knit and interrelated stories of people in a community who know each other intimately—sometimes too intimately for comfort—and considers the ways in which the need for privacy and autonomy can corrode into secrecy, even conspiracy, as well as the harmful effects of racism and homophobia across decades. Also, Kathryn Ma, author of The Chinese Groove, returns to recommend Gish Jen's short story collection Thank You, Mr. Nixon.

Episode 161 Notes and Links to Matthew Salesses' Work       On Episode 161 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Matthew Salesses, and the two discuss, among other things, his early relationships with writing and language, his latest book (out January 17!), The Sense of Wonder, its connection to real-life events and Korean dramas, its background and themes and implications, and his processes in writing the book and his 2021 smash, Craft in the Real World and its ideas that shift the paradigms of teaching writing in workshops and reevaluating ideas of “relatability,” bias, and audience.    Matthew Salesses is the author of The Sense of Wonder, national bestseller Craft in the Real World, the 2021 finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, and two other novels. Adopted from Korea, he has written about adoption, race, and Asian American masculinity in The Best American Essays 2020, NPR's Code Switch, the New York Times blog Motherlode, and The Guardian, among other media outlets. BuzzFeed has named him one of 32 Essential Asian American Writers. He lives in New York City, where he is an Assistant Professor of Writing at Columbia University.            Buy Craft in the Real World   Matthew Salesses' Website   The Washington Post Review of The Sense of Wonder-by Ron Charles   New York Times Discussion of Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Laila Lalami   At about 7:20, Matt shouts out his launch party on publication day (January 17) for The Sense of Wonder, an event at with “BFF” Kirstin Chen at Books are Magic in Brooklyn at 7pm EST: in-person and on YouTube Live   At about 8:40, Matt describes his relationship with language and books as a kid and ideas of agency and reading fantasy    At about 11:00, Matt describes the scant examples of representation that was available   At about 12:45, Matt describes what he read at school   At about 13:40, Matt traces early moments in his writing career, as well as the omnipresence of books in his house   At about 14:55, Matt responds to Pete's question about who/what his students are reading, and he highlights the resonance of Katie Kiramura's writing   At about 16:20, Matt gives background on the beginnings of The Sense of Wonder, including connections to Jeremy Lin    At about 19:20, Pete and Matt lay out the book's main characters, and Matt explains the cool name for the star basketball player,    At about 20:45, Pete cites the book's epigraph and how the book opens   At about 21:45, Matt explains how Robert Sung and Won Lee, two of the book's main characters, are similar and dissimilar    At about 23:40, Matt and Pete discuss the connections between Powerball! and Robert Sung and their distinct and shared trajectories, including how a woman loved by both, Brit Young, is a dynamic character    At about 26:00, Pete outlines the hysteria that surrounds Won's standout play and Matthew details Won's coach's behavior    At about 28:30, Matthew expands upon how a “scarcity model” plays out in the book with Sung and Won, and how it manifested in Matthew's own life   At about 30:50, Matthew describes the significance of a scene that Pete compliments as “icky,” including   At about 33:00, Carrie Kang is described and her and Won's backstories are laid out as Pete brings up connections to agency as seen in both of Matt's recent books   At about 35:15, Matt describes the “living funeral” done in the book, and how this storyline with Carrie's sister K having Stage IV Cancer mirrors the story of Matt's own wife    At about 37:50, Pete dates himself with a ridiculous movie reference and Matthew talks about the sections in which Carrie lays out basics of K Dramas; his answer touches upon ideas of “audience”   At about 40:30, Pete asks Matthew to define “wonder,” especially as used in the book   At about 41:50, the two discuss the second half of the book, including Matthew's skillful usage of timing and connections to K Drama storylines   At about 44:35, Pete compliments the ending, including the clever and intriguing last sentence of the book   At about 45:00, Pete highlights a profound quote about wonder from K at her “living funeral”   At about 46:25, Matthew responds to Pete's questions about Craft in the Real World and ideas of “unlearning” after Pete's notes the book's immediate appeal to all readers, including its special place among educators   At about 47:35, Pete asks Matthew about the significant example he uses in the book about “query” versus “ask” with dialogue   At about 49:30, Pete notes the book's two-half structure and notes the emphasis on craft as necessarily cultural; Matt speaks to ideas of writing as apolitical or “outside   At about 51:40, Matt and Pete discuss ideas of “know[ing] your audience” and its connection to craft   At about 53:10, Matt describes short-sighted criticisms from Western readers/writers   At about 54:35, Matt and Pete discuss the importance of Gish Jen pointing out a survey/experiment that fleshes out differences in types of literature types, and how Western critics often limit and unfairly criticize Asian and American-writing; Matt also refers to ideas of “hybridity” as stated by Lisa Lowe   At about 56:55, Pete asks about how Matthew runs his workshops and responds to Pete's question about ways in which to keep workshops balanced and    At about 59:00, Matthew shares positive feedback that comes from readers of his book, and Pete shares a quote from the book that sums up its greatness      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 162 with Erin Keane, whose RUNAWAY: Notes on the Myths that Made Me, her debut full-length nonfiction book, is a memoir in essays about her parents/pop culture/gender. Erin is also Editor in Chief at Salon Magazine and the author of three collections of poetry.       The episode will air on January 24.  

Inhabiting the space between two places, forms or cultures and exploring the tensions that dissonance creates: Celebrated author Gish Jen on post-Nixon China, finding humor in heartbreak, and her intuitive approach to writing virtuosic fiction. Syrian writer Ayad Awwadawnan on the hopes, dreams and humanity of refugees and his own journey to asylum. PLUS: New music from The Lazours! Contributing artists: Joseph Keckler, Daniel Lazour, Patrick Lazour.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We began the show by asking our listeners how they feel about Elon Musk buying Twitter. Lyndia Downie, president of the Pine Street Inn, discussed the organization's plan to build more than 100 studio apartments at a former "Comfort Inn" in Dorchester despite the steep opposition from neighbors and local leaders. She also discussed the ongoing tension between the city of Boston and the state when it comes to Mass and Cass and ended by highlighting that Boston's homeless population has dipped by 25 percent over two years. Callie Crossley talked about the divorce between Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen. She also predicted the impact of Elon Musk buying Twitter, and weighed in on how the media covered John Fetterman's performance during his Pennsylvania senatorial debate with Dr. Mehmet Oz. Callie Crossley is the host of "Under the Radar with Callie Crossley.” Irene Li & Steven “Nookie” Postal brought food and talked about their respective journeys to reaching success in Boston's cuisine scene. Irene's "Mei Mei Dumplings" has a new cafe and dumpling factory opening in South Boston. "Nookie" provided updates about his restaurants, the "Revival Café" and "Commonwealth Cambridge." Deborah Z. Porter, the director of the Boston Book Festival, and author Gish Jen stopped by to give a rundown on what to expect at the festival this weekend. Gish also discussed her latest book. The musician "BLKBOK" performed during the latest segment of "Live-Music Fridays." He's a Detroit-based classical pianist who's worked with artists like Justin Timberlake and Rihanna. He had a show at City Winery on Thursday night. We ended the show by asking our listeners to call in and tell us about their favorite Halloween candy.

Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon stepped off a plane in Beijing: a visit that changed the course of China, the U.S., the Cold war and the world. The stories in Gish Jen's newest story collection, Thank You Mr. Nixon: Stories (Knopf: 2022), covers stories spanning the fifty-year relationship since then, from a Chinese woman press-ganged into translating for her Western tour group, to an English professor struggling to teach the wealthy Chinese students at his university. Gish Jen is the author of one previous book of stories, five novels, and two works of nonfiction. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the Fulbright Foundation. Her stories have been chosen for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century; she has also delivered the William E. Massey, Sr., Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University. She and her husband split their time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In this interview, Gish and I talk about why she wrote this story collection, covering fifty years of encounters and connections between Chinese, Americans, and Chinedse-Americans. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Thank You Mr. Nixon. Follow on Facebook or on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon stepped off a plane in Beijing: a visit that changed the course of China, the U.S., the Cold war and the world. The stories in Gish Jen's newest story collection, Thank You Mr. Nixon: Stories (Knopf: 2022), covers stories spanning the fifty-year relationship since then, from a Chinese woman press-ganged into translating for her Western tour group, to an English professor struggling to teach the wealthy Chinese students at his university. Gish Jen is the author of one previous book of stories, five novels, and two works of nonfiction. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the Fulbright Foundation. Her stories have been chosen for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century; she has also delivered the William E. Massey, Sr., Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University. She and her husband split their time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In this interview, Gish and I talk about why she wrote this story collection, covering fifty years of encounters and connections between Chinese, Americans, and Chinedse-Americans. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Thank You Mr. Nixon. Follow on Facebook or on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies

Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon stepped off a plane in Beijing: a visit that changed the course of China, the U.S., the Cold war and the world. The stories in Gish Jen's newest story collection, Thank You Mr. Nixon: Stories (Knopf: 2022), covers stories spanning the fifty-year relationship since then, from a Chinese woman press-ganged into translating for her Western tour group, to an English professor struggling to teach the wealthy Chinese students at his university. Gish Jen is the author of one previous book of stories, five novels, and two works of nonfiction. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the Fulbright Foundation. Her stories have been chosen for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century; she has also delivered the William E. Massey, Sr., Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University. She and her husband split their time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In this interview, Gish and I talk about why she wrote this story collection, covering fifty years of encounters and connections between Chinese, Americans, and Chinedse-Americans. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Thank You Mr. Nixon. Follow on Facebook or on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon stepped off a plane in Beijing: a visit that changed the course of China, the U.S., the Cold war and the world. The stories in Gish Jen's newest story collection, Thank You Mr. Nixon: Stories (Knopf: 2022), covers stories spanning the fifty-year relationship since then, from a Chinese woman press-ganged into translating for her Western tour group, to an English professor struggling to teach the wealthy Chinese students at his university. Gish Jen is the author of one previous book of stories, five novels, and two works of nonfiction. Her honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the Fulbright Foundation. Her stories have been chosen for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century; she has also delivered the William E. Massey, Sr., Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University. She and her husband split their time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In this interview, Gish and I talk about why she wrote this story collection, covering fifty years of encounters and connections between Chinese, Americans, and Chinedse-Americans. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Thank You Mr. Nixon. Follow on Facebook or on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-review

