POPULARITY
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Excerpts from "A Reader's Manifesto", published by Arjun Panickssery on September 7, 2024 on LessWrong. "A Reader's Manifesto" is a July 2001 Atlantic piece by B.R. Myers that I've returned to many times. He complains about the inaccessible pretension of the highbrow literary fiction of his day. The article is mostly a long list of critiques of various quotes/passages from well-reviewed books by famous authors. It's hard to accuse him of cherry-picking since he only targets passages that reviewers singled out as unusually good. Some of his complaints are dumb but the general idea is useful: authors try to be "literary" by (1) avoiding a tightly-paced plot that could evoke "genre fiction" and (2) trying to shoot for individual standout sentences that reviewers can praise, using a shotgun approach where many of the sentences are banal or just don't make sense. Here are some excerpts of his complaints. Bolding is always mine. The "Writerly" Style He complains that critics now dismiss too much good literature as "genre" fiction. More than half a century ago popular storytellers like Christopher Isherwood and Somerset Maugham were ranked among the finest novelists of their time, and were considered no less literary, in their own way, than Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. Today any accessible, fast-moving story written in unaffected prose is deemed to be "genre fiction" - at best an excellent "read" or a "page turner," but never literature with a capital L. An author with a track record of blockbusters may find the publication of a new work treated like a pop-culture event, but most "genre" novels are lucky to get an inch in the back pages of The New York Times Book Review. The dualism of literary versus genre has all but routed the old trinity of highbrow, middlebrow, and lowbrow, which was always invoked tongue-in-cheek anyway. Writers who would once have been called middlebrow are now assigned, depending solely on their degree of verbal affectation, to either the literary or the genre camp. David Guterson is thus granted Serious Writer status for having buried a murder mystery under sonorous tautologies (Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994), while Stephen King, whose Bag of Bones (1998) is a more intellectual but less pretentious novel, is still considered to be just a very talented genre storyteller. Further, he complains that fiction is regarded as "literary" the more slow-paced, self-conscious, obscure, and "writerly" its style. The "literary" writer need not be an intellectual one. Jeering at status-conscious consumers, bandying about words like "ontological" and "nominalism," chanting Red River hokum as if it were from a lost book of the Old Testament: this is what passes for profundity in novels these days. Even the most obvious triteness is acceptable, provided it comes with a postmodern wink. What is not tolerated is a strong element of action - unless, of course, the idiom is obtrusive enough to keep suspense to a minimum. Conversely, a natural prose style can be pardoned if a novel's pace is slow enough, as was the case with Ha Jin's aptly titled Waiting, which won the National Book Award (1999) and the PEN/Faulkner Award (2000). If the new dispensation were to revive good "Mandarin" writing - to use the term coined by the British critic Cyril Connolly for the prose of writers like Virginia Woolf and James Joyce - then I would be the last to complain. But what we are getting today is a remarkably crude form of affectation: a prose so repetitive, so elementary in its syntax, and so numbing in its overuse of wordplay that it often demands less concentration than the average "genre" novel. 4 Types of Bad Prose Then he has five sections complaining about 4 different types of prose he doesn't like (in addition to the generic "literary" prose): "evocative" prose, "muscular"...
Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Excerpts from "A Reader's Manifesto", published by Arjun Panickssery on September 7, 2024 on LessWrong. "A Reader's Manifesto" is a July 2001 Atlantic piece by B.R. Myers that I've returned to many times. He complains about the inaccessible pretension of the highbrow literary fiction of his day. The article is mostly a long list of critiques of various quotes/passages from well-reviewed books by famous authors. It's hard to accuse him of cherry-picking since he only targets passages that reviewers singled out as unusually good. Some of his complaints are dumb but the general idea is useful: authors try to be "literary" by (1) avoiding a tightly-paced plot that could evoke "genre fiction" and (2) trying to shoot for individual standout sentences that reviewers can praise, using a shotgun approach where many of the sentences are banal or just don't make sense. Here are some excerpts of his complaints. Bolding is always mine. The "Writerly" Style He complains that critics now dismiss too much good literature as "genre" fiction. More than half a century ago popular storytellers like Christopher Isherwood and Somerset Maugham were ranked among the finest novelists of their time, and were considered no less literary, in their own way, than Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. Today any accessible, fast-moving story written in unaffected prose is deemed to be "genre fiction" - at best an excellent "read" or a "page turner," but never literature with a capital L. An author with a track record of blockbusters may find the publication of a new work treated like a pop-culture event, but most "genre" novels are lucky to get an inch in the back pages of The New York Times Book Review. The dualism of literary versus genre has all but routed the old trinity of highbrow, middlebrow, and lowbrow, which was always invoked tongue-in-cheek anyway. Writers who would once have been called middlebrow are now assigned, depending solely on their degree of verbal affectation, to either the literary or the genre camp. David Guterson is thus granted Serious Writer status for having buried a murder mystery under sonorous tautologies (Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994), while Stephen King, whose Bag of Bones (1998) is a more intellectual but less pretentious novel, is still considered to be just a very talented genre storyteller. Further, he complains that fiction is regarded as "literary" the more slow-paced, self-conscious, obscure, and "writerly" its style. The "literary" writer need not be an intellectual one. Jeering at status-conscious consumers, bandying about words like "ontological" and "nominalism," chanting Red River hokum as if it were from a lost book of the Old Testament: this is what passes for profundity in novels these days. Even the most obvious triteness is acceptable, provided it comes with a postmodern wink. What is not tolerated is a strong element of action - unless, of course, the idiom is obtrusive enough to keep suspense to a minimum. Conversely, a natural prose style can be pardoned if a novel's pace is slow enough, as was the case with Ha Jin's aptly titled Waiting, which won the National Book Award (1999) and the PEN/Faulkner Award (2000). If the new dispensation were to revive good "Mandarin" writing - to use the term coined by the British critic Cyril Connolly for the prose of writers like Virginia Woolf and James Joyce - then I would be the last to complain. But what we are getting today is a remarkably crude form of affectation: a prose so repetitive, so elementary in its syntax, and so numbing in its overuse of wordplay that it often demands less concentration than the average "genre" novel. 4 Types of Bad Prose Then he has five sections complaining about 4 different types of prose he doesn't like (in addition to the generic "literary" prose): "evocative" prose, "muscular"...
