March 18–25, 1999

six pick

Maxine Hong Kingston

If all you know about Asian-American stories comes from The Joy Luck Club and Disney's Mulan, then Maxine Hong Kingston delivers that other thing you've got coming. In books like Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book and The Woman Warrior, Kingston draws a picture of the Chinese-American experience that recalls Vonnegut as much as Amy Tan. The autobiographical Woman Warrior draws a sharp line between a living world of memory and tradition, and the actual immigrant experience of a foreign culture populated by "ghosts" of authority. Kingston's work, at turns bitter, difficult and exuberant, shows the struggle of an American daughter building a bridge between the world of "talk-stories" her Chinese mother constructs and a newer world
of multicultural experience.

-Justin Bauer

Kingston will give a writing workshop on Wed., March 24, 2-3 p.m. at the Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk. RSVP required; call 215-573-WRIT.