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that ask the big, basic questions: Who? What? Where?  The characters resonate, the situations are intriguing, and each offers a fully realized world.  In “What Animal Are You?,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Willem Dafoe, a celebrity writer and his son play themselves for the media. In Rumaan Alam's “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” performed by Nathan Hinton, a man goes into sensory overdrive.  And a fierce and traditional grandmother tries to find her place in a new world and a new family in Gish Jen's “Who's Irish?” performed by Frieda Foh Shen. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories that ask the big, basic questions: Who? What? Where?  The characters resonate, the situations are intriguing, and each offers a fully realized world.  In “What Animal Are You?,” by Etgar Keret, performed by Willem Dafoe, a celebrity writer and his son play themselves for the media. In Rumaan Alam's “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” performed by Nathan Hinton, a man goes into sensory overdrive.  And a fierce and traditional grandmother tries to find her place in a new world and a new family in Gish Jen's “Who's Irish?” performed by Frieda Foh Shen. Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The short story collections begins with First Lady Pat Nixon's red coat and ends with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Plus, Cambridge-based author Gish Jen joins us to talk her book recommendations for when you're feeling rage.

Gish Jen joins Nancy Pearl to discuss recent reads, writing short stories, and the origins of her first name (she wasn't born with it). "Thank you, Mr. Nixon," Jen's ninth book, is a novel-in-stories exploring the Chinese diaspora that followed the opening of China to the West that began during the Nixon administration.

On this SELECTED SHORTS, bad guys.  Host Meg Wolitzer presents three stories featuring famous villains, real and fictional.  A woman writes a letter to a former president—now residing in Hell, in “Thank You, Mr. Nixon,” by Gish Jen, performed by Cindy Cheung.  And a man in recovery faces off against a former Roman leader with a really bad rep in "Playing Ping-Pong with Pontius Pilate" by Greg Ames, performed by Nate Corddry.  Finally, Moby Dick has a say in its own epic in “Captain Ahab, A Novel by the White Whale,” by Paul West, performed by Diane Venora.   Join and give!: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/symphonyspacenyc?code=Splashpage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1972, Richard Nixon made a historic visit to China. The trip broke 25 years of silence between the U.S. and China, paving the way for the establishment of full diplomatic relations later in the decade. Around the same time, second-generation Chinese American Gish Jen started writing; she first visited China with her family in 1979, the experience undoubtedly shaping her identity as both a Chinese American and a writer. Jen's latest book, Thank You, Mr. Nixon, collected 11 stories spanning 50 years since Nixon's landmark visit and meeting with Chairman Mao. Beginning with a cheery letter penned by a Chinese girl in heaven to “poor Mr. Nixon” in hell, Jen embarked on a witty (and at times heartbreaking) journey through U.S.-China relations, capturing the excitement of a world on the brink of change. The stories paint vignettes of the lives of ordinary people after China's reopening: a reunion of Chinese sisters after forty years; a cosmopolitan's musings on why Americans “like to walk around in the woods with the mosquitoes”; and Hong Kong parents who go to extremes to reconnect with their “number-one daughter” in New York. Together with writer Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Gish Jen discussed stories of culture and humanity sparked by a pivotal era in U.S.-Chinese history. Gish Jen has published short work in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and dozens of other periodicals, anthologies and textbooks. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories four times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. Nominated for a National Book Critics' Circle Award, her work was featured in a PBS American Masters' special on the American novel and is widely taught. Jen is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study fellowship, and a Mildred and Harold Strauss Living; she has also delivered the William E. Massey, Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization at Harvard University. She is currently a Visiting Professor at Harvard. Daniel Tam-Claiborne is a multiracial essayist and author of the short story collection What Never Leaves. His writing has appeared in Literary Hub, The Rumpus, SupChina, The Huffington Post, The Shanghai Literary Review, and elsewhere. A 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, he has also received fellowships and awards from the U.S. Fulbright Program, the New York State Summer Writers Institute, Kundiman, the Jack Straw Writers Program, and the Yiddish Book Center. Daniel serves as Director of Community Partnerships & Programs at Hugo House in Seattle and is currently completing a novel set against the backdrop of contemporary U.S.-China relations. Buy the Book: Thank You, Mr. Nixon  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

A quartet of narrators excels in delivering Gish Jen's linked stories, which chronicle the years since Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how each narrator inhabits their characters well, bringing the interwoven stories to life for listeners. Their deliveries of these immersive and clever works match just the right voices, cadences, and tones to their stories. It makes for a rewarding listening experience. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile's website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today's episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Today in Literary History – April 21, 1816 – Charlotte Brontë is born. The eldest of the three Brontë sisters, her novels include The Professor, Shirley, Villette and Jane Eyre. One of the greatest love stories ever written, Jane Eyre is the tale of a young woman entangled with the powerful Mr Rochester. What lurks in the attic at Thornfield, the ancestral home of the surly Mr Rochester? Will the governess Jane Eyre discover his secret – and having discovered it, live to regret that knowledge? Find out in Amanda Root's captivating recording. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is Marathon Monday so we revisit the great Boston Globe masterpiece by Gish Jen. Also, we read another children's classic called, "It Feels Good to be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity." Tom asks that the world be destroyed by the Argo's wave motion gun. Find us at www.burnbarrelpodcast.com Email us: burnbarrelpodcast@gmail.com Follow on Parler: @burnbarrelpodcast On Gab: @burnbarrelpodcast Facebook: facebook.com/burnbarrelpodcast And Twitter: @burnbarrelpod Rumble: rumble.com/c/burnbarrelpodcast YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCWhLuhtutKdCmbHaWuGg_YQ Follow Tom on Twitter: @tomshattuck You can follow Alice too: @aliceshattuck More Tom stuff at www.tomshattuck.com Tom's "Insta" as the zoomers say: www.instagram.com/tomwshattuck/ Join us at Locals: burnbarrel.locals.com (subscriber based) Join us at Patreon: www.patreon.com/burnbarrel (subscriber based) The opening theme music is called Divine Intervention by Matthew Sweet. The closing theme music to this podcast C'est La Vie by Derek Clegg. Excelsior

Gish Jen joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Friends,” by Grace Paley, which was published in The New Yorker in 1979. Jen is the author of nine books, including the novel “The Resisters” and the story collection “Thank you, Mr. Nixon,” which was published in February.

Next week marks the 50th anniversary of President Nixon's historic visit to China, a multi-day diplomatic tour that kickstarted efforts to normalize relations between the two countries. That event animates Gish Jen's latest work of fiction, “Thank You, Mr. Nixon,” a collection of chronological, interrelated stories about what Jen calls the “surreal” changes that China has undergone in the last half century. We'll talk to Jen about her book and how she thinks about the relationship between the United States and China, both the personal and the political.

Today on Boston Public Radio we're on tape, bringing you some of our favorite conversations from recent months: Don Lemon tells stories from his book, “This Is The Fire: What I Say To My Friends About Racism." Lemon anchors “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” airing weeknights at 10 p.m. He's also a #1 bestselling New York Times author. Chasten Buttigieg discusses his memoir, “I Have Something to Tell You,” and the challenges facing LGBTQ+ communities in the U.S. Buttigieg is a teacher and the husband of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Sy Montgomery dives into the world of hummingbirds with her latest book, “The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty And Renewal On Wings.” Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. David Byrne talks about the film adaptation of his tour, “American Utopia,” and his accompanying illustrated book. Byrne is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, and founding member of the Talking Heads. Nancy Schön discusses her recent work and the mysteries behind the decoration of her iconic “Make Way For Ducklings” sculpture in Boston's Public Garden. Schön is a sculpture artist, and her latest book is “Ducks on Parade!” Derek DelGaudio weighs in on the roles identity and illusion play in his work, along with the thought process behind his film “In & Of Itself.” DelGaudio is a writer and artist. His latest book is “Amoralman: A True Story And Other Lies,” and his film, “In & Of Itself,” is on Hulu. Gish Jen highlights differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures in her new book, “The Girl At The Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap.” Jen is a novelist and nonfiction writer. Richard Blanco reads his favorite “aubade” poems — about lovers departing at dawn — including “Aubade with Burning City” by Ocean Vuong and “Ghosting Aubade” by Amie Whittemore. Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His latest book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America.

Gish Jen reads her story “Detective Dog,” from the November 22, 2021, issue of the magazine. Jen has published five novels, including “World and Town” and “The Resisters,” which came out last year, as well as the story collection “Who's Irish?” A new story collection, “Thank You, Mr. Nixon,” will come out in January. 