With the creation of Fat Torah, Rabbi Dr. Minna Bromberg (she/her) shows people how their religious & spiritual lives can be a liberatory space. Minna broke up with diet culture at 16, but it was when she became a rabbi that she began to write and speak about fat liberation within the Jewish community. She shares how the stories from the Torah and Bible can be read as liberationist, how belonging can be derailed by unconscious bias, and how joy is a spiritual obligation in the Jewish faith.Rabbi Dr. Minna Bromberg is passionate about bringing her three decades of experience in fat activism to writing and teaching and change-making at the nexus of Judaism and body liberation. Since becoming a rabbi, Minna has led a 250-family Conservative congregation in Reading, PA, released her fifth album of original music, made aliyah, and run the Year-in-Israel program for Hebrew College rabbinical students. When she's not working on Fat Torah, she's a voice teacher who specializes in helping people use their voices in leading prayer. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Rabbi Alan Abrams, and their two children. Her forthcoming book is “Every Body Beloved: a call for fat liberation in Jewish life.”Please connect with Minna on Fat Torah.This episode's poem is by Ha Jin and is called “A Center.”Bonus content with Minna through Apple Podcast Subscriptions and on Patreon.Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). Want to share the love? Please rate this podcast and give it a review.Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful
Mit einem Nachruf auf Martin Walser und Büchern von Kathrin Röggla, Ha Jin, Egon Bondy, C.F. Ramuz und Fernanda Trías
Eigentlich wollte Li Bai (701-762) Beamter werden. Doch er wurde abgewiesen. Deshalb wurde er ein Freiberufler: ein Dichter, der durchs China der Tang-Dynastie zog und mit seinen Texten schließlich so bekannt wurde, dass sie bis heute von Schulkindern auswendig gelernt, bei passenden Gelegenheiten rezitiert und auch immer wieder neu übersetzt werden. Nun hat der sino-amerikanische Autor Ha Jin – bekannt vor allem für seine Politromane zur jüngeren chinesischen Geschichte – mit „Der verbannte Unsterbliche“ eine Biographie des unkonventionellen Tang-Lyrikers vorgelegt. Eine Lebensgeschichte, die auch eine spannende Kulturgeschichte des 8. Jahrhunderts bietet. Der Sinologe Thomas O. Höllmann hat die Texte von Li Bai selbst schon vielfach übersetzt. Er hat „Der verbannte Unsterbliche“ gern gelesen – allerdings mehr als historischen Roman denn als verlässliche Biographie. Um Li Bai haben sich über die Jahrhunderte etliche Mythen gebildet, sagt Höllmann im Gespräch mit SWR2-Literaturredakteurin Katharina Borchardt. Außerdem habe es zu seiner Zeit weder Goldmünzen noch Teehäuser oder Schnaps gegeben. Dies sei der „überbordenden Phantasie“ des Autors Ha Jin zuzuschreiben. Die Beschäftigung mit Li Bai aber sei trotzdem unbedingt empfohlen. Li Bai war zu seiner Zeit ein echter Ausnahmedichter“, sagt Höllmann. „Er schrieb sehr knapp, sehr schnörkellos und verwehrte sich gegen den Bildungsdünkel, den andere Lyriker damals durchaus vor sich her trugen.“ Dass bei Li Bai das „Individuum stark im Zentrum der Dichtung steht“ lässt uns seine hinreißenden Texte auch heute noch sehr unmittelbar erfahren. Im SWR2-Gespräch gibt es lyrische Kostproben und sogar einen Übersetzungsvergleich. Denn Ha Jin zitiert Verse Li Bais, die auch Thomas O. Höllmann für seine sechzig Gedichte aus dem alten China umfassende Lyrikanthologie „Erwartung & Melancholie“ übersetzt hat. Aus dem Englischen von Susanne Hornfeck Matthes & Seitz Verlag, 303 Seiten, 26 Euro ISBN 978-3-7518-0095-2 Thomas O. Höllmann - Erwartung & Melancholie. Sechzig Gedichte aus dem alten China Engeler Verlage, 150 Seiten, 14 Euro ISBN 978-3-9073-6912-8
Clarkisha Kent (she/her) is a culture critic and bringer of chaos. Her new book, “Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto,” was published this year, and Clarkisha is here to talk about it, along with a foray into the connections between purity culture and fatness and how we can use The Kelli & Kat Test to determine whether a piece of media has provided the audience with thoughtful representation of fat [Black] women and/or non-men.Clarkisha Kent is a Nigerian American writer, culture critic, former columnist, and author of “Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto.” Committed to telling inclusive stories via unique viewpoints from nigh-infancy, she is fascinated with using storytelling and cultural criticism not as a way to “overcome” or “transcend” her unique identities (as a FAT, bisexual, and disabled Black African woman), but as a way to explore them, celebrate them, affirm them, and most importantly, normalize them and make the world safe enough for people who share them to exist.Please connect with Clarkisha on her website and IG. The Kelli & Kat Test.Also mentioned are the books “Fearing the Black Body” and “Belly of the Beast.”This episode's poem is by Ha Jin and is called “A Center.”Bonus content with Clarkisha through Apple Podcast Subscriptions and on Patreon.Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). Want to share the love? Please rate this podcast and give it a review.Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.
