A brilliant and tasteful aunt bought me Bridge of Birds when I was in my late teens or early 20’s, Shortly after when the book came out. She’d turned me on to Shel Silversteen, and this book had even greater impact.…
Dream of the Red Chamber: the Story of the Stone
One thing I love about camping, is that it will get me started on a piece of great literature that might not compete well against all the distractions of modern edutainment. I finally read The Dream of the Red Chamber.…
10 Words: literature by Yu Hua
Read 10 Words (link to Amazon) by Yu Hua last summer for the ASDP China summer institute. I expected it to be practical introduction to the Chinese language and linguistics, but the thoughtful and personal recollection and exploration of Chinese…
Movie night: The World of Suzie Wong
The ferries in Hong Kong hadn’t changed much from 1960 when this movie was made, until I visited in the mid-to-late 90’s. I remember picking up the book in a hotel lobby, or got from a fellow expatriate. I’ve been…
Creative Writer’s Readings 11/18/12
Explaining White Man’s Burden to a Colored 5 Year Old. “That’s not for me” the boy explained. He’d been reading the development wheel, and I’d been co-opting that as a teachable moment. I incorporated the guilt training I’d had as…
“The Lottery”
Halloween is around the corner, and I’ve always had a special esteem for the particular brand of creepy found in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” html of text free. PDF for free. Wikipedia Video short in 2 parts on YouTube:…
Nobel Prize in Literature Announced
The nobel Prize in Literature was just announced, and it goes to a Chinese Writer – Mo Yan, who, while arguably not dissident, allegedly manages find ways to tell inconvenient truths. I am at the moment unfamiliar with his work,…
“Sabotuer” by Ha Jin
For text free online see here. Class brought up some some good questions that indicate a need for a Chinese culural informant. authentic Chinese tea cups have no handles, so the distinction between a cup and a bowl is a…
“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress:” the movie
Just watched the movie, and it isn’t bad. It isn’t the book I remember, but it was an official selection at the Cannes Film fest, won the National Board of Review in 2004, and was nominated for 1/2 dozen or…
Book review: The Hunger Games
A colleague offered me a copy of the Hunger Games a few months ago, and I put it on a shelf to get to after I finished up my dissertation. I have to admit that the title and much of…