Today on Boston Public Radio we're on tape, replaying some of our favorite conversations with a focus on author interviews: Don Lemon tells stories from his book, “This Is The Fire: What I Say To My Friends About Racism." Lemon anchors “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” airing weeknights at 10 p.m. He's also a #1 bestselling New York Times author.  Chasten Buttigieg discusses his memoir, “I Have Something to Tell You,” and the challenges facing LGBTQ+ communities in the U.S. Buttigieg is a teacher and the husband of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Sy Montgomery dives into the world of hummingbirds with her latest book, “The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty And Renewal On Wings.” Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. David Byrne talks about the film adaptation of his tour, "American Utopia," and his accompanying illustrated book. Byrne is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, and founding member of the Talking Heads. Nancy Schön discusses her recent work and the mysteries behind the decoration of her iconic “Make Way For Ducklings” sculpture in Boston's Public Garden. Schön is a sculpture artist, and her latest book is “Ducks on Parade!” Derek DelGaudio weighs in on the roles identity and illusion play in his work, along with the thought process behind his film "In & Of Itself." DelGaudio is a writer and artist. His latest book is “Amoralman: A True Story And Other Lies,” and his film, "In & Of Itself," is on Hulu. Gish Jen highlights differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures in her new book, "The Girl At The Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap." Jen is a novelist and nonfiction writer. Meredith Goldstein previews her YA book, “Things That Grow,” and talks about the state of romance and relationships during the pandemic. Goldstein is an advice columnist and features writer for the Boston Globe. Her advice column, Love Letters, is a daily dispatch of wisdom for the lovelorn that has been running for more than a decade. She also hosts the Love Letters podcast. Richard Blanco reads Chen Chen's poem “Poem in Noisy Mouthfuls”, Ocean Vuong's poem “Kissing in Vietnamese” and Li-Young Lee's poem “I Ask My Mother to Sing.” Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America.

This week, Aaron (https://aaroncaycedokimura.com) and I, Imogen Arate (https://poetsandmuses.com/imogen-arate/), discuss our respective poems, "Screaming Crows" and "Eliminating Temptations," and concern for our parents. You can read our poems at: 1. "Screaming Crows" https://www.writerscenter.org/product/ubasute/ 2. "Eliminating Temptations" https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2021/03/eliminating-temptations.html Check out this episode to also hear about virtual poetry events taking place during the week of August 30th. Links to the topics we touched on: 1. Historical and present practices of ubasute: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/japanese-tradition-of-abandoning-elderly-in-remote-spot-is-alive-and-well/CECBX7WZ62ZY27BI4X6725ZUHM/ 2. Internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II: https://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/ 3. Gish Jen's article in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/opinion/atlanta-shootings-asian-american.html Photo of Aaron Caycedo-Kimura by Luisa Caycedo-Kimura. #Poetrypodcasts #PoetsandMuses #ImogenArate #AaronCaycedoKimura #ScreamingCrows #EliminatingTemptations #ConcernsforOurParents #BorninSantaRosaCA #BAinMusic #SanFranciscoConservatoryofMusic #StudiedSymphonicPercussion #MastersinNewYork #LiveinConnecticut #MoreVisuallyOriented #ComputerGraphics #Painter #WifeWasaLawyer #StudiedPoetrytoGiveWifeFeedback #MFAatBostonUniversity #primaryeducationpoetryseemedinaccessible #emotionalseparationfrompoem #fatherwassmoker #strongman #introvert #Chapbook #Ubasute #aboutparents #JapaneseAmerican #Writingtokeepparentsalive #JapaneseAmericanInternment #FatherWasaPhysicalTherapist #FarmingFamily #JapaneseGarden #ResurgenceofAntiAsianViolence #musicaltraining #musicalityofpoetry #JoyLuckClub #AmyTan #experiencedshunning #IndigenousCommunities #colorism #intersectionality

Today we're on tape, replaying some of our favorite conversations with a focus on author interviews. CNN's Don Lemon discusses his latest book: "This Is The Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism." Chasten Buttigieg discusses his memoir, "I Have Something to Tell You." David Byrne discusses the film adaptation of his tour, "American Utopia," and his accompanying illustrated book. Derek DelGaudio discuses the film adaptation of his one man show: "In & Of Itself," and his new book, "AMORALMAN: True Stories and Other Lies." Gish Jen talks about her book, "The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap." Meredith Goldstein discusses her latest novel, "Things that Grow."