★ Support this podcast ★
Good News: A tech startup in Tunisia has created a portable machine that can create drinking water out of water vapor in the air, Link HERE. The Good Word: An amazing and powerful poem from Ha Jin. Good To Know: Some interesting facts about the planet Mercury! Good News: A rare orchid, believed to be […]
Inspirational Poetry Reading by KAMEKAism. In this episode: A Center by Ha Jin
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City.
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City. 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
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City. 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
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
In Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), Sunny Xiang reads the archives of US intelligence agencies alongside Asian American literature to develop a method of reading for tone rather than content, and shows us how doing so allows us to rethink both the nature of war itself and the construction of race during the long cold war. On this episode of New Books in Asian American Studies, Sunny Xiang chats about militarization and war as a way of life, race and rumor in Kazuo Ishiguro's work, Induk Pahk and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's differing approaches to incorporating the story of Korean independence activist Yu Guan Soon into their work, Ha Jin as an entryway to thinking about the boundaries between Asian American studies and Asian studies approaches to Asian/American literature, her hope for a multilingual future for Asian American studies, the limits of representation as a political goal, the nature of Asian American student groups on college campuses, and how Tonal Intelligence helps us understand (and respond to!) some Goodreads readers' disappointment that Eugene Lim's Dear Cyborgs isn't the superhero novel they expected. Listen for more! Sunny Xiang is an associate professor in the English Department at Yale University. Jennifer Gayoung Lee is a writer and data analyst based in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Special guest Mom turns a corner. Rasa answers a vexing question about spicy food. In between, they and Jeremy discuss "A Center" by Ha Jin. http://youmustknoweverything.com
In this episode, we challenge ourselves to go read the book that has been on our To-Be-Read (TBR) list for the longest. Do you keep a TBR? How often do you add or purge books from it? Books mentioned in this episode: Waiting by Ha Jin, Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee, and Porcupines and China Dolls by Robert Arthur Alexie. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/keepitfictional/message
In this special episode, taped live at the Miami Book Fair, novelist Ha Jin joins hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new novel, A Song Everlasting, which explores the ways in which politics and art are intertwined from the point of view of a Chinese singer who makes his home in the U.S. After talking about the current tensions between China and Taiwan, Jin describes how the U.S. has had a negative influence on this conflict and depicts China as a strong but rapidly declining force. Then he speaks about how, like his main character, Tian, he believes that producing genuine art is the best way an artist can leave a lasting political influence. To hear the full episode, subscribe 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. Check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub's Virtual Book Channel, Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel, and our website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Hayden Baker and Anne Kniggendorf. Selected readings: Ha Jin A Song Everlasting The Banished Immortal A Distant Center The Boat Rocker Alive A Map of Betrayal Nanjing Requiem A Good Fall The Writer as Migrant A Free Life War Trash The Crazed Wreckage The Bridegroom Waiting In the Pond Under the Red Flag Facing Shadows Ocean of Words Between Silences Others: "Taiwan says tensions with China are at their worst in 4 decades" by Scott Neuman W.H. Auden The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ha Jin moved to the U.S. from China in his late 20s. He joins Marrie Stone to talk about his immigrant experience, and some of the things he experienced as a child growing up in China, including the Cultural Revolution, his own family's experience with book burning, and how the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square solidified his decision to remain in the United States. The conversation also covers a lot of craft issues. The importance of knowing the ending of a novel before you begin, the challenges of writing a linear novel (with little to no backstory), how to tackle dialogue, and other advice he imparts to his students. Jin learned English through the lens of literature, and that's made all the difference in his writing. A Song Everlasting is published by Pantheon Books.@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSectioDownload audio. (Broadcast date: October 16, 2021)
