Light as Insistent: Alvin Lu (“Daydreamers”) in conversation with Shawna Yang Ryan

Written by

Alvin Lu’s second novel, Daydreamers, was released on July 15th. It’s a dreamy, unsettling book that radiates intelligence and beauty. Difficult to summarize, I will rely on this line from the publisher’s description, though even that cannot capture the many layers of this book: “Cycling between San Francisco, Los Angeles, China, and Taiwan, the novel unfolds across generations of Chinese immigrants and diaspora artists, linked by tenuous friendships, publishing feuds, and the obscure…

Read More »

For the (Re)Cord: An Interview with Leona Chen

Written by

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1050"] Book of Cord coverage in World Journal, article by Emily Lin, book photography by Tinfish Press, family portrait by Andy Kuno[/caption] Leona Chen is the author of Book of Cord, her debut poetry collection from Tinfish Press. The poems tackle family, culture, language, migration and history in a non-prescriptive way, relying instead on emotions embedded in precise, culturally coded details--quotidian (but not ordinary) objects such as tiger balm,…

Read More »

Why You Need to Pick up A Pen/Brush/Camera

Written by

When Jeff Daniels’ documentary about Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer was scheduled to be shown at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2009, the Chinese consulate requested that the film be withdrawn. Festival organizers refused. In response, a number of Chinese directors pulled out of the festival and hackers—posting the Chinese flag, among other actions—managed to shut down the festival website. Not only did the Chinese government disagree with the content of the film, they did not…

Read More »

“What Are You?”: Thoughts on Taiwanese American Identity

Written by

by Shawna Yang Ryan Author of Locke 1928 “What are you?” It seems that every essay I’ve read on hapa identity begins with this question, perhaps because a hapa’s own identity formation begins with others asking this question. Being a mixed race Asian (let’s see how many different labels I can fit into one essay!), I am rather used to being identified in different ways by different people. Though who I am is very clear to me, labeling it is more difficult, and I imagine that…

Read More »