In this week's episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by acclaimed writer Gish Jen and novelist Peter Ho Davies to reflect on recent and historic violence against Asian Americans. First, Jen reads her recent New York Times op-ed about the generational differences in how Asian Americans see anti-Asian racism. She also imagines a way forward, explaining that we need to elevate and recognize stories of trauma as well as strength in Asian American experiences. Then, Davies talks about Asian representation in literature and films, and reads from his novel The Fortunes, and its section about the tragic 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, which prompted major shifts in Asian American political organizing. Davies also discusses his latest book, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself. To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub's Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel. This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Selected readings: Gish Jen “The Generational Split in How Asian-Americans See the Atlanta Shootings,” New York Times The Resisters The Girl at The Baggage Claim Tiger Writing World and Town The Love Wife Who's Irish? Mona In The Promised Land Typical American   Peter Ho Davies A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself The Fortunes The Welsh Girl Equal Love The Ugliest House in the World  Others: “Covering the Atlanta massacre from inside the Korean community,” by Shinhee Kang, Columbia Journalism Review “Jay Leno Apologizes for Years of Anti-Asian Jokes,” by Daniel Victor, New York Times Media Action Network for Asian Americans Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil Madame Butterfly by Puccini M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Passing by Nella Larsen Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore Rising Sun, film by Philip Kaufman The Karate Kid, film by Robert Mark Kamen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, film by Steven Spielberg  The Duke of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff The Great Santini by Pat Conroy “Adam Purinton Pleads Guilty In Olathe Bar Shooting, Still Faces Federal Hate Crime Charges,” by Andrea Tudhope, KCUR  Kundiman Asian American Writers' Workshop – The Margins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for our first event of the new year: a joint paperback launch of Gish Jen’s The Resisters and Meng Jin’s Little Gods. These two novels, released in early 2020, sketch out a dystopian near future that takes aim at several current catastrophes, and examine history, absence, and the passage of time as filtered through the individual immigrant experience. Together, these works break new ground for the dystopian and immigrant novels, and we hope you will join us as Gish and Meng discuss their work and craft.   Live Transcript: Hi, everyone. Happy new year and thank you for joining us online for this conversation with Meng Jin and Gish Jen. My name is Lily Philpott. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our virtual space. For those that are new we are a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting Asian literature and story telling. You can visit aaw.org and follow us on twitter, I object Saturday gram and YouTube. The recording of this event will be posted. During the event we ask that all audience members practice nonviolence in the chat. Comments will be flagged and the person will be removed from this event. We will have time for audience Q&A at the end of the night. You can ask questions by the Q &A function at the bottom of your screen. Books are for sale. You can find a link to purchase in the chat. You can support our authorize and independent book stores in doing so. I am going briefly introduce Meng and Gish. Gish Jen is the author of 4 previous novels. Her honors cloud the literary award for fiction and the American academy of arts and sciences. She delivered the William E Macy lecture at Harvard universitity. She teaches from time to time in China and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Harvard and hunter college. "Little Gods" is her first novel. We are delighted to celebrate " Little Gods" and "The Resisters" back in paper back. Pick up those books, support our authorize and enjoy the evening. Welcome Meng Jin to read. » Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Thank you Lily for that lovely introduction. Thank to AAWW for inviting Meng Jin to do this event. I couldn't think of a more wonderful way to celebrate the paper back launch of those books. I am so honored to be here with Gish Jen who many of you might know was one of the first Chinese American authorize that I read when I started thinking about becoming a writer. Yeah, it's just kind of mind blowing that we get to be here tonight together. I am actually going to read from a photo essay that is published in the end section of the paper back. I thought about reading this because I took these photographs in 2016 in the summer of 2016 when actually I saw Gish in person for the first time. I don't know if we actually met. But Gish was doing an event with some local writers and a friend of mine invited me. So yeah, here are the -- here is the photo essay . I am going to share my screen. Images of Shanghai I spent 6 weeks in my birth city Shanghai. I was there to finish my novel "Little Gods". I left when I was a child. My memories of the city are the memories of a child fleeting, flashes of sensory knowledge, closer to the knowledge of a dream than that of a photograph. Inside these memories were images so intense and vivid I felt I could reach out and touch them. But when I did reach for them they disintegrated immediately. I hope to stabilize my memory with images of the real city outside my window the Shanghai of post cards was laid before me sharp and glittering. This was a Shanghai that had been built after my departure when the sky line was farmland . Time changed me too. We faced each other as strangers. Some days the city felt dense. It awed me with its layers of complexity. Each time you peeled one another, you found another just as teaming. The inner most layer was the one I sought between the cracks of the buildings crowding the feet of the sky line. We'ved weaved through the sit. I knew I would never find the exact Shanghai I was looking for. My childhood had been demolished. On previous visits I had searched for its remnants in vein. The closest I had gotten was confirmation of its non-existence. In a translated directory I found the name of my neighborhood with a single asterisk beside it. According to the note note it meant has been obliterated. Still I walk the streets where it should have been searching for glimmers glimmers that might bring my childhood home back to me in one unbroken piece. Some remain. In thosalies you can these allies you can see the disruption of empire, technology and nature. The architecture was pleasantly modeled colonel history the narrow allies are made narrower by frequent stacks of junk. Not a centimeter of space goes unused. Everywhere life is spilling out of the doors. Most of the time, however , the impossibility of my search was reflected back at me. Since 2005 the Shanghai municipal government has been modernizing the city through the demolition of the neighborhoods. Select areas have been preserved for historic value or rebuilt as tourist destinations. But most are marked with. Sometimes instead of Ti, I found buildings meaning they were empty. A paradox in a city that is continually over filling. I found myself photographing tis. I did not actively search. It is not photo again I can or beautiful. I continued to photograph with a vague imperative of duty to whom or what I didn't know. I still don't understand what good these images are for. They can't preserve anything. Not really . And besides most of the residents would prefer to collect their relocation checks and go. They certainly can't bring back anybody's lost home. But there is something about looking at a site you know will soon disappear that compels to you keep looking. One day I unearthed a lost photograph of my town taken in 2008 during the last visit to the neighborhood before its demolition. I noticed an unusual looking building in the background. Using street view I was able to locate the exact spot where my town would have been if it still stood. I went there. I saw that the unusual building still stood. What's being built here I asked some construction workers. A shopping mall they replied cheerfully. Now when I imagine Shanghai I long for no fixed image. Instead I see a city racing to an unknown future at near light speed in whose wake I can only blink. Thank you. » Hi. Am I on screen now? First let me say Meng that was beautiful. Just hearing your voice and images I can't even tell you how much they meant to me. My family is also from Shanghai an I also spent a lot of time looking for remnants of the past. It's so interesting that even throw my new book is very much concerned with the future, just listen to go you and that Shanghai, I am aware how much even this book is a loss. We'll be talking about that. Let me just read a few minutes from my book. My book as you know is called "The Resisters". It is a post automation state baseball testimony enist dystopia. I am going to read to you 2 sections. One is longer than the other. And then we' ll talk. So this is from the beginning of the bosk. The book is narrated by the father in this family named grant. He is talking about his daughter a gifted picture for a daughter daughter. As her parents should have known earlier, but Gwen was a preemie. That meant oxygen at first and special checkups and her early months were bumpy. She had jaun cidie. A heart murmur things that distracted us. We were focused on her health to the exclusion of all else. For us surplus the limit was one pregnancy per couple and Eleanor was just out of jail. Outside of the house she had a drone tracking her every move. The message was clear she was not getting away with anything . And we loved Gwen would never have wanted to replace her. She was delicate that she might not consume the way she needed to the way we all needed to. Charges of under consumption couldn't be fought in the courts. This was auto America after all for all the changes brought by AI and automation now rolled up with the internet into the eye burrito we called aunt Netty we still did have a constitution. If anyone could defend what was left of our rights it was Eleanor even the goose patrolled the neighborhood. The pit bulls one might say were afraid. But as Eleanor's incarceration brought home these battles had a price. In the meanwhile worrying an weighing the options distracted us from realizing other things things we might have noticed earlier had Gwen had a sibling. It is so hard for a new parent to imagine a child any different from the one he or she has. Children do have their own gravity. They are their own normal. And so it is only now we can see that there are signs. All children take what 's in their crib and throw it for example. It is universal. But Gwen through her stuffed animal straight through her bedroom doorway. They shot out never grazing the door frame and they always hit the wall or staircase at a certain spot with a force they need today bounce forward and drop clean down to the bottom of the stairwell. Was she 2 when she did this? Not even. She was already a southpaw and she seemed to have unusually long arms and long fingers or so I remember remarking one day not that he will nor and I had so many babies on which to base our comparison. Ours was just an impression. But it was a strong impression. Her fingers were long. I remember too having to round up own the landing before starting up the stairs. The stuffed hippo and tiger the stuffed turtle. I gathered them all into my arm like the story book zoo Cooper of some kingdom. It was as if I too by all rights be made plush. Of course our house was automated as all surplus houses were required to be by law. The animals could easily have been clear floated. All I had to do is say the wall they would immerse from the closet. Clear float now, aren't those animals in your way and we can roll an clear if you prefer. You have a choice. You always have a choice. The choice the new feature of the program. To balance its more cyber intimidation. If you shift it will be your own fault. Do note that your choice is on the record. Nothing is being hidden from you. Your choice is on the record. Meaning that I was losing living points every time. Living points being something like what we used to call brownie points growing up. They are more critical than money from goating a loan to getting Gwen into net u should we dream of doing that a goal that involved tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of points. But I picked the animals up myself any way as did Eleanor when it was she who came upon them her silver hair and black eyes shining all because we wanted to dump the animals into the crib and hear her laughter as she set about hurling them. Everything was a game to her a most wonderful loving endless game. Her spy eyes let up with mischief. Her cheeks the pink on the under clouds. She laughed so hard she fell grabbing the crib rails as she scam peopled back up that the whole crib shook. Was this delicate newborn we delicately tended. She wore a soft yellow blanket sleeper with hand knit extra version of a suit Eleanor remembered from her own childhood. None of the baby over Gwen's Crib. She learned to blow on her hands if she was cold and cuddle for us if she needed warmth. We all wore sweaters to avoid turning on the zone heat for which we were house scowled. Don't you find it chilly? Why not turn on the zone heat you will be more comfortable Eleanor especially. Don't you find it a bit chilly? We ignored it. This is how the auto house started with thermostats that sent to aunt Netty and videos then drone deliverers and fruit stockers and global sitters. Elder helpers and yard bots all of which report today ought netty as any spy network recording our steps, our pictures, you are relationships and when surplus had them. She in turn took what she knew and applied it prover ago long the way so will is and advice. Indeed in the earlyize day automation I myself brought up ask aunt Netty and can still remember her voice as she volunteered I 'm here and insisted I want to hear everything and reassured me of course you feel that way , how could you not. You are only human. I did laugh at you are only human. Now I am going to read a short section from later on the book. Gwen has gone on and now she and her teammates are getting ready to play in the olympics against the Russia team. The Russia team is terrifying partly because they have all been bio engineered. That mean we are all switch hitters. Perhaps all of this was fear pure and simple on the part of Gwen's teammate feeding their obsession was the sense that baseball was more than a sport. That it was a crown jewel. There were people that said it wasn't even invented in America. There were people who pointed out it was mentioned by Jane Austin long before it was ever mentioned here. But if baseball took on a hallowed meaning, it took on that meaning in our American dreams. For was this not the level playing field we envisioned, the field on which people could show what they were made of? And didn't we Americans believe above all that everyone should have a real chance at bat? Didn't we believe with the good of the team at heart something in us might just hit a ball off our shoe tops? If Gwen's teammates were playing Russia for something it was for this, for a chance to show my mother would have said that even if we all returned to the dirt and the wind and the rain like the plants and the animals, we had a bigness in us, something beyond algorithm and beyond upgrades. Something we were proud to call human or so it seemed to me. Thank you. Did I say thank you loud enough? Meng, great. So Meng, it is really a great, great pleasure to share the event of you. I was a big fan as you could tell by my review. It was a stunning debut. I am hoping that a year later the joy is still with you. How does it feel now that you have done it in hard cover but the paper back? It is quite a moment for you. Are you still aglow? » Well, it's been quite a year in between. Yeah, I think I have got a little bit of distance and perspective this year because of how nuts the world has been. I was reflecting on when the hard cover came out in January of last year and the president was getting impeached and it was very -- it was apparent because one of my interviews was -- one of my radio interviews was canceled because they were covering impeachment all day. Oh, gray great. It is almost like no time and all of the time in the year. » I have had friends come out and publish books on 9/11. » Yeah. » You will soon discover something is almost always happening in a funny kind of way it matters so much to you but the rest of the world barely notices. Since this is the writers workshop and people are so interested in process we should talk about our books. I think we should maybe -- maybe you could talk about your journey. I think a lot of people in the audience would like to be you. They are working on their first book and they are working on their first book and they have roots maybe in Asia as you and I do. Not everybody is from Shanghai, of course. But they have all made -- as you know, they are making 2 journeys. Often they are making one journey which is just from wow , I have a blank page to like wow, how do these books get written that is really long. In the beginning people go on to write like 7 books? It seems to I am probable. That is one journey which is just -- I bearly know what point of view is to a finished book. For people like you and me we have another journey. We have roots in another culture where the whole narrative thing, the whole novel tradition is not native. And we frequently -- there are probably 3 journeys. The journey often we have parents who often do not get this thing at all. Who really see this whole enterprise as May more individualistic than anything they would happen to them and their family. So this kind of has 3 things going on. Your journey was my journey at one point. I think interestingly I don't know how many years out my first book came out in '91. I have been at this for quite a while. I sat down to write in 1986 when Asian American novel did not exist. I can still remember my agent saying it is about people coming to America. It' s about -- the term immigrant novelist did not hope to mind. I wrote that book at a time when people believed Asian Americans could not write novels. Max even had meant the warrior to be a novel and forced to force it as a memoir . Asian Americans did not write novels. I wrote it at the bunting institute at Radcliff. I was asked every day aren't you writing immigrant auto biography. This was by educated people. Every day I had to say no, actually I am writing a novel. Actually I'm producing not artifact. It was another -- all of these things today happily people presumably don't say those things to you anymore. Today presumably people can accept that you are writing a novel. If you can talk about what it is like to enter this tradition or getting up the nerve to tell your parents that you were going to be a novelist, where you got this idea. We both went to Harvard, am I right? » I guess so, yes. I was actually her fighted of the English department at Harvard. It was in the most intimidating building with all of these deer heads on the wall. I don't know if you remember that. And I took like 2 English classes that were in the requirements. I studied basically everything else. I studied social studies and I did pre--med because I told my parents I have my plan B don't worry. I can always go back on my pre-med requirements » You will not be surprised to hear that I was also pre-med and pre-law. I dropped out of Stanford business school. This is very familiar too. This is part of the story. 3 of us from Harvard we were all about '77, '78. The 3 of us stood there and it was like a trifecta. I had dropped out of business school. the other one dropped out of law school and the other one dropped out of med school. And there we were. But anyway, this is a very familiar part of the story. Please say about what did it mean at the time that you were doing it. We're like the old school. » No, I think honestly everything I have said sounds familiar to me. I remember because I didn't really have a big humanities education or background I wasn't really encouraged to read when I was a kid, I remember when I decided after college I am really going to try to do this and went abou methodically making reading lists for myself Asian American reading lists. I remember discovering your work and the best short stories of the century and reading it and being like oh, my God this is not just like we are Chinese people drinking tea or we have so much tender immigrant feelings. It's funny. It's ambitious. It looks outside of just the Chinese American experience or the experience of immigration. You were really one of the writers that made me feel like okay, I don't necessarily have to, you know, produce the kind of work that people are expecting me to produce. I think I teach a little bit now . It feels like my students are not going through as much just as I am not going through as much of the you might be writing your own story. Surely you can only be expressing yourself not creating art. Surely you must be like creating testimony and not a work of art. I feel, yeah, when I started writing I felt like I did get a lot of feedback. It took me a long time in my writing workshops to get over the fact that all of my professors and most of my peers were white and that they were -- the parts of my writing that they liked were the more exotic Chinese parts. I literally had a teacher, I literally had a teacher who gave me feedback that was like do more of the Chinese stuff. It took me a while to understand how to sort of push back against that and to ignore it and to come to my own sense of what I wanted my writing to be. Because I think especially someone that doesn't come from a literary background, please, tell me what is good. A lot of writing, this book was learning to ignore what other people thought and learning to really listen to what it was inside me that wanted to create and wanted to write. » It is so interesting, I of course have the letter from the Paris review that literally the rejection letter says we prefer more exotic work. » Oh, wow. » It is right out there. Today they might hesitate to say that. But I think what you are describing and many people in the audience can also relate. I think they can see that there is a kind of salable commodity that everybody sees in you and you have to really resist. For me a lot of that meant I defined myself early as an American writer. Everybody wanted to be right about China China. I didn't want to -- I didn't want to become abdomen ambassador. There were a couple of roles for you. One is exotic. Being an ambassador of some sort. Another as things got more political and being a professional victim. I don't want to be a professional victim. I actually want to be a writer. And it is kind of this mine field when you are negotiating , negotiating. The very happy situation with you is that you made it through. I think that maybe one of the things that people might be interested to hear sounds like look you could hear I also heard myself in the end. I ignored all of those things just like you. I literally had a little ritual that I would enact before I started working where I would make a little icon of various people and various opinions in my mind a little icon. I would literally pick it up and put it in the trash. Or out in the hall. But I would basically -- there were a lot of these. They weren't all -- in other words some people who wrote opinions were not bad people. I removed the people with good opinions. John Updyke had a good opinion of me. No sooner did I realize what a good opinion he had of me did I have to put him in the hall. It was a happy thing but I am not here to write for John Updyke. I write for myself. If you are from an Asian background the business of writing for yourself this is a radical act . It doesn't come naturally to us for many, many reasons that we can discuss. As you know I have written a lot about that. It doesn't come naturally to us. So it is a fight the whole way. I have had this little ritual. I am wondering whether you had anything like that that you would be able to share with the audience? How did you find your way? This book is very striking. Very unlike any other Asian American novel. It doesn't feel like oh, she has been reading a lot Maxine Hunt Kingston. You kill the writers ahead of you. She said I heard that you wanted to kill me. Maxine is so sweet. But at some level what I really -- what really was I had to put her out in the hall. I am sure you had to put me out in the hall. You have to put everybody out in the hall.. I wonder how you did that whether you had rituals that you used, how you cleared the space for yourself so you could hear yourself so you could write this very singular book that is on one level very identifiablely Asian American around another way unlike any other Asian American or American novel. Where did you find that? How did you do that? >> I love what you said earlier. I loved hearing about you talking about you identified yourself as an American writer. I think I had a similar sorts of things that I would insist upon. One thing was always that if anyone ever said that I was writing about identity I would correct them and say I am writing about " the self". Because I felt that identity was something superficial that society imposed upon you and it is the self's way of responding to others view of us. I wanted - - I think I wanted from the start when I started writing I knew that I wanted to be able to write with the sort of freedom that I saw white guys writing with where I wasn't sort of bound to write about anything basically except for the things I wanted to write about. And I didn't -- I love your ritual. I wish I had something as cute to share. But I think mostly I just -- at a certain point my work I think started really growing and becoming itself when I realized that I hadn't read a book like the one I wanted to write and that was a good thing. And that I should be writing the book I wanted to read. So in my head I sort of -- I think there was a point in which I shifted my imaginary audience from whatever you imagine American readers or the general readership to be. I shifted that and I started writing for myself when I was younger basically. I started writing for the person who was reading and reading and trying to find the book that I craved to read and then realizing that that book didn't exist yet and I had to write it. So I think that was one of the sort of Montras that I had that you are writing the book that you want to read. That a version of yourself who basically has had the same experiences and has the same - - is interested in the same things, is delighted by the same things. Is moved by the same things, hasn't had the exact same ideas you have had. That really changed -- I think that really helped me and changed my work because I was no longer explaining myself as much as I was in my earlier work. » It's interesting. Another thing I don't know that will resonate with you. There are also books that talk about the freedom of the white male writer. There are books that are still in territory that is not out. That is not only because we are Asian America but also because we are women. So this business first of all my first book is called " typical American". How can those people be typical American. How can you be claiming to be the great American novel. How can you be doing that. Even now so many books in there is still territory that is not okay. In in case the baseball novel. Coincidentally I am not the only women. Emily did it at the same time. It is interesting. What you can sort of see is a journey I have been on, whatever, a generation and a half later you will go on the same journey. People will fill the same box. Why can't women write about baseball? With baseball being extremely important because it is the American sport. When women can't write about baseball you are there is a whole portion of America that is fenced off in some ways that is not yours. So it was kind of interesting that Emily Neamans felt this kind of restriction and also chose to write against it. Also did it as I did with the sense that boy territory and we knew -- we both had the sense you cannot get one detail wrong. It is dangerous. You understand that the audience is looking -- they are looking to find fault. They are looking to question your authority. This is a question for you. I don' t know if there is a point at which you realize that you have kind of -- there was something in the -- there was something out there that we need to get you. You realize they didn't get me. I know for me it was when I passed muster of any number of baseball biographers. When I passed muster with Jane Nolan and James Levy. They wrote and also with baseball fans. I put my book through the biggest baseball fans I could find. I know the moment -- and I passed. It almost didn' t matter what the reviews said . I knew that I had gotten in there and I actually don't know that much about baseball. I knew -- I learned a lot obviously. I did a lot of studying. I did a lot of research. Nobody said to me that's not how pictures feel or that is not how pitchers -- that's not how they act or that's not how the game goes, any of those things, nobody said any of that. Everybody said you must be a pitcher. I can't throw a ball from here across the room. » Neither can I. But I found all of the baseball so delightful. I learned so much about it. I was curious. I thought that surely you must have a deep love for baseball and that's why you wanted to write a baseball novel. But was there another reason? » I do have a -- funny, I don' t play baseball myself. I don 't know it. Neither of my children. Is Gwen your daughter? Neither of my children can catch or hit or any of those things. They don't throw. They read philosophy. They don't do any of those things. But it is true that my mother was an avid, avid Yankee fan as many immigrants are. When she first came to America this was one of the first ways she performed to be an American and learned what America was. This whole idea of the level playing field being from Shan ghai that is not an idea you grow up on. She became such an avid fan. She did die of COVID this spring. I know. » I'm so sorry. we did bury her with a Yankee's cap. She was really a fan. My brother could really pitch. Most of my siblings don't. But my brother could really throw. It was something he would not have discovered he could do. My father found a boy's club for him and turned out he had quite a little childhood formed by baseball. So I had some familiarity with it. Really it was more it was something I wanted to write about, about what I thought was happening to America as I was trying to think about how to drama ties dramatise what we could be losing and the danger to democracy and conveying that dramatically. I said of course baseball. So I have an emotional feeling about it but truly I hadn't thought about baseball in many, many years. My family are still Yankee fans. From Boston we are definitely not Yankee fans. I don't have the patience to watch all of those games and they are watching that every pitch. You know what I mean. I don't have the patience for any of that. So it really was -- » I am more interested in baseball now than when I started my book. Now that I know a little bit it it is really interesting. » You could really feel the tenderness in the way that you wrote about it. I was especially drawn to how you described the relationship between the catcher and the pitcher which I had no idea because I have not watched baseball. I am not really a baseball fan and how you use that in this brilliant character dynamic between 2 best friends. It was one of those things that made me think that you must know the sport deeply. It also made me realize that Andey was as exciting a character as Gwen » It is a little bit like the relationship between Ju wun. She is like the person that -- they are kind of related because each one is the person that wun hoped she could be. The other is the person she fears she could be. We could probably go on. I warned you, Lily, that we had a lot to talk about. We can go on very easily. We haven't scratched the surface. I can see you are here and it is time to take questions from the audience. I think the fact that -- I think honestly for somebody out there that is looking for a little paper to write there is a paper there. » Another thing that I noticed was reading your book that felt like a symbolotic relationship it is narrated from the perspective of a par parent about the child. I can 't think of another book that' s told from that point of view. That point of vow is just unbearable for me to read. Unbearably heartbreaking. I think a lot of times like my book obviously has a child looking at a parent. That's a more typical sort of gaze especially when we are talking about immigrants and the child looking backwards looking at the past and I guess it makes sense that your November Dystopian novel is looking into the future. The way a parent must feel growing up in a horrible world and want ing that child to have a bright future and wanting them to have freedom and wanting to protect them. » Well you got it. Lily is here and she is here to tell us to take questions. I will say that here you are. Your first book obviously many things -- many things to pioneer and very exciting and many new things to write. I will say that of course just the same way you write against things I write against the older writer. There is a sense you must be done because you wrote about the story being young growing up. Actually there are many, many other stories to be written. I feel so privileged to be an older writer who still has a few things to say and a few of view that is different. A point of view on the same experience. It is so familiar but oddly enough from where I sit it looks different. Anyway, Lily, I warned you we would have a lot to say. » I know. I feel like we could go on forever. I am so grateful. There is lot in the chat. I am grateful for the conversation. It is so vibrant and I am so glad to hear you speak. I think we have time for a few audience questions which I will read. If you have any questions you can put them in the Q&A box in Zoom and we will do our best. The first is from Rachel who writes Shanghai is an ever changing city. In what ways does it still feel like home? » It's funny, I think one point in your book it is all so Chinese. University like Meng I was born in America. I evenly knew about Shanghai from my mother. It really did feel like home. The things that people are pre-occupied with. I could really sense the difference between Shanghai and Beijing. Meng you have much more to say. There is a whole Shanghai way of thinking. » There definitely is. » Including what they think of other Chinese. » My family isn't old school Shanghai where my parents are migrated to Shanghai from the provinces. So Shanghai is not in our blood but maybe that means I can see it a little more. I have definitely been on the hardened of that Shanghai before on the receiving end. I haven't been back -- I haven 't been back in a really long time. I do think that there is just -- whenever I go back to Shanghai or any part of China that my family lives in, it just opens up a part of me that, you know, perhaps lives in my memory and doesn't really exhibit itself in American context. It makes me remember the language the smiles, everything that's coming in from the environment of a place that's just irreplaceable. It reminds me of a part of something that has made me. I think that's so much why I write, too, is just to capture those intangible and sort of inexpressible feelings that I always feel like I am on the verge of losing because a place is changing so quickly or because I am changing or because I am running away from it or going to a new place. Sny but Shanghai I will say that one small antidote. Back in the days in the very early days of development, many places in China if they took your credit card or they had just gotten credit card. They lanted your credit card always handed your credit card back with 2 hand. Shanghai, they were like here is your card. The shanghai attitude is back. » We're Shanghai. That's true. » They are not going to bow to you because you are an American. Excuse me. » In an apologetic way they look and appraise. Don't look I am looking at your entire outfit and I see you and I have judged you. » What is the matter with Americans ? Why do you dress like that? I mean they can't believe how we dress. If you have ever showed up in Birkenstocks in a Shanghai hotel you will know how broken we have from a fashion point of view. » Thank you both. I have a couple more questions. The next one it is which books do you consider the grandparents of your books? In other words what are the two or 3 books without which your books would not exist? » » Do you want to go first? » That is such a hard question. For me it is not 2 or 3 books. I want to say it does not have a narrative tradition that I'm sure that I would not be able to master the novel without Shakespeare. King Lear, 5 acts was foundational. I think Meng was talking about this freedom to say whatever it is you want to say. I have to say that I think I was very , very influenced by the Jewish writers and I will say that would include all of them . But especially maybe grace Paley. I think in terms of work that was both actually art but actually engaged. For me she was the mold. You could actually write stuff that was about society, very engaged and yet it ain't journalism. That is leaving out 100,000 books. » I love that. Yeah, if we had more time I would ask you about your humor and that sort of answers it a little bit. I love that and I love grace Paley too. For "Little Gods" in particular I would say there are I think 3ish books that really come to mind that very directly helped me. One of them was the neopolitan novel. I was very thrilled when you mentioned her in your review. Thank you, Gish. The way that she writes about social mobility and I think really there is not another writer who can see the nuisances of people who leave with more -- with more aquity. There is a book called "in the height of what we know" which is modeled. It is about a mathematician. Road ing that book gave me permission to 1, write in long paragraphs. And 2, write about science in a way that felt -- it gave me a model how to write about science in a way that felt beautiful not just sort of sort Bill Nye the science guy , science. The last book that influenced me was "a gesture life". The narrator in that book has such a circular way of thinking and such a sort of deflective way of thinking that I really used when I was writing the section in this book. » Thank you. I love those book recommendations. We have time for only one more unfortunately. There are so many good questions. We do need to wrap up in a moment. One last question from M who writes I would love to hear about what you are both working on next. Meng does " write the book you want to read" hold for your second book and does what you want to read change as you grow as a writer and reader? » Sure. Since there is a direct question for me I will go first. I think so. Yes, definitely what I want to read changes as I grow as a writer and a reader. I feel like I got out a lot out of my system with "Little Gods". I also feel that I put a lot into " Little Gods". Sort of what we were talking about earlier, Gish. There wasn't the expectation that I would be able to do it again. I sort of felt like it was my one shot and now I feel like it has -- because I have gotten this out of my system, I feel like I can play, I can have more fun. I am really interested in playing now more with style and with humor and with provication, with writing that is a little more out there stylisically and yeah. The next -- I'm working on a novel called "mothers and girls" which I am calling a fake memoir sort of as a tongue in cheek nod to our dear Maxine and her fake memoir and it's a book that is about building methodologies and tearing them down. » Sounds wonderful. I can't wait. So I just placed a new book so it will be out next year just about this time next February. I haven't talked about it very much. Now that is in editorial I can talk about it. It is a collection of linked stories. I am out having a great time. It is a little bit of a return. So this is a story -- it is linked as a collection of linked stories through which you can see the 50 years since the opening of China refacted through the various stories and various characters. It is called " thank you Mr. Nixon". Next February. » That's so exciting will. I hope we can celebrate both of these books. Gish, I hope we can celebrate that book in person next year. I want to thank you both for taking the time for joining us this evening.    