On Episode 60 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete has the pleasure to speak with the talented writer Andrew Liu. The two talk about Andrew's poetry, which is multifaceted and inspired by so many disparate people and art and experiences and traditions. Andrew speaks to both the cerebral and emotional in his poetry and its connections to the idea of the muse, the Kaguya tradition, writing about paradox, and so much more. Andrew Liu is a 2020 MFA graduate of CSU Long Beach's Creative Writing - Poetry program. He is published in two student magazines: East Los Angeles City College's Milestone and CSU Long Beach's Riprap. You can read his MFA thesis, California Metaphysics, which collects some of his best poems, on CSULB's thesis database (https://www.proquest.com/docview/2455809945/C36DDE5A65C748F1PQ/1). You can also view a recording of a virtual reading of selected poems organized by Andrew Liu and his friend Jesse Tovar on Youtube: https://youtu.be/duw83IwH5fk. Show Notes and Links to Andrew Liu's Work Andrew Liu's Cal State Long Beach Thesis-California Metaphysics Andrew performs on Jan 8, 2021: My Place Cafe Events At about 3:15, Andrew talks about growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, learning English as a second language, and the eventual eclipsing of Taiwanese by English; he also talks about his “contentious” relationship with languages and the precarious Taiwanese At about 9:45, Andrew talks about his linguistic history and how it might affect his writing; in addition, this leads to his discussion of language as a barrier and an enhancer of imagery At about 12:00, Andrew hones in on how he saw himself as a poet through his varied interests as a child, as well as through help from Ms. Burkhart and the YAWP (Young Aspiring Writers Program) At about 13:30, Andrew discusses writers who have given him “chills at will,” including Edgar Lee Masters, whose work connected to Andrew's ruminations on identity At about 17:30, Andrew comments on the times at which when he saw himself apply the form to the imagination, including community college as an freeing and formative experience At about 22:00, Andrew talks about the hierarchy of “manly” vs. “unmanly,” gay vs. straight, childhish vs. “grown up” and how his work plays on these opposites At about 27:00, Andrew talks about the tropes of the “manchild” and the patriarchal control that shrugs and says, “boys will be boys” and how he writes to combat these as forms of protest At about 30:00, Andrew talks about writing in the “surreal” time of Trumpism At about 31:00, Andrews draws connections between childhood and adulthood, and his view of the fluidity of the two At about 32:25, Andrew talks about the search for his writer's autonomy and a transformational experience in hearing a high school classmate's commanding performance, as well as his response poem in 12th grade in a “classics slam” to Ha Jin's poem, “Ways of Talking” At about 36:00, Andrew discusses inspirations for his thesis poetry collection-”California Metaphysics” At about 39:00, Andrew talks about muses in his writing, particularly the problematic ways in which it is often used At about 41:00, Andrew talks about his appreciation of Kaguya, particularly The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and the triumphs, resolve, and tragedies of Princess Kaguya; he connects the passivity and activity of the princess and its connection to his view of the muse At about 44:15, Andrews reads an excerpt from “Ossified Landscape w/ Faceless Girl, alt. Kaguya” At about 46:30, Pete and Andrew discuss the idea of Takahata and others “interpreting” the traditional and ancient Kaguya storyline, and Andrew talks about his concerted use of parentheses in his poem At about 52:05, Pete and Andrew discuss The Eternal Sunshine of the Mind, and its role as one of Andrew's favorite movies and connections to Andrew's work, specifically “Ossified Landscape…” At about 54:40, Pete details craft successes from Andrew and asks Andrew for feedback; Andrew discusses erasure and identity and the ephemerality, with regard to the two movies mentioned above, as well as Jeremy Renner's Arrival, based on Ted Chiang's short story “Story of your Life” At about 1:03:00, Andrew talks about ephemerality as seen in art, as well as his use of the moon as a symbol in his work At about 1:07:55, Andrew connects the “paradise myth” to Danez Smith's epic poem, “summer, somewhere” At about 1:09:00, Pete and Andrew discuss Andrew's poem “ ‘C' for California” after Andrew reads it; Andrew talks about the poem as part of the academic tradition of poetry and the influence of Stand Up Poetry, pioneered by Andrew's Cal State Long Beach mentor, Charles Harper Webb; the conversation then delves into nature's connections to Andrew's and other literature At about 1:22:15, Andrew talks about future projects and the potential for his thesis 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 Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. This episode and other episodes are featured on “The Chills at Will Podcast” YouTube Channel. 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 is “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAYS...We are celebrating Lunar New Year (and Valentine's Day) with Ha Jin's Waiting. A suspenseful love story!
City Lights celebrates the award-winning literary periodical's fall issue. Editor Michael Ray and Managing Editor Manjula Martin are joined by several contributors in an afternoon of readings and celebrations. Guests include Frances de Pontes Peebles, Patrick Dacey, and Daniel Orozco. Founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997, Zoetrope: All-Story is a quarterly print magazine of short fiction, one-act plays, and essays on film. Among the most celebrated literary periodicals in the world, it has won every major story award, including four National Magazine Awards for Fiction, along with a number of design commendations. The magazine's contributors comprise the most promising and significant writers of our era: Mary Gaitskill, Colum McCann, Rachel Cusk, Jim Shepard, Elena Ferrante, Daniel Alarcón, Karen Russell, Yiyun Li, Jonathan Lethem, Wes Anderson, Elizabeth McCracken, David Mamet, Ha Jin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Coen, Yoko Ogawa, Charles D'Ambrosio, Neil Jordan, Haruki Murakami, and many more.
