While suffering a terrible bout of writer’s block, I thought more on the concept of the “Great Asian American Novel.” Artists don’t strive for “good enough” in their work. They strive for greatness. That doesn’t mean they need to win awards and medals or see their work achieve critical success. We strive to create an [...]
Archive for the ‘Asian Diaspora’ Category
The Great Asian American Novel
Posted in Asian Diaspora, literary fiction, literary review, novel writing on August 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Great Novels and Word Count
Posted in Asian Diaspora, literary fiction, literary review, novel writing on May 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Word count is one of those things new writers worry about but deny worrying about because we’re not supposed to be worrying about it. According to Wikipedia’s entry on word count, the typical word count of a novel is at least 80,000 words. I’ve heard through the publishing world grapevine than most agents and editors [...]
Activism and Art
Posted in Asian Diaspora, literary fiction, novel writing on April 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A well-known playwright in the Asian American community wrote me recently and said, “Everything I’ve done–in theater, in publishing . . . is more activism than art.”
I write with an activist spirit, but I prefer not to compromise art simply to promulgate my personal ideologies. The line between activism and art is hard to locate, [...]
Sum Ting Wong
Posted in Asian Diaspora on April 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A guy I’ve known since high school who I keep in touch with on occasion e-mailed me a forward meant to be humorous. Here it is:
Su Wong marries Lee Wong. The next year, the Wongs have a new baby. The nurse brings over a lovely, healthy, bouncy, but definitely a Caucasian, White baby boy.
‘Congratulations,’ says [...]
Gender vs. Race
Posted in Asian Diaspora, feminism on February 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The thoughts materialized into actual expression first when a friend said, “Women in sum make up a higher majority than Blacks in sum and it’s always been that way so laws favor women, overwhelmingly. Especially white women. That’s why the current presidential campaign dynamics are so astounding.”
People forget the 15th Amendment came before the 19th [...]
On Citizenship
Posted in Asian Diaspora on January 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve met a lot of recent Chinese immigrants from my generation who seek out U.S. citizenship but lack appreciation of civic duty. An acquaintance applied for citizenship because it would be more convenient for her, but she still felt wholly Chinese. She said to me with light heart that she would remain silent and not [...]