Show notes:MOVIESThe Trial of the Chicago 7 (05:34)Mank (10:46)Palm Springs (13:27)Eurovision (18:15)Boys State (20:50)Greyhound (24:09)The Old Guard (27:45)Onward (31:40)The Vast of Night (33:50)Bacurau (36:30)TVThe Good Place (39:06)Lovecraft Country (45:39)9-1-1 Lone Star (49:04)Superstore (51:40)Ted Lasso (53:50)Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (59:55)The Good Lord Bird (01:01:50)The Last Dance (01:05:00)Mrs. America (01:11:33)Better Call Saul (01:14:51)The Mandalorian (01:16:40)MUSIC‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ by Fiona Apple (01:20:30)‘Long Violent History’ by Tyler Childers (01:25:30)‘Gigaton’ by Pearl Jam (01:28:56)‘Punisher' by Phoebe Bridgers (01:34:00)‘Lamentations’ by American Aquarium (01:37:24)‘Without People’ by Donovan Woods (01:40:25)‘Songs for Our Daughter’ by Laura Marling (01:43:09)‘You and I’ by O Brother (01:45:00)‘Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1’ by Sturgill Simpson (01:48:54)‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’ by Margo Price (01:52:14)BOOKS‘How to Write One Song’ by Jeff Tweedy (01:55:03)‘This Isn’t Happening’ by Steven Hyden (01:56:46)‘Why Fish Don’t Exist’ by Lulu Miller (01:59:00)‘All Adults Here’ by Emma Straub (02:03:12)‘Apartment’ by Teddy Wayne (02:05:00)‘Native’ by Kaitlin B. Curtice (02:05:55)‘Devolution’ by Max Brooks (02:09:05)‘The Resisters’ by Gish Jen (02:12:30)‘The Cactus League’ by Emily Nemens (02:14:34)‘Hard to Handle’ by Steve Gorman (02:16:20)GAMESCity Skylines, The Last of Us 2, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Transport Tycoon, etc. (02:20:00)COMEDY SPECIALS‘End Times Fun’ by Marc Maron (02:24:55)‘Jackie’ by Rob Delaney (02:27:55)‘Middleditch & Schwartz’ (02:29:40)‘Quarter Life Crisis’ by Taylor Tomlinson (02:32:50)‘Nate’ (02:34:10)PODCASTS‘Fake Doctors, Real Friends’ with Zach Braff and Donald Faison (02:38:00)‘Working It Out’ with Mike Birbiglia (02:40:18)‘Political Beats’ (02:42:35)‘Single Podcast Theory’ (02:44:10)‘Majority 54’ with Jason Kander (02:45:25)‘In the Bubble’ with Andy Slavitt (02:46:20)‘Lovett or Leave It’ with Jon Lovett (02:47:08)