This week, to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival (where Chinese people eat lots of mooncakes and stuff themselves with other delicious treats) Jessie and Helen talk about Chinese poets who lived during the Tang Dynasty - Li Bai and Du Fu. They also finish off the episode by reciting their favourite poems. For Helen; it's Robert Frost's THE ROAD NOT TAKEN. For Jessie, it's Dorothea Lasky's POEM TO AN UNNAMEABLE MAN. Also discussed: Jessie weeps while listening to these articles read to her from her favourite app AUDM: “Out there, Nobody Can Hear You Scream”, By Latria Graham, Outside Magazine (21 September 2020) “Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court's Feminist Icon, Is Dead at 87” By Linda Greenhouse (18 September 2020) The letter Ruth's husband Marty wrote on his deathbed to her: “My dearest Ruth,” it began. “You are the only person I have loved in my life, setting aside, a bit, parents and kids and their kids, and I have admired and loved you almost since the day we first met at Cornell. What a treat it has been to watch you progress to the very top of the legal world.” Madeleine Thien's article on Ha Jin and David Hinton's new books on Du Fu and Li Bai “Poems Without an ‘I'”, October 8 Issue, 2020 Du Fu - Poetry Foundation Profile Li Bai - Poetry Foundation Profile Chiang Hsun - TED X TALK (Taipei, 2012) Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken Dorothea Lasky: Poem to an Unnameable Man Purchase Jessie's Book : Jessie Tu | A Lonely Girl Is A Dangerous Thing Purchase Zoya's Book: Zoya Patel | No Country Woman · Facebook | Asian Bitches Down Under · Instagram | Asian Bitches Down Under · Asian Bitches Down Under Email: asianbdownunder@gmail.com
ဆရာတင်မောင်မြင့် ဘာသာပြန်ထားတဲ့ ပြစ်မှုနှင့် ပြစ်ဒဏ် ဆိုတာ မူရင်းတရုတ်နာမည်ကြီးစာရေးဆရာကြီး Ha Jin ရဲ့ A Bad Joke ဖြစ်ပါတယ်။ ဆရာတင်မောင်မြင့် မေွးနေ့အမှတ်တရ အနေနဲ့ ဖတ်ပြတာပါ။ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rodney-sann-lwin/support
Vanni Bianconi"Babel Festival"Festival di Letteratura e TraduzioneBellinzona dal 17 al 20 settembre 2020https://www.babelfestival.com/Babel 2020 si chiamava Americana e avrebbe voluto invitare scrittrici da tutte le Americhe, poi con la pandemia il mondo si è fermato e si è allontanato. Ma prendere le distanze da quanto si conosce ci permette di guardarlo con altri occhi, da prospettive diverse.Le Americhe e l'Europa, improvvisamente separate e irraggiungibili come non lo erano da secoli, hanno cominciato a specchiarsi a vicenda in quell'amalgama di sogni e crudeltà, sradicamenti e nuovi innesti che è la loro storia condivisa, rivelando così come questa si sia estesa, complicata, recisa e ripresa. Tra le Americhe e l'Europa, l'immenso specchio d'acqua dell'oceano è diventato il simbolo di quanto ci unisce e ci separa – di superfici che calme riflettono proiezioni celesti, e scatenate mandano a picco speranze, caravelle e transatlantici. E, oltre lo specchio, il profondo. Babel 2020 si chiama Atlantica.Babel 2020 ospita scrittori europei che guardano alle Americhe, traduttori che traducono scrittori dalle lingue europee delle Americhe, e scrittori americani che vivono in Europa, come specchi posti gli uni di fronte agli altri – l'unica immagine alla nostra portata, in questi giorni di confino, che sa imitare gli abissi dell'oceano e di quello che stiamo vivendo.Vanni Bianconi, direttore artistico Babel Festival, è autore di poesia e traduttore (Denton Welch, W.H. Auden, Somerset Maugham). Vive a Londra ed è direttore artistico di «Babel».vannibianconi.blogspot.chBabel è il festival letterario centrato sulla traduzione, sia in senso stretto – scrittori legati a più lingue e culture a dialogo con i loro traduttori italiani, laboratori di traduzione, traduzioni tra le arti e pubblicazione di libri – sia come metafora di ospitalità linguistica, attraversamento e incontro.Di anno in anno Babel si rivolge a una lingua, a un paese, a un tema, invitando scrittori, artisti, musicisti e traduttori . Tra gli ospiti delle scorse edizioni: Derek Walcott, Amitav Ghosh, Jamaica Kincaid, Ha Jin, Elias Khury, Adania Shibli, Ludmila Ulickaja, Ismail Kadaré, Juan Villoro, Guillermo Arriaga, Adam Zagajewski, Patrick Chamoiseau, Yu Hua, Kamel Daoud, The Tiger Lillies, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra e András Keller.Babel porta la parola oltre i confini e si spinge oltre i confini della parola, estendendo la propria ricerca agli altri linguaggi artistici. Ma non solo. Con le attività extraBabel, il festival valica le proprie frontiere spaziali e temporali, organizzando incontri, alimentando scambi e collaborazioni, pubblicando testi in libri e riviste durante tutto l'arco dell'anno.Nel 2012 Babel ha ricevuto il premio Lo Straniero in Italia, e nel 2013 il Premio di Letteratura svizzero per la Traduzione e la Mediazione Letterarie e il Premio Speciale della Giuria dell'Ufficio federale della cultura.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/
Tola and Filippo analyse a poem by Ha Jin with Reverend Joel Love
Kali ini kita mau membahas cinta dewasa. Bukan cintanya orang dewasa ya, tapi gaya hubungan romantis yang sehat. Menurut kita berdua hubungan Anchornim dan Hajin inu menggambarkan banget tentang "healthy relationship". Jadi gara-gara drakor yang 1 ini kamu bisa banget belajar tentang healthy relationship nih
Cerita pendek adalah sebuah bentuk fiksi yang sangat dicintai pembaca Indonesia. Inilah fiksi yang menyediakan ledakan di dalam ruangan yang sempit. Kali ini podcast “Coming Home with Leila Chudori” berbincang tentang antologi terbaru penulis Amerika-Tionghoa Xuan Juliana Wang berjudul “Home Remedies”. Terdiri dari 12 cerita, Julina Wang adalah sebuah debut rangkaian cerita yang bukan sekedar berkisah ‘pengalaman seorang penulis generasi milenial’, tetapi ada yang mengharukan dari kisah-kisah Keluarga, Cinta , Ruang dan Waktu. Juliana Wang sudah jauh dari cerita Revolusi Kebudayaan dan mendengar cerita tentang tanah air kakek neneknya sebagai sesuatu yang ‘asing’ tapi toh tetap ada dampak. Episode ini, produser Shanty Harmayn yang pernah menetap lama di Beijing membahas buku ini dan membandingkan dengan generasi Ha Jin dan Amy Tan yang juga menetap di AS. Shanty juga akan berbincang tentang karya sastrawan Tionghoa mainland seperti Su Tong dan Yu Hua yang karyanya sudah diangkat ke layar lebar.
On this bonus episode, Jenny reports on the first quarter of her TBR Explode project (now on its second year) and announces this year's Reading Envy Summer Reading Challenge! It's almost May, so it's almost summer, depending on how you define it. Please let me know what you are reading for your summer reading by using the hashtag #readingenvysummerreading - yes I left the challenge part out but it's long enough.Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 188: TBR Explode and SUMMER READING Subscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Listen via StitcherListen through Spotify Books discussed: Kept on TBR but did not finish The Forgotten Garden by Kate MortonTalking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob SheffieldWent ahead and read The River Gods by Brian KiteleyThe Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando SkyhorseBeginner’s Greek by James CollinsA Brief History of Time by Shaindel BeersUnformed Landscape by Peter StammTried and abandoned The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. MoraisHeart of Lies by M.L. MalcolmMy Empire of Dirt by Manny HowardWonder by Hugo ClausThe Twin by Gerbrand BakkerKings of the Earth by Jon ClinchThe Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean GreerTwo Marriages by Phillip LopateWhat is Left the Daughter by Howard NormanThe Bible Salesman by Clyde EdgertonLush Life by Richard PriceIn the Kitchen by Monica AliThe Grift by Debra GinsbergMy Father’s Tears and Other Stories by John UpdikePygmy by Chuck PalahniukA Good Fall by Ha JinThe Case of the Missing Books by Ian SansomThe Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass The Cookbook Collector by Allegra GoodmanCheese Making by Rita AshThe Irresistible Henry House by Lisa GrunwaldCountry Driving by Peter HesslerThe Big Short by Michael LewisOther mentions:The Last Policeman series by Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman is book 1)Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French (In the Woods is book 1)Tana French - Book Riot recommended order The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante (My Brilliant Friend is book 1)Related episodes:Episode 024 - The Attention of Humanity with guests Seth Wilson and Barret Newman Episode 149 - TBR Explode! (2019)Episode 158 - TBR Explode 2 (2019)Episode 168 - TBR Explode 3 (2019)Episode 169 - Simulacrum with Jon Sealy Episode 174 - Cozy Holiday Reads and TBR Explode 4 (2019)Stalk us online:Jenny at GoodreadsJenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
A nomadic wanderer and free-spirited romantic, Li Bai 李白, also known as Li Po, lived some 1300 years ago and yet his poems are still cherished for their wild imagination and effortless artistry. There are many colourful stories about his life but how much can we really know about someone who not only lived so long ago but was also very good at projecting an image of himself as a rebel? And how much of Li Bai's intricate, allusion-rich poetry can be translated successfully into other languages? These are some of the issues that Bridget Kendall discusses with Li Bai scholars Paula Varsano and Wilt Idema, and writer and Li Bai biographer Ha Jin. (Picture: Li Bai sitting on a tree branch. Detail of the decoration on a large ceramic plate from China, 17th-18th century. Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images)
Grab a cup of cocoa and burn the yule log before diving into this magical tale. In this holiday special of Rebel Girls Book Club, Maggie and Harmony discuss Half Spent Was the Night: A Witches' Yuletide by Ami McKay and try their hand at video. This book serves as a sequel to McKay's The Witches of New York. This episode is more light-hearted and silly than your standard RGBC content. Be prepared for jolly laughs, sexy content and spoilers abound. To follow our episode schedule up to mid-January go to https://medium.com/rebel-girls-book-club/read-along-with-the-show-bde1d80a8108 Watch our beautiful faces: https://youtu.be/UB_lsJqhilo Harmony made the bread!! https://www.instagram.com/p/B6HRMctHi2Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link What we're reading: The Crazed by Ha Jin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33564.The_Crazed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14201.Jonathan_Strange_Mr_Norrell Check out the podcast Fabled at https://www.fabledcollective.com/ Follow our social media pages at Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rgbcpod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RebelGirlsBookClub/ Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/101801516-rebel-girls and Twitter https://twitter.com/RebelGirlsBook1 Or you can email us at RebelGirlsBookClub@gmail.com. Our theme song is by The Gays and our image is by Mari Talor Renaud-Krutulis. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/RGBC/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/RGBC/support