Hello and welcome to Episode Twenty Nine of Page Turn: the Largo Public Library Podcast. I'm your host, Hannah! If you enjoy the podcast subscribe, tell a friend, or write us a review! The Spanish Language Book Review begins at 13:34 and ends at 19:00 The English Language Transcript can be found below But as always we start with Reader's Advisory! The Reader's Advisory for Episode Twenty Nine is A Song For a New Day by Sarah Pinskey. If you like A Song For a New Day you should also check out: The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, The Resisters by Gish Jen, and A Beginning At the End by Mike Chen. My personal favorite Goodreads list A Song For a New Day is on is Queer Books About Fictional Plagues. Happy Reading Everyone Today’s Library Tidbit is about our new Read Woke Initiative. Read Woke is a reading initiative that was started by Cicely Lewis a school librarian in Georgia. Lewis saw injustices happening around the country in the news and how it effected her students and decided to educate herself through books, podcasts, documentaries, and through connecting with other people and listening to their lived experiences. From that education she created a reading theme, Read Woke, to share with her students to get them engaged and to get them to self-educate not only about issues that effect them personally but also about issues that are effecting their peers. According to Cicely Lewis in order for a book to qualify as a “woke” book it must: challenge a social norm, tell the side of the oppressed, provide information about a group that has been disenfranchised, seek to challenge the status quo, and shed light on an issue that many may not perceive as being an issue. The Read Woke Initiative is being adapted by the new Diversity and Inclusion Committee. This committee, which is made up of library staff from all the different departments, was put together to further the library’s goals of being a more equitable, a more diverse, and a more inclusive place. You can find the library's policy and definitions for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion here. You can learn more about the Read Woke Initiative and join it here. The Read Woke Initiative is open to all ages with activities and materials geared to specific age ranges so everyone in the family and community can join. And now it's time for Book Traveler, with Victor: Welcome to a new edition of Book Traveler. My name is Victor and I am a librarian at the Largo Public Library. Today I'm going to talk to you about a new book we have in the Spanish collection titled The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison. Synopsis: What is race and why does it matter? What motivates the human tendency to construct Others? Why does the presence of Others make us so afraid? Drawing on her Norton Lectures, Toni Morrison takes up these and other vital questions bearing on identity in The Origin of Others. In her search for answers, the novelist considers her own memories as well as history, politics, and especially literature. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Camara Laye are among the authors she examines. Readers of Morrison’s fiction will welcome her discussions of some of her most celebrated books―Beloved, Paradise, and A Mercy. If we learn racism by example, then literature plays an important part in the history of race in America, both negatively and positively. Morrison writes about nineteenth-century literary efforts to romance slavery, contrasting them with the scientific racism of Samuel Cartwright and the banal diaries of the plantation overseer and slaveholder Thomas Thistlewood. She looks at configurations of blackness, notions of racial purity, and the ways in which literature employs skin color to reveal character or drive narrative. Expanding the scope of her concern, she also addresses globalization and the mass movement of peoples in this century.