On today's Global Exchange Podcast, we are joined by Candyce Kelshall and CGAI-fellow Philip Calvert to discuss the diplomatic and trade relationships between Taiwan, China, and Canada. The Global Exchange is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Subscribe to the CGAI Podcast Network on SoundCloud, iTunes, or wherever else you can find Podcasts! Bios: - Colin Robertson (host) - A former Canadian diplomat, Colin Robertson is Vice President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. - Candyce Kelshall - is President of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies and an adjunct professor at the Simon Fraser Department of Criminology. - Philip Calvert - is a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a senior fellow with the China Institute of the University of Alberta. Related Links: - “Energy, Trade and Geopolitics In Asia: The Implications for Canada” by Jeff Kucharski [CGAI Policy Paper] (https://www.cgai.ca/energy_trade_and_geopolitics_in_asia_the_implications_for_canada) - "Coping with China's Rise -- A Role for Canada?" [CGAI Podcast] (https://www.cgai.ca/coping_with_chinas_rise_a_role_for_canada) Recommended Books: Candyce Kelshall - "Critical Security Studies: An Introduction" by Columba Peoples and Nick Vaughan-Williams (https://www.amazon.ca/Critical-Security-Studies-Columba-Peoples/dp/0415841844/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=critical+security+studies&qid=1565620305&s=gateway&sr=8-1) Philip Calvert - "The Crazed" by Ha Jin (https://www.amazon.ca/Crazed-Ha-Jin/dp/0375714111/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+crazed&qid=1565620743&s=gateway&sr=8-1) Recording Date: July 3, 2019. Give 'The Global Exchange' a review on iTunes! Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on Linkedin. Head over to our website www.cgai.ca for more commentary. Produced by Jared Maltais and Jay Rankin. Music credits to Drew Phillips.
National Book Award winning novelist Ha Jin discusses his latest book, “The Banished Immortal,” a biography of celebrated 8th Century Chinese poet Li Bai (also known as Li Po). Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. The post Ha Jin: “The Banished Immortal” appeared first on KPFA.
Let’s start with a very old poem : On the bank of Caishi River is Li Bai’s grave Surrounded by wild grass that stretches to clouds. How sad that the bones buried deep in here Used to have writings that startled heaven and moved earth. Of course poets are born unlucky souls But no one has been as desolate as you. When you think of an an ancient poet, what do you picture? Wandering? Drinking? A lot of ups and downs? That certainly describes the life of Li Bai, one of the most brilliant and beloved poets in Chinese history—a man of whom it is said that he drowned jumping into a river, drunkenly chasing the reflection of the moon. In his beautiful new biography THE BANISHED IMMORTAL: a Life of Li Bai, the poet and author Ha Jin paints a vivid picture of this extra-vivid man—who suffered the double misfortune of living in interesting times and being interesting himself. Ha Jin is interesting too—a young soldier in China’s Cultural Revolution, he came to America as a grad student. Watching the Tiananmen Square Massacre on TV, he decided to stay in America for good. Surprise conversation-starters in this episode: Michael Hobbes on student debt Ben Goertzel on panpsychism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode of XRAY In The Morning: (1 ) News With Friends, with Emily Gilliland and Andy Lindberg, (2) A classic episode of Everything is Interesting, (3) We speak with author Ha Jin about his latest book, The Banished Immortal, (4) Dave Adamschik, contributing editor for Kitchen Table Magazine, joins us to explore the intersection of food, culture, and place. It's citrus season! (5) We sit down with Michele Ruffin, the Oregon Campaign Manager for Forward Together.
Internationally bestselling author Ha Jin discussed his latest book—a new biography about legendary eighth-century Chinese poet, Li Bai. Ha Jin read some of the poet's lesser known works, and described Li’s unconventional lifestyle which he researched for his book, "The Banished Immortal." From the poet’s life-long interests in swordsmanship and celestial bodies, to his excessive drinking, rumors of manslaughter, and the numerous myths about is death—Ha Jin sheds new light on the poet and why he is still loved today.
In conversation with Carlin Romano, Critic-at-Large, The Chronicle of Higher Education, former literary critic The Philadelphia Inquirer and author of America the Philosophical. Celebrated internationally for a prolific, ''achingly beautiful'' (Los Angeles Times Book Review) body of work across a variety of genres, Chinese émigré Ha Jin is the author of a score of novels, volumes of poetry, story collections, and a book of essays. His many honors include the National Book Award, two PEN/Faulkner Awards, the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Jin's books include Waiting, Under the Red Flag, and War Trash. The Banished Immortal is a biography of the 8th-century, Tang Dynasty poet whose verses remain an intrinsic element of Chinese language and culture. (recorded 1/17/2019)
The Seattle Public Library - Author Readings and Library Events
In part two of LARB in SF, we feature Laurie and Tom's dialogues with one of America's most celebrated authors, Ha Jin, as well as the only path breaking professor of ethnic studies who is also a legendary bandleader, Dr. Loco (aka Jose Cuellar). Ha Jin reflects on literature, cross-cultural insight, and the very real threat of Donald Trump to democracy. Dr Loco reveals the joyous traditions of, and multicultural influences on, Chicano music; and tells tales of his former bandmate, a young Tom Lutz. Also, both Laurie and Tom express their appreciation of Lena Dunham's memoir Not That Kind of Girl. The show closes with a reading of Thomas Lux's A Little Tooth.