The Force is strong with this one! From Philly, to Florida, to Jersey, to Atlanta, Reshmi and her husband sure swarmed around each other. And, except for the Florida part (what is it with Florida and my guests??!!) I can say "I'm from there too!" (Reshmi and I were born 45 mins apart from each other. 45 mins and 7 years apart LOL.)Learn what a Corp Ethnic Sub-Group is, why you want to get an invite to an Indian party, and of course extra talking about books since you gotta take advantage when you've got a lit prof as your guest!   What's this whole synchronicity thing anyway?carl-jung-synchronicity   Reshmi Hebbar teaches literature at Oglethorpe University, where she is an Associate Professor of English. She first fell in love with books and stories as an elementary-school kid while under the influence of Beverly Cleary (Ramona the Pest). She was able to identify with this heroine from the Pacific Northwest despite the fact that she was living in Florida as the daughter of suburban Indian immigrants.  Her love of different kinds of narratives has continued to inform her work, inspiring her to design courses on television series and writing about them, and prodding her to keep looking for new ways to represent the South Asian American experience.     Though she has traveled to many places and studied abroad, she has always lived in the South. She has attempted to document what that’s like over the years with a few projects across different media like podcasts and nonfiction essays. She lives in suburban Atlanta with her husband and two daughters, whom she bribes with chocolate in order to get them to listen to her stories. (Recorded BEFORE the first Indian American was selected for the V.P. or we surely would have talked about that.)   Books mentioned besides Beverly Cleary: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Abide with Me by  Elizabeth Strout The Woman Warrior by  Maxine Hong Kingston The Resisters by  Gish Jen          The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead The Hero with a Thousand Faces   by Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth) Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingren Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Also mentioned on this episode is Dan Harris's podcast 10% Happier episode https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast #262: Why We're All Suffering from Racial Trauma (Even White People) with Resmaa Menakem  

Deeper and darker. A Northwestern Gothic coming-of-age tale. An elemental steampunk blues. Novelist and thinker Gish Jen on losing religion, finding art, and taking creative risks.

In her latest novel, “The Resisters,” Gish Jen creates a futuristic world where machines use artificial intelligence to control, track, and predict human behavior. In it, a baseball prodigy navigates a society that puts people in strict categories and functions. Machines do most of the jobs, which turns employment into a luxury. Those with jobs live on high ground that has not been flooded while the jobless live on 3-D printed houseboats. Jen joins us to discuss how she crafted a distant -- or perhaps not too distant -- future where humans automated humanity for convenience but which becomes a nightmare.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. PowerLeeGirls Hosts Miko Lee and Jalena Keane-Lee are back on the air. Tonight in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month we are talking about what we are reading and watching through the pandemic. We hear from authors Stacey Lee and Gish Jen about their latest work and then chat about the latest movies and events to attend from home.   COMMUNITY CALENDAR May 1-31 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Virtual Showcase. Free May 8-10 2-11pm CRAZY WOKE ASIANS virtual comedy festival improv, live on zoom $10 donation to support GOA Foundation and Feeding America. May 11 8pm Asian Americans on PBS May 13-22, CAAMFest Online Heritage at Home features over 20 digital events, ranging from online film screenings to interactive panels, watch parties and house parties featuring live performances, all free. May 14 Health Care Voter, Our Lives on the Line, digital Town hall on impacts of COVID on Asian American and Pacific Island Community The post APEX Express – May 7, 2020 – API Books and Films in the Pandemic appeared first on KPFA.

Gish Jen is a second generation Chinese American, and a thoughtful chronicler of emigration, assimilation, and multiculturalism as they relate to the modern American experience. The Los Angeles Times said of her 1991 debut, Typical American: “Jen has done much more than tell an immigrant story… She has done it in some ways better than it has ever been done […]

Gish Jen is a second generation Chinese American, and a thoughtful chronicler of emigration, assimilation, and multiculturalism as they relate to the modern American experience. The Los Angeles Times said […]

Gish Jen is a second generation Chinese American, and a thoughtful chronicler of emigration, assimilation, and multiculturalism as they relate to the modern American experience. The Los Angeles Times said of her 1991 debut, Typical American: “Jen has done much more than tell an immigrant story… She has done it in some ways better than […]

In the absence of real baseball (and with plenty of solitary time on fans’ hands), Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley devote an episode to three new fictional depictions of baseball, speaking to novelist Emily Nemens (9:18), the author of spring training tale The Cactus League, novelist Gish Jen (36:56), the author of dystopian baseball saga […]

In The Resisters, the dystopian future is all too real. Author Gish Jen talks about growing up as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, her Ivy League education, life as a writer, and how becoming an empty nester gave her the space to research and write her acclaimed novel. The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan was recorded at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida.   Host: Mitchell Kaplan Producer: Carmen Lucas Editor: Lithub Radio https://booksandbooks.com/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611024/the-resisters-by-gish-jen/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gish Jen's many novels include Typical American, World and Town, and Mona in the Promised Land. She is also the author of two nonfiction works that explore the differences in East-West notions of art and culture, and her short stories have appeared dozens of publications, including the New Yorker, the New Republic, and the Atlantic. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Jen has earned a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Book Critics Circle Award nomination, and her writing has appeared in four Best American Short Stories anthologies. A dystopian tale of rising sea levels, a segregated populace, and an underground baseball league, The Resisters is a novel set against an increasingly plausible American backdrop. (recorded 2/25/2020)

In her latest novel, “The Resisters,” Gish Jen creates a futuristic world where machines use artificial intelligence to control, track, and predict human behavior. In it, a baseball prodigy navigates a society that puts people in strict categories and functions. Machines do most of the jobs, which turns employment into a luxury. Those with jobs live on high ground that has not been flooded while the jobless live on 3-D printed houseboats. Jen joins us to discuss how she crafted a distant -- or perhaps not too distant -- future where humans automated humanity for convenience but which becomes a nightmare.

In the near future, the Internet is sentient and her name is Aunt Nettie. Gish Jen’s novel “The Resisters” imagines a dystopian world with two classes: the “netted” (people who work) and the “surplus” (people who merely consume). The book follows Gwen, a terrific baseball pitcher from a surplus family that’s politically active. When her pitching attracts the attention of Aunt Nettie, she must choose between realizing her talents or staying with her family and being a resister. Baseball, for Jen, epitomizes the magic of chance and natural talent. “I wanted to write about our times,” she tells Katy Waldman. “But, to write in a realistic mode about our times and everything that’s happening, we would have nothing but shock and anger.”    “The Resisters” was published on February 4th.

In Gish Jen's latest “The Resisters,” we meet Gwen who has a Golden Arm and finds herself happily playing in an underground baseball league in her teens. It is also the story of one family struggling to maintain its humanity and normalcy in circumstances that threaten their every value as well as their very existence.

In Gish Jen's latest “The Resisters,” we meet Gwen who has a Golden Arm and finds herself happily playing in an underground baseball league in her teens. It is also the story of one family struggling to maintain its humanity and normalcy in circumstances that threaten their every value as well as their very existence.

Wild Banana es un podcast sobre Asia, inmigración, interculturalidad, y otras historias desde la perspectiva de una española de origen chino. Léeme en: wildbananablog.wordpress.com/ www.tusanaje.org www.facebook.com/catarsiabcn/ 0:35 Introducción 1:35 Entrevista a la poeta peruana de origen chino Julia Wong 10:05 Reseña de la antología de relatos de la novelista americana de origen chino Gish Jen 15:00 Entidades valencianas firman un manifiesto antirracismo y antixenofobia 17:15 Poema de Muna Abdulahi "Explaining depression to a refugee" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAE1Cf6YupU Canciones utilizadas: Jeremy Allingham “Run Wild” Health&Beauty "death@xmas"

Why does literature matter? Why read at all? Jacke Wilson takes questions from high school students and attempts to make the case for literature. Works and authors discussed include Beloved, The Great Gatsby, Shakespeare, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm, Scarlet Letter, Of Mice and Men, the Odyssey, The Inferno, The House on Mango Street, Farenheit 451, 1984, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Where the Red Fern Grows, Pride and Prejudice, Junot Diaz, Drown, Maya Angelou, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ernest Hemingway, Willa Cather, J.K. Rowling, Paul Auster, Sara Gruen, Alice Sebold, Lorrie Moore, Sandra Cisneros, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, Isabel Allende, Ernest Hemingway, Martin Amis, Colson Whitehead, Edwidge Danticat, Ronica Dhar, David Sedaris, Jhumpa Lahiri, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz, Vu Tran, Julia Alvarez, Amy Tan, Gish Jen, Margot Livesey, Cristina Garcia, George Saunders, Jennifer Egan, Stephen King, Haruki Murakami, James McBride, Shawna Yang Ryan, Charles Baxter, Nick Hornby, Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. Learn more about the show at historyofliterature.com or facebook.com/historyofliterature. Contact the host at jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or @WriterJacke. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gish Jen reads her story “No More Maybe,” from the March 19, 2018, issue of the magazine. Jen has published four novels, including “Mona in the Promised Land” and “World and Town,” and the short-story collection “Who’s Irish?.” Her most recent book is a nonfiction study titled “The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap.”