John Pomfret first went to China as a student in 1980 and covered the Tiananmen demonstrations in 1989 for the Associated Press. He was expelled for his efforts, but returned to Beijing a decade later to head up the Washington Post’s Beijing bureau. For more on his experience and some compelling and little-known stories, listen to the first half of this two-part Sinica Podcast and read our accompanying Sinica backgrounder. In this week’s episode, Kaiser and Jeremy continue to talk with John about his new book, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom, which charts the history of America’s relationship with China. John explains that the countries have been intertwined long before the ping-pong diplomacy often credited for ushering in U.S.-China relations in the early 1970s. You can read the short prologue to John’s book, republished with permission here. Recommendations: John: The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and The Boat Rocker, by Ha Jin. Kaiser: The albums Tarkus and Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends ~ Ladies and Gentlemen, by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Jeremy: A VICE video on ginseng in the Appalachian Mountains, and The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, translated by Jack Zipes.
Join us this Wednesday as we speak with prize-winning novelist Ha Jin
Sep. 5, 2015. Ha Jin discusses "A Map of Betrayal: A Novel" at the 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Speaker Biography: Author and poet Ha Jin left China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University and eventually pursued creative writing at Boston University. He is the author of several novels, short story collections, volumes of poetry and essays, including "Waiting," "War Trash," "Nanjing Requiem," "Ocean of Words," "Under the Red Flag" and "Between Silences." For his works Jin has received a National Book Award, two PEN/Faulkner Awards, three Pushcart Prizes, a Kenyon Review Prize, a PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award, an Asian American Literary Award and the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. His latest work, "A Map of Betrayal: A Novel," is a spy novel that tackles the meaning of patriotism as it follows Lilian Shang after she uncovers the diary of her father-one of the most important Chinese spies ever caught in the U.S. Jin currently teaches at Boston University. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6906
Ha Jin reads from his novel A Map of Betrayal, published in 2014. After his reading, Ha Jin discusses his work with Mingwei Song, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages & Cultures. This event took place March 30, 2015 at Wellesley's Newhouse Center for the Humanities as part of the Newhouse Center Distinguished Writers Series. Born in China in 1956, Pulitzer nominated author Ha Jin was a teenager when China entered the Cultural Revolution. He became a member of the People’s Liberation Army at the age of fourteen. His novel Waiting, which won him the National Book Award in 1999, and the PEN/ Faulkner in 2000, was based on his experiences during his five-year service in the Red Army. He was awarded the PEN/ Faulkner again in 2005 for War Trash.
Ha Jin is the winner of the National Book Award for Waiting, and a celebrated author of short stories, poetry and fiction. David Henry Hwang is the Tony Award winning playwright of M. Butterfly, whose acclaimed new play Chinglish (2011) was the first Broadway play to be performed in both Mandarin and English. In this video from June 28, 2012, both authors read from their current work and talk about the intersection of contemporary writing and cultural perspectives on China. Moderated by Nancy Yao Maasbach, executive director of the Yale-China Association.
Ha Jin is the award-winning author of five novels, four collections of stories, three volumes of poetry, and one collection of essays. His novels include Waiting, winner of the 1999 National Book Award, and War Trash, winner of the 2005 PEN/Faulkner Award. In this recording, he reads from his newest story collection, A Good Fall, which focuses on Flushing, one of New York City's largest Chinese immigrant communities. Jonathan Wilson, Director of the Humanities Center and Fletcher professor for Rhetoric and Debate at Tufts University, introduces Ha Jin and shares a conversation with him after the reading.
Ha Jin was born in China in 1956. After Tiananmen Square, he emigrated to the United States. Unlike most exiled writers Ha Jin was not established in his native language; he had no audience in Chinese, and so chose to write in English. He has published three collections of poetry, including Between Silences and Facing Shadows, and three collections of short fiction, Ocean of Words, received the PEN/Hemingway Award, and Under the Red Flag, won the Flannery O'Connor Award. His novel Waiting won the National Book Award for fiction as well as the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. In 2004, he published War Trash, which also won the PEN/Faulkner Award. He lives in the Boston area and is a professor of English at Boston University. We met in Ottawa to talk about his first book of non-fiction The Writer as Migrant . Adapted from The Rice University Campbell Lecture he delivered in 2006, the book consists of three interconnected essays exploring the experience of the migrant, ‘exiled' writers in relation to their ‘home' countries and languages. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Lin Yutang, Homer, Joseph Conrad , Vladimir Nabokov and others all contribute to the conversation.
The Bridegroom (Pantheon) Ha Jin, a Chinese writer who came to America in 1985, has published seven books of fiction and poetry in English. What are the consequences of giving up a native language? Can writing transform the anger generated by the Cultural Revolution into art?