In a globalized world where millions of people travel between east and west each year and formerly separate cultural zones now overlap, it has never been more important to understand the values and perspectives that inform cross-cultural relations. Two new works of cultural observation and commentary put the differences in education, identity, and politics in the United States and China in perspective: Lenora Chu’s Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve, examines the benefits and drawbacks of China’s famously rigorous education system through the lens of her son’s experience attending an elite public school in Shanghai. The book then expands to consider what Americans can learn from Chinese pedagogy, and, more broadly, what the purpose of education is. Gish Jen’s The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap, is a wide-ranging investigation of how differing conceptions of the self in Asia and the western world can explain the incongruous expectations and assumptions that can produce awkward or confusing cross-cultural encounters. Gish Jen explores how emphasis on the individual or on context in western and eastern cultures respectively anchor very different understandings of the same events and behavior, which is ultimately reflected in distinctive educational, business, and governing institutions.   On September 18, 2017, both authors joined the National Committee for a conversation about their books, contemporary east-west exchange, and how people on both sides of the cultural divide can better understand and learn from one another, in a conversation moderated by NCUSCR Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman. A former TV correspondent with Thomson Reuters and a contributing writer with CNNMoney.com, Lenora Chu is an award-winning journalist. Her freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, APM’s Marketplace and PRI’s The World. She has lived in Shanghai since 2010. Ms. Chu holds degrees from Stanford University and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, and she speaks Mandarin. The author of six previous books, both fiction and non-fiction, renowned writer Gish Jen has published short pieces in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and dozens of other periodicals and anthologies. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories four times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike.  Ms. Jen is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study fellowship, and numerous other awards. An American Academy of Arts and Letters jury granted her a five-year Mildred and Harold Strauss Living award. Ms. Jen delivered the William E. Massey, Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization at Harvard University in 2012.  She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers Workshop.  

In a globalized world where millions of people travel between east and west each year and formerly separate cultural zones now overlap, it has never been more important to understand the values and perspectives that inform cross-cultural relations. Two new works of cultural observation and commentary put the differences in education, identity, and politics in the United States and China in perspective: Lenora Chu’s Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve, examines the benefits and drawbacks of China’s famously rigorous education system through the lens of her son’s experience attending an elite public school in Shanghai. The book then expands to consider what Americans can learn from Chinese pedagogy, and, more broadly, what the purpose of education is. Gish Jen’s The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap, is a wide-ranging investigation of how differing conceptions of the self in Asia and the western world can explain the incongruous expectations and assumptions that can produce awkward or confusing cross-cultural encounters. Gish Jen explores how emphasis on the individual or on context in western and eastern cultures respectively anchor very different understandings of the same events and behavior, which is ultimately reflected in distinctive educational, business, and governing institutions.   On September 18, 2017, both authors joined the National Committee for a conversation about their books, contemporary east-west exchange, and how people on both sides of the cultural divide can better understand and learn from one another, in a conversation moderated by NCUSCR Senior Director for Educational Programs Margot Landman. A former TV correspondent with Thomson Reuters and a contributing writer with CNNMoney.com, Lenora Chu is an award-winning journalist. Her freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, APM’s Marketplace and PRI’s The World. She has lived in Shanghai since 2010. Ms. Chu holds degrees from Stanford University and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, and she speaks Mandarin. The author of six previous books, both fiction and non-fiction, renowned writer Gish Jen has published short pieces in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and dozens of other periodicals and anthologies. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories four times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike.  Ms. Jen is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study fellowship, and numerous other awards. An American Academy of Arts and Letters jury granted her a five-year Mildred and Harold Strauss Living award. Ms. Jen delivered the William E. Massey, Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization at Harvard University in 2012.  She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers Workshop.  

Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. Since 2015, the Think Again podcast has been taking us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview archives. 100 episodes in, like the universe itself, the show continues to expand and accelerate at speeds that boggle the imagination. After 12 years at New York Magazine, Ariel Levy became a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she’s written about remarkable women, sex, Ayahuasca, madness and Silvio Berlusconi. Her new book The Rules Do Not Apply is a memoir that grew out of the loss of her son soon after his birth and the subsequent collapse of her marriage. Here she talks with Jason about assertiveness and doubt, the silence around the animal facts of women's physical lives, her comically awkward experience with the shamanic hallucinogen Ayahuasca, and much more. Surprise conversation starter interview clips: Lexicographer Kory Stamper on the word 'bitch", Gish Jen on imitation in China vs. the West Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. The Think Again podcast takes us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview archives. The writer Joyce Carol Oates grew up on a farm, tending chickens in what she describes as a very desolate part of upstate New York, and grew up to write around 90 (and counting) novels and collections of essays and short stories, many of them while teaching at Princeton University. She’s won many, many awards, including the National Book Award, the Pen/Malamud Award and the National Humanities Medal. Her powerful new novel, A Book of American Martyrs, begins with a terrible act of violence – and then deals with its complex aftermath. Today's conversation starts there, weaving through the political and religious landscape of America, past and present. We also talk about whether writing, for Joyce, is as "effortless" as critics have described the experience of reading her. Trump comes, up, inevitably but briefly. Stick around for a fascinating discussion of the challenges early success can pose for young writers, including Oates' former student, Jonathan Safran Foer. Surprise conversation starter interview clips: Gish Jen on Identity and Choice in the West, Nicole Mason on Poverty in America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. The Think Again podcast takes us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview archives. Novelist and essayist Gish Jen's work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories four times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and her work was featured in a PBS American Masters’ special on the American novel. Her 2017 book, The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap, takes an unflinching, funny, and deeply insightful look at how fundamental East-West differences in the sense of self play out in art, culture, business, education, and more. In this episode, Gish and Jason discuss the benefits and downsides of our fundamental assumptions about who we are, and what's to be gained by escaping your cultural bubble, even for a moment. Surprise conversation starter interview clips: Nato Thompson on individualism as a corporate product. Paul Root Wolpe on self-enhancement & culture.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chinese-American novelist Gish Jen is the author of numerous award-winning books, including the novels World and Town, Mona In the Promised Land, The Love Wife and Typical American, and the collection of stories, Who's Irish?. World and Town (2011), which follows themes as ambitious as globalization, fundamentalism, immigration, and America in the aftermath of Sept. 11, won the Massachusetts Book Award, was a NY Times Editors’ Choice, and was a finalist for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Typical American was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Tiger Writing: Art, Culture and the Interdependent Self, a collection of her Massey Lectures at Harvard, will be published by Harvard University Press in 2013. Jen has become an authority on themes of identity in fiction. Her novels often portray individuals, families, and entire communities struggling with questions of race, religion, and upbringing—asking us, in short, what it means to identify as American. Her second novel, Mona in the Promised Land (Vintage, 1997), features a Chinese-American who converts to Judaism, while The Love Wife (2005) portrays an interracial Asian-American family with both biological and adopted children. "As soon as you ask yourself the question, 'What does it mean to be Irish-American, Iranian-American, Greek-American,' you are American," she has said. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Jen is also the recipient of grants from the Guggenheim foundation, Radcliffe Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. She was awarded a Lannan Literary Award in Fiction in 1999 as well as the Mildred and Harold Strauss Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, and Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike.

Three distinguished authors will be on campus April 4-5, 2013 for Agnes Scott College’s 42nd Annual Writers’ Festival, the oldest continuous literary event in Georgia. The 2013 visiting authors are Gish Jen, award-winning novelist; Cristina Garcia, a Cuban-American novelist and poet and National Book Award finalist; and Agnes Scott alumna Anjail Ahmad, a poet, teacher and activist.

Ira Sukrungruang was born to Thai parents newly arrived in the U.S., they picked his Jewish moniker out of a book of “American” names. In this lively, entertaining, and often hilarious memoir, he relates the early life of a first-generation Thai-American and his constant, often bumbling attempts to meet cultural and familial expectations while coping with the trials of growing up in 1980s America. Talk Thai is a richly told account that takes us into an immigrant’s world. Here is a story imbued with Thai influences and the sensibilities of an American upbringing, a story in which Ira practices English by reciting lines from TV sitcoms and struggles with the feeling of not belonging in either of his two worlds. For readers who delight in the writings of Amy Tan, Gish Jen, and other Asian-Americans, Talk Thai provides generous portions of a rich and ancient culture while telling the story of a modern American boyhood with humor, playfulness, and uncompromising honesty.

Ira Sukrungruang was born to Thai parents newly arrived in the U.S., they picked his Jewish moniker out of a book of “American” names. In this lively, entertaining, and often hilarious memoir, he relates the early life of a first-generation Thai-American and his constant, often bumbling attempts to meet cultural and familial expectations while coping with the trials of growing up in 1980s America. Talk Thai is a richly told account that takes us into an immigrant’s world. Here is a story imbued with Thai influences and the sensibilities of an American upbringing, a story in which Ira practices English by reciting lines from TV sitcoms and struggles with the feeling of not belonging in either of his two worlds. For readers who delight in the writings of Amy Tan, Gish Jen, and other Asian-Americans, Talk Thai provides generous portions of a rich and ancient culture while telling the story of a modern American boyhood with humor, playfulness, and uncompromising honesty.

English professor emerita Diane Middlebrook interviews Andrea Lunsford, professor of English, about Who's Irish, by Gish Jen.